SALTCOATS snooker star Sophie Nix will face a fellow Scot when she makes her professional debut next month.

The 16-year-old is set to line up in the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out which begins on December 4 as one of eight World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) amateur player nominations who will be competing.

The Ardrossan Academy pupil earned her spot at the event as the current number one ranked World Women’s Snooker Under-21.

The tournament will be held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from December 4-7, and has presented Sophie with the chance to face off against some of the best players in the world.

The Shoot Out is a tournament unlike any other and is drawn in a straight knockout style with no seeding for the 128 player field.

And Sophie has been handed an exciting draw, facing a past winner of the tournament in 2017, in Anthony McGill.

The Scot is currently the world's 39th ranked player - though has had a peak ranking of 12th previously.

McGill is a one-time World Championship semi-finalist and has reached the tournament's last eight on a further three occasions.

Outside his Shoot Out win, the Scot has one other ranking tournament victory to his name which also came in 2017 at the Indian Open.

He has played in the Shoot Out three times since his victory there, being knocked out in the first round twice and reaching the quarter-finals once.

What makes the fixture even more exciting for Sophie is that the match format means she has every chance of causing an upset.

The tournament is played using a variation of the traditional snooker rules. All matches are played over a single frame, each of which lasts up to 10 minutes.

There is also further time pressure, with a shot clock in play for each player.

During the first five minutes of the match, players are allowed 15 seconds per shot - in the final five minutes this is reduced to just ten seconds.

Those looking to watch Sophie's endeavours in the tournament will be able to do so via Eurosport - where the event will be broadcast.

Her match against McGill is scheduled to get underway at 4.15pm on Wednesday, December 4.