KIDDERMINSTER sports fans went potty when four of the world's top snooker players graced the town's Glades Arena during an exciting new tournament.

A sell-out crowd of more than 900 packed into the centre to watch Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White, Paul Hunter and Marco Fu in action.

The green baize stars were in town to take part in the latest round of the Betfred.com Premier Snooker League, a tournament beamed live around the world on Sky Sports.

Featuring the cream of world snooker, the competition is touring venues across the country to bring the sport to a wider audience.

The new format sees the stars play each other in six-frame matches with £1,000 prize money at stake for each frame.

In a twist designed to speed up the action, players face a race against time to beat the shot clock which only allows them 25 seconds for each shot.

Fans were treated to two matches with O'Sullivan beating Hunter by four frames to two and Fu defeating White by the same scoreline.

The Kidderminster results put Fu among the frontrunners with Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams, while O'Sullivan and White are now mid-table alongside Steve Davis, with Hunter, still waiting for his first win, propping up the seven-player league.

Current world champion O'Sullivan used last Thursday's clash in Kidderminster, organised in association with the Shuttle/Times & News, to show off his new cropped haircut after losing his long locks.

It was also the first time White played under the new guise of James Brown after changing his name by deed poll following a fun sponsorship deal with sauce company HP.

While O'Sullivan played up to his temperamental reputation by blasting the tournament as "pathetic", Hunter and White happily signed autographs for fans at the Glades.

It was women snooker fans who scooped the prizes in a special draw to raise money for Operation Covert, the Shuttle/Times & News appeal to rebuild the Scouts' activity centre at Rhydd Covert.

Two fantastic snooker cues signed by the four players in action at the Glades were up for grabs and were won by Marion Arnott, of Kidderminster, and Linda Skelding, of Stourbridge.

There was also a special surprise for snooker fan Val Chilton, of Cleobury Mortimer, who was treated to tickets for the show as a 62nd birthday present by her husband Roy.

Not only did she get to see her hero, White, in action, but she was also presented with a bouquet of flowers by the player known as the 'Whirlwind' at the end of the evening.

Among a host of VIP guests with the Shuttle/Times & News were Bill Allington, of Chaddesley Corbett, and his son Sean who won their tickets in an exclusive newspaper competition.