A few days back Jason Francis took on social media to stress how important it is for the WSS Tour future and growths that the players have a place to voice their opinions, concerns and suggestions. Jason and the other people at the elm of the WSS Tour really want this tour to be developed FOR the players and WITH the players. Therefore Jason invited the players interested in participating in a “Players Commission” to come forward.
He has been heard. On Thursday afternoon, Jason came back on social media with this announcement (source Facebook)
PLAYERS COMMISSION
I am delighted to announce that the following have accepted an invitation to represent the players on the World Seniors Tour next season. I have reserved a couple of spaces for invitations in the future as I believe we will need some overseas representation and perhaps some voices from lower down the ranking list. I may announce some more people soon. I am also asking T Bag to sit on the team as well. Your Commission is
PATRICK WALLACE -Chairman
T BAG
IAN SPAWTON
LEE RICHARDSON
SIMON DENT
BARRY PINCHES
IAN WAGSTAFF
RICHARD EMERY
Please support them
And a bit later he added this
Also delighted to confirm our World Champion has found out how to use that ROKiT phone and has also accepted a place on the commission. AARON CANAVAN
If you wonder who T Bag might be, the man has a name, Paul, and he’s been helping Jason with all things logistics since the start of the Snooker Legends.
This is an important and positive move regarding the future of the WSS ROKiT Tour. It’s also good to see the referees represented in this commission by Ian Wagstaff.
This was shared today by World Seniors Snooker on social media:
Press Release
The ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Tour is pleased to announce that Carl Whitby, Ian Wagstaff and Nick Harry have been invited to join Michaela Tabb in officiating at the Sheffield Masters in the Crucible Theatre on Thursday 11th April.
Jason Francis, Chairman of the ROKiT World Seniors Tour said…
“Carl, Nick and Ian have played an important part in building the tour and spent many hours officiating at our qualifying events, its right and proper within a tour that aims to provide opportunities for players that we also extend those opportunities to referees and I am thrilled to reward their dedication with a chance to officiate in the home of our sport”
The ROKiT World Seniors Sheffield Masters takes place on Thursday 11th April and features legends of the game including Stephen Hendry, Jimmy White, John Parrott and Ken Doherty.
The event is broadcast live and exclusively on Freesports and tickets to attend can be secured by calling 01142496000.
And this was received in my email earlier today:
The ROKiT Sheffield Masters is only 13 days away – who wins in the Crucible?
At www.snookertv.net we will be following all the action at the Gala Dinner on Wednesday 10th and as we build up to the event inside the crucible on Thursday 11th plus as soon as the matches are played we will get them uploaded into our library… if you still haven’t got an account you but still can today FOR FREE.
Nothing beats living the action as it happens at the Crucible, but if you really can’t be there, here is your chance to catch up!
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ROKiT, a revolutionary telecommunications company, today introduced its
line of five mobile handsets, including three smartphones, to market. At
an event hosted this morning in downtown Los Angeles, company founders
John Paul DeJoria and Jonathan Kendrick announced that the handsets
would be officially available for purchase online across the U.S.
exclusively at ROKiT.com and Walmart.com starting today.
UNLIKE ANY OTHER PHONE BRAND, ROKIT IS SHAKING UP THE MOBILE LANDSCAPE BY PAIRING ITS PHONES WITH VITAL LIFE SERVICES LIKE FAMILY TELEMEDICINE, LEGAL COUNSEL, AND MORE. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES TWO SMARTPHONE MODELS WITH THE BEST GLASSES-FREE 3D TECHNOLOGY ON THE MARKET AND A VAST LIBRARY OF EXCLUSIVE 2D AND 3D LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED CONTENT. THESE UNRIVALED ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE PACKAGES COME PACKED INTO PREMIUM MOBILE HANDSETS AVAILABLE AT A FRACTION OF THE COST OF COMPETITORS.
“WE STARTED ROKIT WITH A MISSION TO PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH WELL-BEING AND SECURITY, AND OFFER A REALISTIC ENTRY POINT TO TOP NOTCH TECHNOLOGY. IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE TO SEE OUR VISION REALIZED AS PEOPLE REACT TO THE PHONES,” SAID JOHN PAUL DEJORIA, CO-FOUNDER OF ROKIT. “NOT ONLY HAVE THEY BEEN BLOWN AWAY BY THE GLASSES-FREE 3D EXPERIENCE ON THE SMARTPHONES, BUT THEY CAN’T BELIEVE JUST HOW MUCH THEY’RE GETTING FOR SUCH A REASONABLE PRICE. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO US TO BE THE FIRST PHONE ON THE MARKET WITH SUCH AN EXTENSIVE LIFE SERVICE AND ENTERTAINMENT OFFERING THAT WILL SURELY CHANGE LIVES.”
ROKIT SMARTPHONES OFFER ENDLESS ENTERTAINMENT THROUGH ITS ROK ENTERTAINMENT PLATFORM, WHICH INCLUDES ACCESS TO SUBSCRIPTION-BASED STREAMING TELEVISION, MUSIC, AND GAMES. TWO OF ROKIT’S SMARTPHONE MODELS, THE ROKIT IO 3D AND IO PRO 3D, FEATURE STEREOSCOPIC SCREEN TECHNOLOGY METICULOUSLY CRAFTED TO PROVIDE A CRISP, VIBRANT 3D IMAGE AND ELIMINATE PREVIOUS BARRIERS TO 3D’S SUCCESS. TO ENSURE A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE FOR USERS, THE PHONES ALSO ENABLE ACCESS TO PREMIUM, QUALITY-CONTROLLED 3D CONTENT AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON THROUGH THE ROKFLIX 3D APP, AN EXPANSIVE CATALOGUE OF FEATURE FILMS AND CUSTOM CONTENT CREATED BY ROKIT STUDIOS, THE COMPANY’S 3D AND ANIMATION STUDIO IN FRANCE.
ROKIT’S LIFE-CHANGING BUNDLES ARE ROOTED IN PROVIDING HEALTH AND PROTECTION FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. ROK LIFE SERVICES COME PRE-LOADED ON SELECT MODELS IN ROKIT’S PHONE RANGE, KICKING OFF WITH A YEAR’S FREE ACCESS TO 24/7 TELEMEDICINE AND DISCOUNTED PHARMACEUTICALS, WITH ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, FAMILY LEGAL SERVICES, AND ACCIDENTAL DEATH, BURIAL AND CREMATION, AND IDENTITY THEFT INSURANCE AVAILABLE AT LOW-COST MONTHLY RATES.
“AT ROKIT WE LIKE TO SAY WE’RE A PEOPLE-FIRST COMPANY, BECAUSE JOHN PAUL AND I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN BUILDING A BRAND THAT PRIORITIZES MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD OVER MERELY SELLING A PRODUCT,” SAID JONATHAN KENDRICK, CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF ROKIT. “TODAY MARKS A MASSIVE MILESTONE AS WE CONNECT PEOPLE WITH WHAT THEY NEED AND WHAT THEY LOVE BY OFFICIALLY SELLING OUR PHONES GLOBALLY. WE HAVE LOTS MORE IN STORE AND ARE EAGER TO CONTINUE THIS MOMENTUM FROM HERE.”
ALL FIVE SLEEK BLACK HANDSETS ARE UNLOCKED, EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST ANDROID FEATURES AVAILABLE, AND INCLUDE DUAL SIM, WIFI CALLING, WHATSAPP, FACEBOOK, BLUETOOTH, FM RADIO, AND MP3 AS STANDARD.
ROKiT IO 3D ($199.99) – Mostly-loaded 3D smartphone
ROKiT IO Pro 3D ($299.99) – Fully-loaded 3D smartphone
ROKIT PHONES ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE IN THE U.S. AT ROKIT.COM AND WALMART.COM AND WILL BE ROLLING OUT TO THE UK NEXT MONTH VIA AMAZON.CO.UK.
ABOUT ROKIT
ROKIT IS A REVOLUTIONARY TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS THAT OFFERS CONSUMERS STATE OF THE ART MOBILE HANDSETS AND WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY AT AN UNBEATABLE VALUE. AS PART OF ROK BRANDS, ROKIT HAS BEEN FOUNDED BY BUSINESS INNOVATOR JOHN-PAUL DEJORIA (JOHN PAUL MITCHELL SYSTEMS, PATRON TEQUILA, JOHN PAUL PET) AND JONATHAN KENDRICK (BRITISH ENTREPRENEUR). ROKIT’S CORE INNOVATION IS THE BRAND’S UNIQUE COMBINATION OF DEVICE AND SERVICE OFFERINGS BROUGHT TO MARKET AT AGGRESSIVE, ATTENTION-GETTING PRICE POINTS. AS PART OF ROKIT’S PLEDGE TO PROVIDE CONNECTION, HEALTH, AND SECURITY FOR ALL, THE COMPANY HAS PARTNERED WITH ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR VALUES TO HELP FURTHER THIS IDEAL AROUND THE GLOBE. ROKIT IS THE OFFICIAL WIRELESS PARTNER OF THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS, THE INAUGURAL JERSEY PARTNER FOR THE HOUSTON ROCKETS, AND MOST RECENTLY BECAME THE TITLE PARTNER OF THE WILLIAMS RACING FORMULA ONE TEAM. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.ROKIT.COM
ABOUT ROK BRANDS
ROK BRANDS WAS FOUNDED BY SEASONED BUSINESS INNOVATORS JOHN PAUL DEJORIA AND JONATHAN KENDRICK. THE CORPORATION INCLUDES ROK VISION, ROK DRINKS (ABK BEER, REAL IRISH WHISKEY, BOGART’S SPIRITS, AMONG OTHERS), ROK WATER, ROK STARS, ROK BOOKS AND OTHER BRANDS. HEADQUARTERED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ROK BRANDS OFFERS A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS THAT IMPROVE THE LIFESTYLE OF MANKIND AROUND THE WORLD. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.ROKBRANDS.COM.
Ahead of the ROKiT WSS Masters 2019, WSS on social media published a few images of Legends of our sport “before they were seniors”. Yes, those guys were young once, and great champions. Make no mistake, they still can play, as Cliff Thorburn proved last April. Can you name them all? And the events where those pictures were taken?
Alex Higgins would have turned 70 yesterday. He was the reason why the Legends started, even if he played in just one event.
The gala dinner ahead of the WSS main events are a great opportunity to meet the players in a relaxed atmosphere, to enjoy some great food, meet fellow fans and have fun. This one is even more special!
The defending champion, Cliff Thorburn, invites you to his Canadian themed Champions Dinner. It’s a good opportunity to taste something slightly different and to support a very good cause as well. Don’t miss it, come along.
And join us the next day as well at the iconic Crucible Theatre.
Quarter Finals start at 2pm, there is a VIP reception as usual at 1pm.
Cliff Thorburn (1) v Stephen Hendry
Ken Doherty (4) v Barry Pinches
Interval
Jimmy White (3) v Joe Johnson
Aaron Canavan (2) v John Parrott.
Semi Finals and Finals at 7pm with a VIP at 6pm
All matches are best of 3 with a respot at 1-1.
Cliff Thorburn is the defending champion. Last year he was an unexpected but very popular winner. Cliff’s passion and love for the game are huge and this is an understatement! The way he celebrated his win last year is proof of that. He will give it his best and more to defend his title! If you want to re-live the story, in pictures, follow this link.
Aaron Canavan, the reigning World Champion is seed number two. Aaron had a rather quiet season but he’s coming to form. He was runner-up at the WSS ROKiT Six Reds championship 2019, and again last week-end in Leeds. He’s a very serious contender. Last year, he paraded his World Champion’s trophy at the Crucible, this year he will hope to lift the Masters trophy there. Aaron absolutely loves the WSS tour and what it brings to his life. You can read his testimony here.
Aaron Canavan World Champion 2018
Jimmy White is seed number three. He’s a man in form. He has won the last two WSS events, the 2019 Irish Masters and the 2019 ROKiT Six Reds World Championship. Jimmy has bitter-sweet memories of the Crucible, having never lifted the World Championship trophy in this iconic venue, he was runner-up six times. You can be certain that he will do everything in his power to win there next month! He’s certainly one of the favourites to do just that.
The World Seniors Irish Masters 2019
The seed number 4 is Ken Doherty, the reigning WSS UK Champion. Ken dropped off the main tour but is currently still playing in it on an invitational tour card. This card expires at the end of the season, BUT Ken is currently provisionally ranked 57 in the end-of-season list, he has a great chance to regain his full professional status. He needs some good results though in China, and, even more importantly, at the World Championship 2019 Qualifiers in April. Therefore you can be certain that Ken will prepare the very best he can. I make him the favourite, along with Jimmy White, who is actually in the same situation but less favorably placed ranking-wise.
The four unseeded players are Stephen Hendry (!!!), John Parrott, Joe Johnson and Barry Pinches. The first three have been World Champions. Even if they have not been at their best recently, it would be foolish to write them off!
Barry Pinches hasn’t got the most illustrious carreer but he’s a very useful player: as a pro, he was quarter finalist in the 2003 UK Championship and the 2004 Grand Prix. He made a 147 at the 2000 Welsh Open qualifiers. He beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final to earn his only professional title, the PTC event 4 in 2010. Before turning pro, he had won the prestigious English Amateur Championship – he oldest and longest-lasting snooker tournament in the world having been established back in 1916, 11 years before the World Snooker Championship – in 1988. But above all, Barry loves the game with a passion. Since losing his tour card, he’s been playing in countless pro-ams and amateur events, with his son Luke, and in the Challenge Tour; he won the Challenge Tour Event 3, this very season. And of course he won in Leeds last week-end! Don’t underestimate him!
Don’t miss it! It will be a great event in the most famous snooker venue of all, the Crucible.
And make it even better: treat yourself to a VIP seat and meet the players.
Scott Raper 2-3 Steve Whalley Dean Venables 3-1 Michael Wrigley
Nikolas Neal 2-3 John H. Hunter Andrew Diacopoulos 3-0 Andrew Darken Ali Anwar 3-0 Anthony Bonnar Stephen Campbell 3-0 Nish Joshi
Andy Papaiacovou 1-3 Andrew Greaves
———————————-
Matt Couch 3-0 Sean Halligan Mark Ball 3-2 Jon Ingi Aegisson Neal Jones 3-0 Ray Small Steve Bird 3-0 Pat Patel
Neil Herd NS – Darren Shaw W/O Lewis Walsh 3-1 George Apperley
Karl Townsend 1-3 James Richardson
Last 64:
Jonathan Bagley (114) 3-0 Steve Whalley
Robert Marshall 0-3 Shaun Wilkes
Dean Venables 1-3 Garoid O’Connor
John H. Hunter 2-3 Steve Evans
Gary Filtness v Marcus Lord W/O Les Dodd 3-0 Philip Blakburn
Andrew Diacopoulos 0-3 Leo Fernandez David Lilley 3-0 Gary Coulson Barry Pinches 3-0 Ali Anwar Asgeir Gudbjartsson 3-2 Tony Corrigan
Stephen Campbell 2-3 Sean Lanigan
Palmi Eirmarsson 0-3 Sanjay Meghani
Dean Sycamore 1-3 Neil Caroll Wayne Cooper 3-1 Surrinder Gill Andrew Greaves 3-1 Simon Dent
Lee Ricardson 0-3 Muhammad Aurangzaib
———————————-
Patrick Wallace 2-3 Matt Couch
Chris Hart 0-3 Jon Charlton Mark Ball 3-1 Mark White
Brian Morgan NS Neal Jones W/O Aaron Canavan 3-0 Karl Walker
Tony Knowles 0-3 Neil Craycraft Steve Bird 3-0 Alex Ferguson Rodney Goggins 3-1 Anthony Massey
Stuart Watson 1-3 John Whitty Gary Skipworth 3-0 Jason Lawrence
Darren Shaw 2-3 Richard Emery Lewis Walsh 3-2 Andrew Milliard Johnny Stevens 3-1 Bradley Fish Lee S. Martin 3-0 Dean Reynolds
James Richardson 2-3 Simon Bedford Michael Judge 3-0 Andrew Pennington
Last 32:
Jonathan Bagley 1-3 Shaun Wilkes Garoid O’Connor 3-0 Steve Evans
Marcus Lord 1-3 Les Dodd
Leo Frenandez 0-3 David Lilley Barry Pinches 3-0 Asgeir Gudbjartsson
Sean Lanigan 1-3 Sangay Meghani
Neil Caroll 0-3 Wayne Cooper
Andrew Greave 0-3 Muhammad Aurangzaib
———————————-
Matt Couch 3-0 Jon Charlton
Marl Ball 0-3 Neal Jones Aaron Canavan 3-1 Neil Craycraft
Steve Bird 0-3 Rodney Goggins John Whitty 3-0 Gary Skipworth
Richard Emery 1-3 Lewis Walsh
Johnny Stevens 1-3 Lee S. Martin Simon Bedford 3-1 Michael Judge
Last 16:
Shaun Wilkes 1-3 Garoid O’Connor
Les Dodd 0-3 David Lilley Barry Pinches 3-0 Sanjay Meghani Wayne Cooper 3-2 Muhammad Aurangzaib
———————————-
Matt Couch 3-2 Neal Jones Aaron Canavan 3-2 Rodney Goggins John Whitty 3-0 Lewis Walsh Lee S. Martin 3-1 Simon Bedford
QF
Garoid O’Connor 3-1 David Lilley Barry Pinches 3-2 Wayne Cooper
———————————-
Matt Couch 0-3 Aaron Canavan
John Whitty 2-3 Lee S. Martin
SF
Garoid O’Connor 1-3 Barry Pinches
Aaron Canavan 3-0 Lee S. Martin
The Final
Barry Pinches 3-1 Aaron Canavan
Congratulations to Barry Pinches! See you at the Crucible in April!
With the WSS World Championship delayed into the summer, you may have wondered if there would be an invitation for a WSS player at the Main Tour World Championship Qualifiers next month, and who might get it. Here is the answer, as posted by Jason Francis on social media.
We are today delighted to announce that the WPBSA has granted an invitation to this year’s Betfred World Championship in Sheffield for the player who is ranked number 1 on the ROKiT World seniors ranking list following the conclusion of this weekend’s qualifying event in Leeds.
The invitation looks to be a straight fight between Jonathan Bagley from Leeds and Patrick Wallace from Dungannon in Northern Ireland. Both have held the number 1 spot this season.
Taking into account ranking points to be removed at this event, Bagley heads to Leeds with a three-point lead and with their current seeding meaning that they can’t meet until the final this weekend, it’s likely the race will be decided on how they perform against the other players.
Today, Aaron Canavan, the reigning WSS World Champion shared this on Facebook:
So early this morning I was asked to do an interview for local Jersey Media, it went as they usually do apart from the last question which was…..
“The format in the Rockit 6 reds world seniors snooker championship was £20,000 winner takes all. Don’t you feel a little aggrieved to walk away with nothing?”
My reply was this, which I wanted to share with everyone.
“12 months ago I was a snooker player who played in his local club three times a week, I’m now current world seniors snooker champion and on Sunday night I walked out in front of a huge area of people and played my snooker hero, Jimmy white, in a major final, live on television. I also played a former world champion Ken Doherty and the absolute legend Tony Drago and won that day. There are millions of amateur snooker players all over the world and you can bet your last fiver that every single one of them wanted to be in my shoes on Sunday night ….. The motto of the snooker legends tour is #daretodream, I have another for myself. #livingthedream so my answer is no, I don’t feel aggrieved in the slightest, all my childhood dreams came true and I got everything I ever wanted as a snooker player on Sunday night. Now I want to do it again”
Jimmy White defeated Aaron Canavan, the reigning WSS World Champion, by 4-2 in the final and received the Dennis Taylor trophy, presented by the man himself.
Jimmy White has defeated Jersey’s Aaron Canavan 4-2 to win the inaugural ROKiT 6-Red World Seniors Championship and bank the £20,000 winner-takes-all first prize following a dramatic evening at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
Victory for ‘The Whirlwind’ represents back-to-back successes on the World Seniors Snooker circuit following his triumph at the Seniors Irish Masters in January. Overall it is his fourth title at this level with the 2010 World Seniors Championship and 2017 UK Seniors Championship also on his CV.
56-year-old White opened the one-day tournament with a 4-1 win against dangerous qualifier Jonathan Bagley. Returning for the evening session he then eliminated career-long adversary Stephen Hendry by the same scoreline in the semi-finals, fashioning a 70 break in the process. A few hours previously seven-times world champion Hendry had ousted Joe Johnson, 4-3.
White’s opponent in the final was Jersey based Aaron Canavan, the reigning world seniors champion. Canavan’s bid for a second world title inside the space of twelve months began positively as he dispatched the returning Tony Drago, 4-1. In the last four he faced pre-tournament favourite Ken Doherty, who had earlier recovered to see off Northern Irish wildcard Patrick Wallace, 4-2.
There was never more than a frame between the pair and the match duly went to a deciding frame. Doherty was poised to advance when he led by 27 points, but the Irishman missed a tricky red along the top cushion that would have left his counterpart needing snookers. In an exciting finish, Canavan took advantage of the error and coolly cleared with a break of 30 to book his berth in the championship match.
The final was a nervy affair as both players struggled to take control. White claimed the opener when he capitalised from an in-off by Canavan, eventually back-doubling the pink for the frame. However, Canavan got a foothold when he crafted a 46 break to square it, and after both players had made small contributions in frame three, it was the amateur’s turn to steal one on the pink.
Canavan then had a glorious chance in frame four to extend his lead and move one away from glory, but an unexpected miss on the brown allowed White to pounce and level it at 2-2.
Whilst there would be plenty more drama to come, Canavan’s failed conversion felt like a momentum shifter. Aided by several impressive single-ball pots, it was White who came through a post-midnight climax as a 4-2 victor and later lifted the Dennis Taylor Trophy.
2019 ROKiT 6-Red World Seniors Championship – Results
Quarter-finals
Jimmy White (England) 4-1 Jonathan Bagley (England)
Stephen Hendry (Scotland) 4-3 Joe Johnson (England)
Ken Doherty (Republic of Ireland) 4-2 Patrick Wallace (Northern Ireland)
Aaron Canavan (Jersey) 4-1 Tony Drago (Malta)
Semi-finals
White 4-1 Hendry
Canavan 4-3 Doherty
Final
White 4-2 Canavan
Jimmy was really happy after his win. This is what he said:
I can’t explain how great it feels to win this in Belfast. Fair play to Aaron Canavan who showed the opportunity is there for any player over 40. He has a brown for 3-1 and if he’d have made it he’d have probably won.
Tony Drago, who has been very ill this time of the year, last year, didn’t win but everyone was absolutely thrilled and happy to have him back healthy and playing.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 