The first “900” Senior event concluded yesterday, with Stephen Hendry once again beating Jimmy White in the final. It was the first ever snooker event on Channel 5 and it was a huge success.
It also generated a record level of interest on this blog.
Thank You!
I have got questions about how to get tickets for the next similar event. I can’t answer that as this was a first and nothing had been planned yet for the future. Given the huge success I’m expecting a sequel obviously …
If you want to be kept in the loop, you can sign up for the seniors snooker mailing list by emailing info@seniorssnooker.com
Stephen Hendry ousted Jimmy White in a thrilling final in front of the live television cameras to win the inaugural World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker title.
Held at the famous Epsom Racecourse, this unique, one-day World Seniors Snooker Tour event featured six of the sport’s most iconic characters competing in single-frame matches with a 20-second shot-clock in operation throughout.
Split into two round robin groups of three players with the top two from each progressing to the knockout semi-finals, Hendry and White both qualified from Group A earlier in the day.
The duo initially met in the second match of the tournament with Hendry coming out on top with the help of a 55 break after White had broken down on 46.
Hendry also came from behind to defeat 1985 World Champion Dennis Taylor in his other group match, registering a run of 56 during the tie. That result set up a winner-goes-through contest between White and Taylor which the former won without conceding a point.
There was a grandstand finish to Group B as all three contestants finished level on one victory each.
In a meeting of former world champions to break the tournament off, Ken Doherty countered with a decisive 60 break to get the win against Joe Johnson.
Former world number two Tony Knowles entered the fray and impressed as he dispatched Doherty, but in the final fixture of the group, Johnson responded from his opening loss to pip Knowles in a close encounter and put everyone level on wins. However, due to the highest break tiebreak rule, it was Doherty and Johnson who both advanced to the last four.
In the semi-finals – pitching group winners against runners-up from the other group – Hendry eliminated Johnson, and White constructed a break of 59 during his frame success against Doherty.
That meant a new chapter to the Hendry-White career rivalry would be written as they squared off in yet another televised final.
Hendry potted the opening red of the title match but was unfortunate to go in-off after deliberately colliding with the pack of reds. However, after receiving cueball in hand for his opponent’s foul, White unexpectedly missed a black off its spot when on a break of 17 to present Hendry with a scoring opportunity.
The seven-time World Champion duly obliged, although whilst on a run of 62, he too missed a relatively straightforward pot, with the winning line very close.
White had a chance to counter-attack with the final three reds remaining, but – despite knocking in a fantastic long pot on the final red – he was unable to convert, and after some subsequent dramatic moments Hendry managed to secure victory on the colours and claim his maiden title on the World Seniors circuit.
The coverage by Channel 5, the commentary, and the punditry were all great. Neal Foulds, Reanne Evans and Rachel work really well together as a team. Rob Walker was there too, working both as MC and interviewer. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really like his enthusiasm and dynamism.
The set-up, with the fans sat around tables on all sides of the playing area, looked festive and convivial. That was excellent. There were some known faces in the audience, notably Nigel Bond who was interviewed by Rob and was very appreciative about the event.
Stephen Hendry played quite well. It’s actually the best I have seen him play for years.
Those images were shared on social media by World Seniors Snooker and Jason Francis
During his post-match interview in the arena, Stephen Hendry said a few interesting things:
He really likes the format and the atmosphere of the event, notably the setup and the close proximity of the crowd. That gave him the motivation to prepare well, a motivation he struggles to find when facing the prospect of playing qualifiers in soulless venues in front of nobody or nearly nobody.
He likes the quick format as well. No surprise there … his game is, and always was, about attacking and going for his shots.
Jimmy once again failed to beat his Nemesis. He could have won today, probably should have won. It’s hard to explain. Some of the shots he took, and missed, during the final … I thought he wouldn’t have taken them, missed them in the previous rounds, or in the final had he faced someone else. But maybe that’s just me reading too much in some of the missed shots?
It all starts at noon in the UK, 1pm CET and 2pm in Eastern Europe.
It’s streamed on Channel 5. If you are outside the UK you will need a VPN … It’s a shame really and that’s no criticism aimed at Jason who works very hard at promoting the Seniors event and he really tried to get a broadcaster who would be available worldwide but it’s far from easy.
Inspired by the success of “The 900”, World Seniors Mr Vegas is the first Seniors event of this season and a holiday treat. It’s coming on your screens on 29 December 2023.
World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker: Preview, Rules, Format, Draw, Schedule and How to Watch
An exciting new addition to the World Seniors Snooker Tour, the inaugural Mr Vegas Snooker event takes place across an action-packed super session on Friday 29th December and is televised live on Channel 5.
Held at the famous Epsom Racecourse – home to the prestigious Derby Festival – six snooker icons will perform throughout the one-day spectacular in an innovative format consisting of 15-minute, one-frame matches under shot-clock conditions.
Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Dennis Taylor, Ken Doherty, Tony Knowles and Joe Johnson are all set to compete in the one-day spectacular.
Mr Vegas Snooker: Playing Rules
All matches throughout the tournament are just a single frame, although each of these frames has a time limit of just 15 minutes. Should the frame not be complete at the end of the allocated 15 minutes, whoever is leading the frame claims the win.
Played with a spotted cueball, cueists have just 20 seconds per shot and there are no extensions or time-outs (unless at the discretion of the referee).
For every shot played, either a ball must be potted, or a cushion must be struck with the cueball or an object ball.
All fouls result in cueball in hand for the opponent.
At the end of the 15 minutes, should the players be tied on points, a blue-ball shoot-out will be used to determine the winner.
A very different mentality to that of traditional matchplay snooker, competitors will need to think and act fast on the Mr Vegas Snooker stage.
Mr Vegas Snooker: Tournament Format
The six competitors have been drawn into two round robin groups of three.
In each group, the players will face each other once.
The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout semi-finals which will commence following the completion of the groups stage.
The winner of Group A will play the runner-up of Group B, the winner of Group B will play the runner-up of Group A. The two winning semi-finalists will then meet in the final.
Should all players be level on one win each following the completion of the group, the player who compiled the highest break in that respective group will finish top of the group. The player who made the second highest break of the group will qualify as the runner-up.
Mr Vegas Snooker: Draw and Schedule
Group A
Jimmy White
Stephen Hendry
Dennis Taylor
Group B
Ken Doherty
Tony Knowles
Joe Johnson
The 2023 World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker begins at 12 noon (GMT) on Friday 29th December. The order of play is below:
Mr Vegas Snooker: How to Watch
The 2023 World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker is live and exclusive on Channel 5. Please visit the Channel 5 website here for more information on how to access their platforms.
Unfortunately, the link at the end of the article is only accessible if you are in the UK 😞
In an all-Brazilian final on home soil, Igor Figueiredo defeated Zico 5-0 to win the 2023 Pan American Seniors Snooker Championship held at the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club.
Victory for the 46-year-old secures qualification for the 2024 LLP Solicitors World Seniors Snooker Championship which is set to take place at the Crucible Theatre in May. It would represent Figueiredo’s second appearance in the tournament there having reached the semi-finals in 2021.
Organised by the Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association (PABSA) – a continental federation serving players from across North, Central and South America – a total of 40 players were divided into eight round robin groups of five with the top two from each advancing to the knockout rounds.
Former professional Figueiredo finished top of Group 8 after winning all his games 2-0 before defeating Maciel (Brazil) 3-0 and Fabinho (Brazil) 3-1 in the last 16 and quarter-finals, respectively.
Returning for Finals Day, Figueiredo constructed breaks of 71, 63 and 85 as he eliminated fellow countryman Tuzinho 4-0 in the last four.
Emerging from the other side of the draw was Zico who relinquished just one frame on his way to the semi-finals where he ousted Jason Williams (Canada) 4-3 on the final pink in the deciding frame. In frame three, Zico made a break of 72.
However, Figueiredo proved to be too strong in the final as he registered runs of 58, 72, 62, 54 and 50 en route to the title.
Attention in Rio now turns to the full Pan American Snooker Championship which runs from Thursday to Sunday where the winner will earn a two-year professional World Snooker Tour card.
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) has today announced the first staging of the Mr Vegas Snooker 900 which will run this December at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
To be held on Friday 29 December, the all-new showcase event will be broadcast live and exclusive within the UK on Channel 5 and feature icons of the game including former world champions Stephen Hendry, Dennis Taylor, Ken Doherty and Joe Johnson, as well as current World Seniors champion Jimmy White and Tony Knowles.
The day will provide fans with the chance to send a day in the company of the players and will feature a meal after play, accompanied by a trick shot cabaret from John Virgo and comedy from 1985 world champion Taylor.
VIP ticket holders will get to meet all of the players before the action gets underway at a champagne reception overlooking the finish line of the racecourse and their table with be hosted by one of the stars with a signed gift included. A sporting auction will be run with all proceeds going to official WSS partner, The Care Workers Charity.
The tournament itself will see six players split into two groups with a round robin format to be played over fast 15 minute frames. The top two from each group will progress to the knockout stages with the semi-finals and final.
The perfect Christmas outing, or a great stocking filler. Either way a trip to the Seniors is guaranteed to provide plenty of laughter off the table and drama on it.
Individual tickets start from £75 per person, while the event is perfect for any company Christmas parties, corporates or snooker fans with VIP tables of ten being sold at £147 per person.
The “900 rules” are very similar to the Shoot-out rules. The frame is limited to 15 minutes (900 seconds). There is a shot-clock. Unless a ball is potted, at least one cushion must be hit, be it by the cueball or another ball. Any foul results in ball in hand for the opponent. The player who is in front after 15 minutes wins. In case of “equality”, the situation is resolved by a blue ball shoot-out.
I expect the shot-clock time be a bit longer than the one used in the Shoot Out given this is a seniors event…
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce the agreement of a new multi-year agreement with World Snooker Tour (WST) which will underpin the continued growth of the WSS Tour.
The new deal will see up to five events staged year around the world by WSS, which will continue to be governed by snooker’s world governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
During the current 2023/24 season, events will be open to all amateur players aged 40 or over, as well as professionals who are 45 or over as of 1 June 2024 and ranked outside of the top 64 at the start of this season. From next season, all players must be aged 45 or older.
The first event under the new agreement is planned to take place in December 2023 and will be broadcast on mainstream television.
Jason Francis, World Seniors Snooker Chairman said: “Following today’s announcement I am pleased to be able to continue our important work alongside the WPBSA which has seen us provide vital opportunities for older players to be able to extend their snooker careers.
“I would like to thank both organisations for their cooperation and support and look forward to the announcement of a number of exciting events soon.”
Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “As a members association the WPBSA sees the organisation of a successful World Seniors Tour as a fundamental element of our events structure.
“We have seen in recent years with performances by greats including Jimmy White and Ken Doherty, as well as seasoned professionals such as David Lilley, Lee Walker and Peter Lines, that these players still have a great deal to offer our sport as they reach the end of their WST careers.
“It has also been pleasing to see the growth of seniors snooker around the world, which has seen many continental champions earn their place at World Seniors already in recent years and this will continue to play a major role in our strategy moving forwards.”
Further announcements about upcoming events will follow shortly at seniorssnooker.com
This was shared yesterday and it really made my day!
I can now share this… the reason why there was no event planned/announced in the recent months was that the agreement between the snooker governing body and the chair of the Seniors snooker, allowing pros over 45 to compete on the seniors tour had expired and a new agreement needed to be negotiated. It wasn’t straightforward but here it is!
Without such agreement, players like Jimmy White, Ken Doherty or Stephen Hendry would not be allowed to compete on the Seniors tour, and without recognisable household names and Legends, marketing the Seniors events was an extremely difficult task.
Now the Seniors can go forward and grow. Happy days!
Andrew Norman won the first qualifying event of the season, the LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship Qualifying 1. He will play at the Crucible in May next year.
In the Final Andrew beat Ben Hancorn in a deciding frame. This was a difficult mat for both of them, as they are brothers in law, Ben’s sister being Andrew’s wife.
Here is what Andrew had to say on social media this after the match:
What a thrilling weekend winning the World Seniors Snooker LLP Solicitors World Championship Qualifier 1 Event.
Big shout out to my Bro-in-law Ben Hancorn. To play him in the final in prob the most intense occasion we’ve ever played together added with such a reward for the winner to get an invite to the crucible .. the pressure was unreal and it was such a close game.. we even had our wives and sons there this weekend cheering us on making it a real family occasion if stressful for them to watch!
it was always going to get nervy and I just fell over the line in the last few balls. Ben will be back.
Thank you to all the many many messages of congratulations, I will get back to as many as I can tomorrow as brain frazzled at mo!
Once again the efforts from Jason Francis, TD Paul and all the Refs & everyone at Crucible Sports & Social Club Reading make the Senior Tour a real asset and community for the players.
And he added a few pictures …
Congratulations Andrew!
There was also a Super Seniors event, played at the same venue yesterday. It was won by Asley Beal.
Congratulations Ashley!
This is Ashley, winner of the English Seniors Snooker Championship in 2021
The event started yesterday, with Philip Williams, Stuart Watson, Aaron Canavan and Ben Hancorn reaching the quarter-finals. The final rounds – QFs, SFs and Final – will be played tomorrow.
Some images shared on social media …
Unfortunately, the event isn’t streamed because WST didn’t give their permission to do it, probably because the Shanghai Masters is underway at the same time. But frankly, I can’t understand it. I can’t see those two events as “conflicting”.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 