Dominic Dale returned to the Crucible at 52 years old last season (Picture: Getty Images)
Dominic Dale will bring his snooker career to a close at the end of the season, saying there is no way he will change his mind due to mounting injuries and a desire to focus on commentary.
The Spaceman turned professional in 1992 and has been on the main tour ever since, climbing as high as 19 in the world rankings and winning two ranking titles.
The flamboyant 52-year-old has been a much-loved fixture of the snooker circuit for over three decades, but he will step away from the pro game at the end of this campaign, a decision he announced at the recent Xi’an Grand Prix.
The Welshman has enjoyed a significant upturn in form over the last year, reaching two quarter-finals and returning to the Crucible for the first time in 10 years, before continuing that impressive streak in Xi’an.
He was then beaten by Daniel Wells who was on his way to the semis, but it was after the brilliant win over Murphy that Dale said he plans to hang up the cue at the end of the season.
Far from a spur of the moment decision, he has confirmed that, despite his good recent form, this will certainly be his last campaign as a pro.
‘I will retire at the end of the season. It doesn’t matter if I win five ranking events, I’ll still retire,’ Dale told Metro.
Dale has been a consistent campaigner for over 30 years (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I can’t do three days of practice now without getting stresses and strains in my joints. Particularly my fingers. I feel stiffness in my fingers after practice, I go to bed and there’s a tingling and it’s painful. I wake up and it’s swollen and it hurts, I can’t make a fist properly. If it’s in the wrong finger I can’t practice properly.
‘I’ve also had problems with tennis elbow in the last few years, which I’ve never had before. My left shoulder, I get a sharp pain there sometimes.
‘I don’t enjoy practicing, I haven’t done for probably seven or eight years, if I’m honest. I have different priorities. I enjoy the commentary work.
‘It is two-fold and they’re fairly equal, but it’s the aches and pains and that I want to do more commentary, I really enjoy that, I’d love to do that as full-time as possible. Those two things combined have made the decision irreversible really, I will retire at the end of the season, I’m not going to change my mind.’
Dale sounds extremely comfortable with his decision to call it a day, partly because he came very close to retiring in 2022, narrowly staying on tour and then being motivated by the WPBSA’s minimum guarantee of £20,000 for the season.
The veteran says there is a mental strain to being on tour for so long which is also getting to him now and he looks forward to playing away from the pro ranks which won’t take such a toll.
‘I nearly retired a few years ago but the governing body introduced the scheme of guaranteeing everyone £20,000,’ he explained. ‘I thought I could practice half an hour a day, lose most matches and still make a profit!
‘I’ll not play in every tournament for the rest of the season. I probably will play the Shoot Out, but if I could be a pundit and not play then that would be a close decision. I hate the Shoot Out, the pressure is immense. I’ve been to the semi and quarter the last two years and I don’t know how, the pressure is terrible, I’ve had enough of it.
‘I’m 52 years old now and I’ve had enough of the pressure. When are you going to let go and live a normal life? Not have an opponent who’s trying to take money out of your back pocket. That’s not good for the mind. Mental health does come into it.
Dale is still ranked #36 in the world (Picture: Getty Images)
‘I will go on the Seniors tour. I’ll love that. Giving something back to the game, having fun with the audience. I won’t be practicing three hours a day, pint of blood every shot, I’ll play it as it should be played, in good spirit and have fun. So those are my plans.’
Dale’s achievements on the baize include winning the 1997 Grand Prix and the 2007 Shanghai Masters, reaching two World Championship quarter-finals and claiming the Shoot Out title back in 2014, despite his hatred for the event.
He looks back on his career with pride, having felt privileged to play the sport he loves against the best in the world for over three decades.
‘I could look at some players who haven’t won a ranking event while I’ve won two and these are players that are just better players than me,’ he said. ‘They’ve done more on the practice table than I have, but I’ve won a couple of ranking events and a few other tournaments as well.
Dale beat the likes of Ken Doherty, Mark Selby and Ryan Day to win the Shanghai Masters (Picture: Eurosport)
‘And I’ve left my mark on the game, I think. The game that I love and set out to do as well as I could at. When I was 20 I left the police force to turn pro and was promised that if things didn’t work out in two or three years I could go back there. 32 years later I’m still playing the game.
‘I’ve played everybody in the game, all the biggest names. It’s been a privilege to play them and to know them. I’m delighted to have left my mark in different decades. Looking back at the history of the sport I’ve dedicated my life to and knowing I’ve won some major tournaments, it certainly means a lot and makes it worthwhile.
‘One of my favourite singers Roy Orbison had a great quote, somebody asked him how he’d like to be remembered and he replied: “I’d just like to be remembered.” I think I will be, with my character, my flamboyance, not so much on the table, but my personality.
‘It’s been fantastic over 32 years, but it has been a lot of dedication, it does alter your personality, you have to become single-minded and to have that killer instinct for so long in life isn’t natural. I don’t like that side of it, but it’s something you have to have.’
Dale would love to wrap up his career with another trip to the Crucible, although his love of all levels of the game shines through when he mentions that a return to the Invitational Championship League would be a highlight of his final season.
‘That [the Crucible] would be wonderful, if I could qualify. I’ll do my best,’ he said. ‘I just want to do as well as I can. It’ll be nice to play in the invitational part of the Championship League because I’ve not played in that for a long time.
Dale made his Crucible debut in 1997, beating Tony Drago in round one (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Just steady performances, win my first round and see what happens. There’s no ranking pressure on me now, but when you’ve been a pro for 30-odd years it’s hard to change your mindset and not feel that pressure so I probably will. I’ll just see what happens really.’
As for what’s immediately next for Dale, it won’t be the Saudi Arabia Masters which starts on Friday in Riyadh as he is not in the draw.
The new event carries guaranteed money of £2,000 even for first round losers and a top prize of £500,000 so it seems an odd one to miss, but the Spaceman has gone off flying so much he didn’t fancy it.
‘I’ve not really made a decision on all the tournaments this season but there’s one or two I’ll not enter,’ he said. ‘The rankings aren’t going to come into it anymore.
‘The older I got the less I like flying, I get quite anxious now. I’ve never had a bad flight, never even had bad turbulence and I’ve just started to think that something’s going to happen at some point! It’ll be baking hot in Saudi Arabia, I knew it’s straight after Xi’an, where I did want to go. I didn’t want to come home and go straight there, I’m just a bit too old for that really.
‘There might be one or two other tournaments I won’t bother playing in, just to stay fresh for the UK and the Worlds.
‘I hated flying back from Xi’an, 12-and-a-half hours, I can never sleep. I watched all three Equaliser films, followed closely by Pride and Prejudice.’
Dominic would be a great addition to the Seniors Tour. He still can play at a very high standard and his flamboyant, extravert nature surely will attract fans … although some may object to him singing 😂
South Africa’s Charl Jonck defeated fellow countryman Mutalieb Allie 4-2 in the final of the 2024 African Seniors Championship in Johannesburg.
Jonck was in stunning form during the event, dropping just three frames and compiling the high break of 128 as he earned the title and a place at the Crucible Theatre for next May’s World Seniors Championship.
Organised by the African Billiards & Snooker Confederation (ABSC), the African Seniors Championship is staged as part of the All-African Snooker Championships with the winner of the main singles competition receiving a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
A total of 28 cueists from four nations competed in the Seniors event with an initial group stage narrowing the field down to a final 16 in the knockout phase.
Eventual champion Jonck was in fine form throughout the competition and dominated his group with a clean sweep of 3-0 victories and a stunning tournament high break of 128.
A break of 72 helped Jonck to defeat Latchman Moodley 3-0 in the first knockout round before a further whitewash victory over Mervyn Donnely secured his place in the last four.
Morocco’s Naitali Mourad became the first player to take a frame off the dominant Jonck, but the South African once again proved too strong as he ran out a 4-1 winner to set up a final with fellow countryman Allie.
Allie, who had dropped just a single frame en route to the title match, gave Jonck his toughest test in a high quality affair which saw the two players split four half-century breaks between them.
However, a top break of 92 saw Jonck secure the African Seniors Championship crown and an invitation to compete in the World Seniors Championship as he ran out a 4-2 winner.
Alfie Burden defeated Wayne Townsend 4-3 in the final of the first World Seniors Snooker (WSS) event of the brand new Race to the Crucible series at the Crucible Club in Reading.
Burden, who finished as runner-up to Jimmy White in the 2023 World Seniors Snooker Championship, came through a strong field in Reading to secure the maiden title of the series and make a perfect start to the campaign.
The Race to the Crucible series sees nine events held across the season with the top two ranked players at the conclusion of the final event earning places at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, while those who finish between third and tenth will qualify for the ‘Top 16 Shootout’ – where a further place in Sheffield will be on offer.
A total of 54 cueists from five nations headed to Berkshire for the three-day tournament which included former World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan and the 2023 runner-up Burden.
Breaks of 55 and 108 saw Burden make a strong start as he whitewashed Gary Widdecombe in the opening round. Further victories over Wayne Gibbins, Andy Lavin and Philip Williams then earned the current World Snooker Tour (WST) professional a place in the last four where he would face Dharminder Lilly.
After taking a scrappy opener, Burden burst into life with two half-centuries to move one away from the final before a stunning tournament high break of 127 secured the 47-year-old’s place in the title match in style.
Burden would face Townsend in the final after the 44-year-old had gone on an impressive run which included victories over former English Seniors champion Lee Stephens and 2018 World Seniors champion Canavan along the way.
A break of 56 from Burden saw him take an early lead in the best-of-seven frame contest but Townsend quickly hit back to restore parity.
The high-scoring Burden made five of the six century breaks compiled over the weekend and he found two of these in back-to-back frames of the final as he followed an outstanding 123 with a further contribution of 112 to move 3-1 ahead.
Townsend refused to go down without a fight and battled back to force a decider with an 86 in frame six, but Burden was able to get over the line in the next with help from a break of 55 to secure the title in the first event of the series.
John Hunter came through a field of 21 players to secure the first Super Seniors title of the season.
The event is open to all cueists over the age of 55 and was held on Sunday alongside the main Race to the Crucible series event.
The field included former UK champion Patsy Fagan, who reached the quarter-finals stage before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Andy Booker – who subsequently lost to Hunter by the same scoreline in the semi-finals as the 58-year-old secured his place in the title match.
There he faced Mukesh Parmar, after he had defeated David Brock in the semi-finals.
Hunter looked dominant in the opener of the final, taking the frame by a 70-8 scoreline, before taking the second by just six points to secure the title in Reading.
A total of 54 cueists from five nations will compete in the three-day event which is the first of nine that will be staged. The new series offers qualification for the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre next May.
The top two ranked players at the conclusion of the series will earn places at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, while those who finish between third and tenth will qualify for the ‘Top 16 Shootout’ – where a further place in Sheffield will be on offer.
Among those in the line-up this weekend include 2023 World Seniors Snooker Championship runner-up Alfie Burden and top seed Stuart Watson, who reached the quarter-finals at this year’s event.
Personally I think this qualifying system is better than the previous ones. It’s a shame through that there isn’t a single player in the draw from mainland Europe, or Asia, never-mind from Oceania or the Americas. We had a few before covid, and before Brexit. In fact there is no Scottish player in the draw either …
Just as it happened at the 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championship in Sheffield, World Seniors Snooker will work with Age UK and offer “seniors” persons from Hull to get out of the house, meet other persons ad enjoy some some great snooker.
This initiative was well appreciated by all in Sheffield and I’m certain that it will be no different in Hull.
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is pleased to announce a partnership with Age UK Hull which will see a Seniors of Hull Day held during the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event at the Connexin Live on Sunday 8 September.
People from the aging population of Hull, who are often vulnerable and living in isolation, will be invited to the event to meet each other and some of the snooker legends before watching the action unfold on the baize. The day follows on from a similar initiative held during the World Seniors Snooker Championship in support of Age UK Sheffield.
Rohit Sagoo, WSS Director, said: “There are well over one million chronically lonely older people in the UK and half a million older people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all. We are delighted to continue the work we started in Sheffield with this event in Hull.”
Andy Haynes, CEO of Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire, said: “Many of the older people that we support often only come out of their homes and meet others because of the services or activities we put on.
“The Seniors of Hull Day along with the attraction of the starts that will be there will give people a reason to come out. Our team will also be in attendance to offer advice and support” he said.
To find out more about Age UK Hull and the support they offer, click here.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 