And so it begins… the first session of this year “Seniors Crucible” was played this afternoon. We are only at the last 16 stage but every match is important of course. These are short matches – best of 5 – and there is a 30 seconds shot clock. 30 seconds is plenty of time and shouldn’t be a problem for anyone. The idea is to prevent players to get bogged down.
Before the start of the event, I took a walk around the venue. Outside and inside…
In the second match of the afternoon Ken Doherty faced Tyson Crinis from Australia. Ken beat him by 3-1. The scores are on snookerscores.net and, as you can see the match was actually a really close affair. All credits to Tyson there because this certainly was a totally unfamiliar environment and the time difference was bound to take its toll on him too. Before the match started, Neil Robertson sent a video message in support of his compatriot which was quite nice to see. I do hope that Tyson enjoyed the experience, he certainly didn’t disgrace himself!
SENIORS OF SHEFFIELD DAY RETURNS TO THE CRUCIBLE THEATRE
World Seniors Snooker is delighted to announce the return of the Seniors of Sheffield Day which will take place during the World Seniors Snooker Championship on Friday 10 May.
In partnership with Age UK Sheffield, the day will bring 600 local residents from the aging population in the city to the Crucible Theatre to watch the event and meet some legends of the snooker world.
The number of over 50’s experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2025/6. This compares to around 1.4 million in 2016/7 – a 49% increase in 10 years and Age UK reported in 2016 that there are 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the UK.
Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker and creator of the initiative, said “According to our partners Age UK half a million older people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all. Loneliness, living alone and poor social connections is hugely detrimental to people’s health”
Rohit Sagoo, World Seniors Director said “It’s about getting those who are in the aging population in Sheffield out of their seats, out of their homes to come and watch some snooker at the Crucible.”
John Parrott, 1991 World Snooker Champion said “It’s a brilliant idea, everyone’s excited to see the snooker and meet some of the legends. It’s a wonderful initiative for the event and the city”
Lucy Sharp from Age UK Sheffield said “Last year was such an amazing success and we have been inundated with requests for tickets this year. Giving the people of Sheffield a day out to meet the stars, meet each other and see some snooker has been so well received”
The Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker Championship which will be played between 8-12 May and be shown live in the UK on Channel 5.
Because Mohamed Khairy couldn’t get the required visas, he will unfortunately not be able to take his place in the draw. He is replaced by the current Seniors number one, Stuart Watson.
Here is the revised order of play:
Ii has also been announced that Leo Scullion will be the referee for the final.
Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship 2024 | Schedule
World Seniors Snooker is pleased to confirm the schedule for the 2024 Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship.
The tournament sees a global field of 16 cueists head to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield aiming to secure the prestigious title at snooker’s most iconic venue. This year, for the first time, the Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship will be broadcast live on Channel 5 in the UK from 8-12 May.
First Round Schedule
Wednesday 8th May
12pm
James Wattana (Thailand) vs. Rodney Goggins (Ireland)
Ken Doherty (Ireland) vs. Tyson Crinis (Australia)
7pm
Tony Knowles (England) vs. Mohamed Khairy (Egypt)
Igor Figueiredo (Brazil) vs. Tessa Davidson (England)
Thursday 9th May
12pm
Tony Drago (Malta) vs. Michael Judge (Ireland)
Jimmy White (England) vs. Andrew Norman (England)
7pm
Joe Johnson (England) vs. Barry Pinches (England)
Darren Morgan (Wales) vs. Dechawat Poomjaeng (Thailand)
Jimmy White arrives in Sheffield looking to secure a record-extending fifth World Seniors crown and he will begin his campaign against Andrew Norman in the second match of the afternoon session on day two, following Malta’s Tony Drago against Michael Judge.
The honour of opening the event falls to qualifier Rodney Goggins and James Wattana, who is competing in the Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship for the first time since 2019, who will be followed by 1997 World champion Ken Doherty against Australia’s Tyson Crinis on the first afternoon.
Wednesday evening sees former World number two Tony Knowles begin his campaign against Egypt’s Mohamed Khairy before Igor Figueiredo and World Women’s Snooker Seniors champion Tessa Davidson face off in the final match of day one.
Former World champion Joe Johnson then headlines the second evening, taking on veteran former professional Barry Pinches, before Darren Morgan and Dechawat Poomjaeng conclude the opening round of action.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 May.
The 2024 Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship final will get underway at Sunday 12 May at 12 o’clock.
Tickets are now on sale from just £17.50 via the Crucible on 0114 2496000 or online at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
This is a truly, diverse, international line-up! Bring it on!
The four referees who will be officiating at the Crucible for the Mr Vegas 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championship have been announced. They are Michaela Tabb, Leo Scullion, Tatiana Woollaston and Mark Beale, who has been officiation at the 900 all season. Senior snooker is in safe hands!
It has also been announced that there will be a 30 seconds shot clock. Jason Francis has explained that this decision was taken to prevent players from getting bogged down and matches from dragging unnecessarily. Channel 5 will broadcast the event live in the UK – which is great – and they are a commercial channel. They need “time slots” for advertising and that of course adds to the duration of the matches. So it’s important that matches stay “fluent”.
Jason Francis shared this Press Release today (9 April 2024):
PRESS RELEASE
World Seniors Snooker are delighted to announce that MR VEGAS will headline their World Championship which will be played at the Crucible Theatre between 8-12th May and be shown live in the Uk on Channel 5.
A global field from 5 continents will make up this year’s field as players from as far as Australia and Brazil descend on the home of snooker to chase the coveted World Seniors Crown.
Defending Champion is Jimmy White, who will be searching for his 5th title but he will face stiff competition from 1997 World Champion, and recent Mr Vegas 900 Winner Ken Doherty as well as 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson.
From overseas we welcome Asian legend James Wattana, from Malta Tony Drago, as well as Pan American Seniors Champion Igor Figueiredo from Brazil and Tyson Crinis from Australia who holds the Asia Pacific Seniors Title.
Ireland is further represented for Uk Seniors Champion Michael Judge and former professional, and former Irish Seniors Finalist Rodney Goggins.
No one can forget how Dechawat Poomjeang lit up the crucible in 2013 and the former professional from Thailand take his first tilt at a Seniors Crown.
Also in the field is former world number 2 Tony Knowles, former ranking event winner Barry Pinches and current European Seniors Champion Darren Morgan from Wales. Africa is represented by way of their Seniors Champion Mohammed Khairy who hails from Egypt. Former professional Andrew Norman and the recent Women’s World Seniors Champion Tessa Davison make up the 16 who will contest a new £50,000 prize fund.
The winner will take home £20,000 and take a place in the Champion of Champions Event later this year.
Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors said “Its fantastic to welcome Mr Vegas as our title sponsor for the World Championship following our partnership with them on the two recent 900 events. We are also delighted to secure a major free to air broadcaster in Channel 5.
Ulle Skottling, deputy CEO of Videoslots, the UKGC-licensed online casino company running the Mr Vegas brand, said “We are pleased to continue our partnership with World Seniors Snooker. We like to bring a bit of Vegas in our sponsored events and we’re sure that the Snooker at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield will rock and roll.”
The fourth, and last, qualifying event for the 2024 Seniors Snooker World Championship was played over the week-end in Jersey. Rodney Goggins once again is “Crucible” bound…
Rodney Goggins secured his place at the Crucible Theatre in May by defeating Nigel Howe 4-0 in the final of the fourth LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship qualifier at the Jersey Mechanics Institute.
Goggins, a World Snooker Tour professional between 2004 and 2009, came through a field of 33 hopefuls which included 2018 World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan to book his place at snooker’s most iconic venue.
The 45-year-old got his weekend off to a strong start with back-to-back whitewash victories over Kieran O’Donovan and fellow Irishman Tony Corrigan.
In the quarter-finals he met Gary Filtness, who lifted the Super Seniors title in Jersey, and the Englishman twice moved ahead in the best-of-seven frame contest – including firing in an impressive 112 break in the third. Goggins ultimately proved too strong, however, and took the contest 4-2 to set up a last four meeting with Gary Britton.
Britton had already eliminated former champion Canavan at the last sixteen stage, and was looking to claim another scalp as he fought back from 2-0 down to level the contest after four frames.
Goggins was in fine form, however, having opened up the match with a stunning 128 break and eventually battled through a 4-2 victor to reach the title match.
There he met Howe, who had beaten John Leahy, David Brock, Simon Dent and Wayne Townsend to reach the final, but proved no match for Goggins as the experienced Irishman took the title with a comfortable 4-0 victory.
BACK-TO-BACK SUPER SENIORS GLORY FOR GARY FILTNESS
Gary Filtness followed up his recent Super Seniors victory in Ireland with further success in Jersey, as he defeated Simon Dent 2-0 in the final to claim the title.
Filtness, who lost out to eventual champion Rodney Goggins in the qualifying event, defeated former professional Andrew Norman 2-0 in his opening match of the Super Seniors and dropped just a single frame en route to the final as he later overcame Raymond Grall and Tony Corrigan.
His opponent in the title match was Dent, who had beaten John Leahy, John Hunter and Karl Townsend to reach the final.
Filtness proved too strong, however, as breaks of 58 and 72 secured the title for the 60-year-old.
Ken Doherty defeated Jimmy White 2-1 in the final of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 at Goffs to lift the title on home soil.
Doherty was overcome with emotion following the victory in front of his home crowd, which sees him become the second winner of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event following Stephen Hendry’s success in Epsom last December.
The 1997 world champion did not got off to the best of starts in this fast-paced event, losing his opening group stage encounter to fellow eventual finalist White, courtesy of a break of 47 from The Whirlwind.
White had already overcome Tony Knowles in his opening group game with a magnificent break of 96, meaning his place in the semi-finals was secured while Doherty and Knowles faced off in a ‘winner-takes-all’ final group contest.
Unfortunately for Knowles, who had been drafted in as a late replacement for Tony Drago, his trip to Ireland saw him fail to pot a single ball as Doherty fired in a break of 77 to book his place in the last four.
In the other group, Hendry and Fergal O’Brien had kicked off proceedings at Goffs with a hard-fought match that saw the Irishman run out the eventual winner on his debut in this format.
Both players would go on to defeat the 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, with Hendry compiling an impressive 88 break in the final group game, to ensure both Hendry and O’Brien reached the knockout stage.
The semi-final line-up was a mouthwatering prospect for the excitable Irish crowd.
First up, an all-Ireland meeting pitted O’Brien and Doherty against each other on home soil – with ‘The Darling of Dublin’ hitting top form at just the right time as he fired in a break of 101, the highest of the day, to secure a place in the the title match.
Old foes White and Hendry met in the second semi-final for another dramatic chapter in their epic rivalry.
The two both had chances to secure the frame, but as the contest approached the final few balls, the tension was clear everyone in the packed-out venue to see. Ultimately, it was White who held his nerve to clear from blue to the final black and set up a final meeting with Doherty.
The final, a repeat of the 2020 World Seniors Championship final at the Crucible Theatre, saw the two legends of the game face off in a best-of-3 frame contest under the unique Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 format.
White moved into the ascendancy with a break of 77, but Doherty hit back with a 71 of his own to ensure that the final would, suitably, be decided by a one-frame shootout.
In front of his home crowd and at a venue where he used to work as a boy, it was Doherty who got over the line to complete the victory and lift the title at the iconic Goffs venue.
World Seniors Snooker returns in May with the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for ticket details.
And some more images shared on social media during the event.
It was great entertainment as always although the players were giving it their all at the table. Neal, Rachel and Lee were at their best enthusiast self! The channel 5 coverage was good. There was a big crowd, very lively, as you would expect in this area and arena. Phil Seymour was the MC and excellent as ever.
Great job by Jason Francis and the WSS team! Thank you guys!
The event will start on Saturday at the iconic arena of Goffs. The arena is getting ready…
Also it has been announced that Tony Drago will be replaced in the draw by Tony Knowles
Tony can still play! He qualified into the later stages of the World Amateur Championships in Albania recently. Also, he’s already got a taste of the Mr Vegas format … he will be a contender.
Tyson Crinis – Wins the Asia-Pacific Seniors Championship.
Tyson Crinis is the latest to add their name to the entry list for the 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championships. Tyson hails from Wollongong which is South of Sydney along the Grand Pacific Drive, he recently moved to Canberra for work.
He defeated Hassan Kerde 4-1 in the final of the Asia-Pacific Seniors and locked in his spot for the Seniors Championship which will take place at the Crucible Theatre from the 8-12th May
On securing his spot he said…
“I grew up watching Stephen Hendry at the crucible on VHS tapes passed on from snooker enthusiasts and always dreamed of going even just to be a part of the crowd – now I could get to play him – its a dream come true“
Tyson started playing as a junior at just 12 which is when he first met Neil Robertson. They both played at the national championship.
He fondly recalls that The Thunder lost the semi and he lost the final, which was probably the first and last time I got one up on Neil.
Tyson joins names already confirmed which include Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, James Wattana, Joe Johnson, Tony Drago, Darren Morgan and Igor Figueredo
Tyson Crinis is 41 years old and has never been a professional.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 