Aaron Canavan , from Jersey, was crowned Assetereum Seniors World Champion 2018 last night in front of a huge crowd at the Baths Hall in Scunthorpe.

He defeated Cao Kaisheng in the semi finals, in a black ball shootout decider, and then beat Patrick Wallace, a former professional and Crucible quarter finalist, in the Final. That match went the distance as well, 4-3 was the Final score.

Earlier Patrick Wallace had beaten Jonathan Bagley by 3-2 (black ball shootout)

Congratulations Aaron!

Aaron takes home a healthy prize money (£10000 and 10000 Assetereum coins), the trophy and the title, AND, maybe more importantly, a fulfilled dream. In two weeks time (and a bit) he will be playing in the qualifying event for the main tour World Championship. Aaron has never played at professional level. He started playing snooker aged 7,  and his talent was there for all to see. However, family circumstances and bereavement, put a stop to a potential career in snooker. It’s only when he was 26 that Aaron returned to the green baize, playing in Jersey and the Channel Islands.

Good luck for the future Aaron, and, who knows? See you at the Crucible come April? Nothing is impossible!

All pictures of the Semi Finals and Final yesterday – click this link 

All quarter finals were played yesterday and we got to watch some very good matches in the Baths Hall. Here is what happened

Afternoon session

The first match of the day saw Cao Kaisheng beat Nick Spelman on a re-spotted black. The match couldn’t have been any closer. Nick got the better start, but Cao battled back and, at 2-2, there truly was nothing to separate the players. Black ball shootout it was, and it was Cao who came through.

The second match was one-sided with Jonathan Bagley controlling the game and outplaying an out of sorts Gary Filtness. Jonathan won by 3-0. Gary was extremely disappointed but this didn’t stop him to make time for the fans after his defeat. He made a disabled young man very happy by offering him one of his cues.

Evening session

Both evening matches finished on a 3-1 scoreline.

Aaron played really well in beating Johnny Farrell. Johnny never quit, and tried his best. From 2-0 down, he managed to get one back, but Aaron was too strong on the day.

Similarly, Patrick Wallace  dominated the last match of the day. Rhydian Richards fought valiantly but Patrick had too much for him last night. In the first frame,  Patrick set a new target for the tournament high break with an excellent 80. It was 10 reds with 10 blacks, but no maximum attempt as points had already been scored earlier in the frame.

Both matches were played a good pace and for once, players, referees, staff … and photographer got an not-too-late night!

As we enter Quarter Finals day, no Legend remains in the draw, it’s an all amateur field, and a strong one! Here is what happened yesterday…

Afternoon session:

Jonathan Bagley beat Stephen Hendry by 3-1. This result came as no surprise to me. Jonathan had taken Stephen to a black ball shootout in this very place last year. He reached the final in Goffs in January, beating Jimmy White and Ken Doherty in the process. Unless Stephen found some form and consistency he was always going to be up against it and to be honest Stephen was poor for most of this match. Only in frame 3, the one he won, did we get to see a bit of the Hendry of old.

Gary Filtness beat Barry Pinches by 3-2. This was a match loaded with emotions and one that pitched two great guys against each other. Gary came here as a lucky loser. Indeed despite being the n°1 Seniors amateur, he failed to qualify, having lost countless times on re-spotted blacks at the final stages of qualifiers. Barry unfortunately lost his father less than a week ago and he could have been excused if he had withdrawn, but he didn’t. Thos two love their snooker to bits. It was a hard-fought match, that ended in another black ball shootout. Gary won this one. Afterwards, the players embraced warmly. Gary was in tears. Barry, despite everything, told me that he had enjoyed the event immensely and was determined to come back for it next year. This was sporting spirit at its best. Thank you.

Evening session:

Nick Spelman beat Cliff Thorburn by 3-2 (re-spotted black) in a very hard-fought match. Not taking anything away from Nick, the one I’m in awe of is Cliff. Yes, he lost, but, boy, did he pot some great balls, played some great safeties. Cliff is 70, he clearly struggles badly to go down on the shots, some shots he can’t play properly because stretching over the table is a physical impossibility. The shot-clock isn’t helping him. But he battled and battled and it was plain to see to missing balls and eventually losing did hurt. Oh Cliff, you should be proud, you know.

Johnny Farrell beat Tony Knowles by 3-1. John was the better player out there. Most frames were close, but when it came to the last balls, to the crunch time, it was Johnny who kept his composure better, and potted more pressure balls.

So here is the Quater Finals line-up:

Jonathan Bagley v Gary Filtness
Patrick Wallace v Rhydian Richards
Cao Kashieng v Nick Spelman
Johnny Farrell v Aaron Canavan

All quarter finals are played today.

There were four matches played in two sessions yesterday.

Afternoon session

Cao Kaisheng looked very nervous at the start of his match against “The Shirt”, Lee Richardson. This is quite understandable as I’m told that Cao had never before left China, so everything here is new and alien to him and he also knew that he was watched by thousands  in China over the streaming. But he battled through, progressively seemed to settle and eventually took the match on a black ball shootout.

Rhydian Richards, the Wales n°1 amateur, had an easier route to the QF, as he defeated an out of sorts, but battling, Joe Johnson by 3-0.

Lee Richardson

Evening session

Both evening matches in the evening were quality.

Patrick Wallace, who lost in the first round last year, beat Simon Dent by 3-0. Patrick looked very nervous at the start and it was Simon who was first in with a telling break in frame 1. It wasn’t a winning break though and Patrick managed to nick the frame. It changed the whole psychology of the match.

Aaron Canavan supported by a solid group of fans who have made the trip from Jersey, looked the better player from the start … and had a bit of run too. Dennis Taylor wasn’t playing badly by any means, and the match was hard-fought and closer than the final score – 3-1 to Aaron – suggests.

As compared to last year, the quality of the snooker on display is seriously higher. It’s very obvious that all the players take this tournament, and the whole Seniors tour, very seriously and have worked hard on their preparation … Great to see!

You can watch the matches in streaming on the Snooker Legends Youtube channel.

Jason Francis on twitter shared this earlier today:

The shirt Lee Richardson will replace John Parrott at the Assetereum World Seniors Championship. John has asked to be replaced for personal reasons. Lee was the next highest ranked player and will play Cao Kashieng on wednesday #opportunity #theshirt #daretodream

Indeed John Parrot asked to be replaced, for personal reasons

The WSF Seniors Championship is underway in Malta and has now reached the knock out stages. Remember, the winner of this event will play in one of the Seniors Tour Events next season.

Johnny Farrell who recently qualified for the World Seniors Championship did outstandingly well as he managed to finish in the top 4 after the Group stages. Therefore he was seeded  directly in the last 16. He will play Jason Peplow later today.

There is a streaming available on table 4

WSF Seniors Championship – Knock out stages – Live scores, streaming and more here http://esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php

You can have a look at the pictures I took so far at the WSF Championships  (those are Facebook links, but they are open to all)

The Opening Ceremony

Day 1 – 14 March 2018

WSF Championships 2018 – 15 March 2018

Unfortunately Willie Thorne had to withdraw, suffering from a back injury. He is replaced in the draw by the top ranked amateur, Gary Filtness, “The Blade” who will face Barry Pinches. I have to admit that the author of this blog is happy for Gary who came agonizingly close to qualifying countless time, losing on respotted blacks. He’s ranked n°1 for a reason and I’m certain that his and Barry Pinches match will be a very high quality one!

Willie will still be at the launch dinner and at the golf event (although it’s unclear if he will actually play.

Johnny Farrell won the World Q8, the last qualifying event of this season, yesterday in Dublin. More details about what happened on Sunday and the new rankings will be coming soon.

With all qualifiers known, Jason Francis was live on Facebook tonight to do the draw of the Seniors World Championship and to give us a taste of what’s coming next season. If you missed it, you can the video again on the Snooker Legends Facebook page

Or if you have problems accessing facebook, here it is

and, no, I won’t spoil you! Watch it.

Action continues today in Dublin to determine who will be the last qualifier for the World Seniors Championship 2018.

Here is what happened yesterday

Good luck to all!