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!
After the last Seniors World Championship, we got no news about the World Seniors Tour, no provisional calendar for this season, no invitation to register for qualifiers… nothing.
Instead, Jason Francis has been involved in a lot of newer projects: Seniors Darts, the 900 and more… Many, me included, became worried that the World Seniors Snooker Tour would disappear. Clearly, there were some issues.
Yesterday, Jason Francis, posted this on social media
The announcement triggered a lot of positive comments, and, of course, questions.
Here is one comment by Barry Pinches, with Jason Francis’s answer
Of course the other Jason he is mentionning is Jason Ferguson. That’s reassuring and definitely good news! Hopefully, we will know more and get a “calendar” very soon.
Today the World Seniors Snooker Tour announces some changes to the Qualifying criteria for the upcoming events in December 2021 and February 2022.
These changes are immediate and follow lengthy consultations with the players commissions of both the WPBSA and World Seniors and the WPBSA Board. These changes apply to this season only at this stage as a trial, a decision on whether to adopt them for the tour will be taken after the conclusion of the 2022 World Seniors Snooker Championship.
The changes are:
For the World Seniors Qualifier in December (14-19) no current professional players will be eligible for entry which means that two Amateur players will progress from that event to the 2022 World Seniors Snooker Championship which will be held at the Crucible Theatre between the 4-8th May 2022.
For the World Seniors Qualifier in February (8-13) no amateur players will be eligible for entry which means that two Professional players will progress from that event to the 2022 World Seniors Snooker Championship.
The following amateur players have already secured their places in the final event and so will also not be eligible to enter the December Event. Those players are Patrick Wallace, Michael Judge, Gary Filtness, Wayne Cooper, Bob Chaperon, Frank Sarsfield and Darren Morgan.
Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors said, “We must listen to our players and never be afraid to make bold decisions when needed. Its important the tour provides opportunities for both professional and amateur senior players.
With some of the very best over 40 Amateur players in the world already in Sheffield Decembers event represents a fantastic opportunity for any snooker player over 40 to walk out at the Crucible live on TV”
New Qualifying Dates Announced for 2022 World Seniors Championship
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) has today announced the dates for two new qualifying tournaments which will provide all players over-40 with the opportunity to earn a place at the Crucible Theatre next spring.
Held at the Crucible Theatre since 2019, the World Seniors Snooker Championship is set to return to the home of snooker in 2022 with an all-new 24 player format aimed at providing more senior players with the opportunity to compete at the iconic venue than ever before.
To complete the field, qualifying tournaments will be held from 14-19 December 2021 and 8-13 February 2022, each with two prized places on offer to compete in Sheffield. The four successful qualifiers will join an all-star field which is set to include the likes of defending champion David Lilley, four-time world seniors champion Jimmy White and former UK Seniors champion Ken Doherty.
Both qualifying tournaments will be held at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading, which is a recognised EPSB 147 Club and will be the official qualifying venue for the WSS Tour this season.
It has today also been announced that the scheduled Seniors Masters and Irish Masters events will now not take place in 2022. Although it is recognised that this decision will come as a disappointment to fans in Ireland and London, during what remains a challenging climate to stage events of this size, the Board has taken the responsible decision to focus on successfully delivering both the World and UK Championship tournaments at this time.
The news does mean that all players who had previously qualified for either the Masters or Irish Masters tournaments will now be invited to the Crucible to compete at next year’s World Seniors Championship. These players are: Patrick Wallace, Michael Judge, Wayne Cooper, Gary Filtness, Darren Morgan, Bob Chaperon and Rory McLeod.
Further information regarding the qualifying tournaments for the World Seniors Championship qualifiers, including how to enter, will be released soon.
We are going through difficult times and there are still a lot of uncertainties regarding the coming months. The governing body is doing its best to deliver quality events whilst keeping everyone safe.
A further two places at the 2021 World Seniors Snooker Championship will be claimed at the latest Qualifying School to be organised by the ROKiT Phones World Seniors Snooker Tour.
To be held from 27 March – 4 April 2021 at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading, the event follows the successful staging of Seniors Q School back in January which saw eight places at upcoming major tournaments decided.
As in January, the event will be run strictly in accordance with guidelines from the DCMS and the EPSB with full COVID-19 testing protocols in place. All players are required to receive a COVID-19 test, even if they have already received one or both doses of the vaccination.
HOW TO ENTER
Entry for the event is now open with up to 128 spaces available.
The closing date for entries is Monday 15 March 2021 – or when 128 confirmed entries are received.
For more information about the ROKiT Phones World Seniors Snooker Tour visit their Facebook page.
Inevitably, under the current circumstances, orgsanising such an event comes with constraints and costs. But this IS an opportunity to play at the Crucible and live your dream. Jason Francis has put huge efforts and energy into getting the Seniors playing despite the restrictions, and “his” events have actually been the only non-professional events allowed to go on. So, if you believe in your dream and want the Seniors tour to continue to be succesful, support it and get your cue out…
The WSS 2021 Q-School will sart on January, 4, 2021. Four qualifying events will be played. The event has been recognised as an “Elite Sport” event and, as such is allowed to go ahead provided that all precautions and sanitary rules are followed when it comes to covid-19 prevention.
The event will be played in Reading, at the Crucible Sports and Social Club. The club is owned by Jason Francis. Practice will also be available at Jason’s club in Newbury.
As you will see there is an interesting mix in there: great players from the past, recent past and current main tour seniors players and very talented amateurs.
Unfortunately, no Asian players are able to compete this time around.
It has been a colossal effort from Jason and the WSS team to get this on its feet. Thank you to all those who made this possible, and good luck to all players.
Following the successful staging of the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre last August, the tournament will return to the ‘home of snooker’ for a third successive year from 6-9 May 2021.
A 16-player field will be led by Jimmy White – who will be looking to win the event for a third successive year – with tickets to go on sale this month to Crucible members from 14 December and general sale from 21 December.
A number of places in the draw will be filled following the inaugural ROKiT World Seniors Qualifying School which is set to be held at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading from 4-10 January. The event is set to be the first open-entry amateur tournament held by the WPBSA since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and will be run strictly in accordance with guidelines from the DCMS and the EPSB with full COVID-19 testing protocols in place.
Also set to return is the UK Seniors Championship, last held in October 2019 prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. As in 2018 and last year, the tournament is once again set to be held at the state-of-the-art Bonus Arena in Hull and has now been expanded from two to four days covering 12-15 August 2021.
Among those already confirmed to be participating at the event are Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White, as well as previous champions Ken Doherty and last year’s winner Michael Judge. Tickets for the event will go on sale from 10am on Friday 11 December.
The Senior Irish Masters remains scheduled to take place at the iconic Goffs venue from 27-28 March, subject to government restrictions in place at the time. World Seniors Snooker will continue to monitor the event and provide further updates when possible.
Finally, the Seniors Masters event, scheduled for 15-16 May 2021 at Alexandra Palace, will now be rescheduled to Autumn 2021 with new dates to be announced in due course.
Some of snooker’s greatest ever players will return to Hull in 2021 as the UK Seniors Championship will again take place at the Bonus Arena.
Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and reigning tournament champion Michael Judge will take part in the 16-person event. It is the third year the tournament will have come to Hull, having missed 2020 due to the pandemic.
The four-day tournament will take place between 12 and 15 August 2021 and tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, 11 December.
Jason Francis, chairman of World Seniors Snooker, said: “Such has been the warmth from the people of Hull to our previous snooker in their city we were determined to make sure they don’t miss out in 2021. The players love the venue and we continue on our journey to making Hull a Snooker City, very much like Sheffield.”
Current World Seniors champion Jimmy White added: “Hull has always been such a great hotbed for snooker and pool, it is brilliant to have the city on the tour each season now and it is getting bigger and bigger.”
Last 16 matches will take place in sessions at 12noon and 7pm on both Thursday, 12 and Friday, 13 August 2021. Quarter final sessions take place at 12noon and 7pm on Saturday, 14 August. The semi finals take place at 12noon on Sunday, 15 August with the final at 7pm on the same day.
Single session ticket prices start from £10 each plus booking fees with full day tickets also available.
The current Covid-19 crisis has forced everyone to change their plans, and it’s a very difficult time for all, economically, socially and psychologically.
The Seniors Tour has suffered as events needed to be posponed or canceled. There are no absolute certainties just yet about the end of this season, or about next season. There is no way a proper calendar can be established with certainty at this moment in time.
But here are some informations about WSS tour plans at the time of writing.
This SEASON 2019/20
Jan 4th – 10th – Qualifying School, Crucible Reading
This event was supposed to be played in Jersey. Because of the travel restrictions, it became increasingly obvious that most entrants would be unable to travel to the venue. Therefore, the event will now be held in Reading and entries are re-opened.
The Q-school comprises four competitions:
2021 UK Seniors Qualification – 4 places available to qualify
2021 World Seniors Championship – 2 places available to qualify
2021 Masters Championship – 1 Place in the 2021 Masters
All matches best of 5 to semi-finals, Final matches in each event best of 7
All 8 winners will be guaranteed £1000, payable at the final stage event.
Criteria
The senior events are open to any current amateur player over 40 on or before 4th January 2021.
The Seniors event is open to any amateur player over 55 on or before 4th January 2021.
All players who enter will need to agree to the WPBSA code of conduct and terms and conditions of the event which will be available within the entry system. They will also need to understand the COVID procedures that will be in place. Players will be tested for Covid-19 and will be withdrawn from the events should they test positive. They may need to arrive the day before their first match.
March 27/28th – Irish Masters Goffs (tbc pending pandemic rulings by then in Ireland)
May 6-9 – World Champs Crucible
+ Seniors Qualifying School 2 (venue tbc)
New SEASON 2020/21
UK Championship in Hull (12-15August, 2021)
Seniors Q School in Jersey September (dates to be confirmed)
Masters – Alexandra Palace, London (dates to be confirmed)
+ Seniors Qualifying School 2 (venue tbc)
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 