It’s fair to say that yesterday at the Crucible didn’t yield the results most fans expected and, in some cases, probably probably wished. Hopefully it will not deter fans to attend the event. Personally, I find it interesting to discover how good some of the “overseas” seniors are. They are proof that snooker is played at a high level for a long time in many parts of the world, something that the UK centric organisation of the sport doesn’t promote enough.
Here are the match results on the day:
Jimmy White remains the crowd favourite but he’s 63 now but played Alfie Burden a much younger man (48) who is still competing on the main tour and Jimmy had little answers to his opponent superior consistency. Also, Alfie was certainly very motivated because he lost to Jimmy in the final of this event in 2023. It was a very painful defeat for Alfie at the time but he can now put that behind him.
Nobody knew much about Charl Jonk1 who had never played in this environment. Charl started slowly. He needed two frames to adapt to the conditions and the atmosphere. After that he proved to be very solid and a good scorer. He made two breaks over 60 in this match.
Tony Drago v Gerard Greene proved to be the best match on the day. It was tense, it was close and both played and scored well. Tony’s passion is strong as ever and he wears his heart on his sleeve. What’s not to like?
Hassan Kerde, from Australia, was an “unknown” quantity before his first match yesterday … he made four breaks over 50 in his trashing of Tony Knowles who scored just 61 points in total during the match.
Here are the afternoon session pictures:
And here the evening session pictures. Alas it’s very obvious that players like Jimmy and Ken losing early is likely to hit the attendance negatively. A lot of fans come to watch certain players only and aren’t very keen to “discover lesser known players
This was a good match as you can guess by the scores. There was a break over 50 in every frame bar one. Joe is still very much main tour standard and Fabio gave him a good game. Keep in mind that in Brazil they play on slightly smaller tables, that Fabio had to travel to Europe, deal with a huge time difference, played professional and that this is the Crucible … he did, really, really well!
A scrappier match and Proletina Velichkova debut on the Seniors tour. The first two frames were very close and generally the match was very, very scrappy, which was to be expected with these two…
Igor Figuereido 2-4 Wayne Townsend
It’s hard to know how much the pressure of being World Champion “weighted” on Igor. He was the heaviest scorer in this match but lost to an inspired Wayne who was supported by his wife and young daughter. Wayne is a very good player and those who follow the seniors snooker tour knew that already. Qualifying for this event isn’t easy. Wayne is also an “emotional” type of person and he showed his emotions during the match … for which he was criticised in some corners. So much so that he felt the need to apologise on Facebook:
Aaron Canavan 4-1 Andrew Norman
Aaron Canavan has won this title before and yesterday looked extremely determined to put his hands on the trophy again. Nothing against Aaron but I felt for Andrew who is a close friend and was well and truly outplayed for most of the match.
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce Marie Curie as an official charity partner during the 2025 JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship.
Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end of life charity with over 75 years of experience. They provide expert end of life care at home and in hospices as well as leading research and campaigning for better end of life for all.
The JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship will take place at the Crucible Theatre on 7-11 May and will feature legends of the sport including Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White and Ken ‘The Darling of Dublin’ Doherty.
For the duration of the event, Marie Curie will have a stand in the venue where there will be the opportunity to purchased limited edition signed snooker balls, with all proceeds going directly to the charity.
There will also be an initiative which will allow anyone to help raise vital funds for the charity by donating for each yellow potted during the Championship.
WSS Director Rohit Sagoo said: “We are immensely proud to announce Marie Curie as our official charity partner for the World Seniors Snooker Championship. Having personally supported Marie Curie’s work for several years, this partnership marks a fantastic opportunity to help Marie Curie’s incredible work, providing essential care and support to individuals and families facing terminal illness.”
“We are delighted that Marie Curie will have a dedicated stand at the Crucible Theatre this year where fans and supporters can donate and purchase unique, limited yellow snooker balls signed by some of snooker’s greatest legends, with all proceeds directly benefiting Marie Curie”
“We believe that everyone deserves dignity, compassion, and personalised support that reflects what is most important to them. The yellow ball initiative symbolises our commitment to this mission and allows everyone to get involved in raising vital funds and awareness for Marie Curie’s life-changing services.”
Rebecca Bramley, Community Fundraiser at Marie Curie said: “We are thrilled to be the charity partner for the World Seniors Snooker Championship this year, and we’re so grateful the team share our mission to make sure everyone gets the right end of life care. Whether you want to get your hands on a limited-edition signed snooker ball or simply donate when a yellow ball is potted, every penny raised will help us to fund vital Marie Curie services in Yorkshire and across the UK.”
And no, Seniors Snooker is not following the footsteps of the rather gloomy ITV advertising policy.
End of life unfortunately isn’t something that just affects very old people – we all know someone who has lost a child, or a young partner/friend – and, no matter the departing person’s age, as well as the person themself, it impacts everyone caring for them. Appropriate support – physical, psychological or spiritual – makes a huge difference for all those affected. Well done to Seniors Snooker for partnering such an important charity.
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce a ground breaking new partnership with Sheffield Hallam University which will see students currently studying Sport Business Management get real time experience working on the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship.
The initiative was launched yesterday by WSS Chairman Jason Francis and Director Mike Dunn with opportunities offered for students to experience every aspect of producing, promoting, planning and executing a major sporting TV event.
WSS are offering placements alongside their industry professionals for students to experience how staging a major sporting event in the city at the iconic Crucible Theatre with a live television production team comes together.
Chairman of World Seniors Snooker Jason Francis said “World Seniors Snooker has entered into a long term partnership with Sheffield Council to make the World Seniors Snooker Championship an event to showcase everything that is great about the Steel City. A Sheffield event for Sheffield people which engages with their ‘Sheffield Loves Snooker’ campaign. The energy and enthusiasm we got from the students yesterday proved to me that they can play a real part in making this year’s Championship the best ever. The work with Sheffield Hallam is the latest initiative which will sit alongside our Business and Youth of Sheffield Days and the continuation of Seniors of Sheffield Day. I am really looking forward to working with, but also learning from, them.”
Dr Ruth M Crabtree, Head of the School of Sport & Physical Activity said “We are delighted to be collaborating with the World Seniors Snooker. When you think of Sheffield and sport, you instantly think of snooker and this partnership is a great opportunity for our students to gain real world experience of working on a major iconic sport event and learn from experienced professionals. At Sheffield Hallam, our mission is to be the world leading applied university, and we pride ourselves on working with major sport organisations within Sheffield, the region and globally. The collaboration will allow students to work within sport marketing, media, public relations and event management, gaining key skills needed within sport management, helping enhance their CV, increase their network, and gain valuable expertise. We believe we are sector leading in offering value added opportunities for our students and it is always great to them jump ay the chance to volunteer for such initiatives. I am extremely confident our students will learn a lot and also some innovative and creative ideas to Jason Fracnis and his team at World Seniors Snooker.”
Nathan Withey, a third year Sport Business Management Student, said “My time at Sheffield Hallam University has been filled with opportunities to improve my professionalism and to make sure I have experience when starting my career after graduation. What I’m most excited about for the World Senior Snooker Championship is the opportunity to gain valuable insight into how an event of this magnitude is created. What it takes to be involved, and the skills required to produce a sporting event which I can hopefully learn to harness though this opportunity. I am very much looking forward to working with the team and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
The World Seniors Snooker Championship starts on Wednesday 7 May and runs until Sunday 12 with snooker legends Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Tony Drago confirmed alongside Seniors Champions from Pan-America, Pan-Asia, Europe and Africa and more. The event will be shown live and exclusively in the UK and Ireland on Channel 5.
Format Change Announced for 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is pleased to announce a change to the format of the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship which will take place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on 7-11 May.
All rounds up to and including the quarter-finals will now be the best-of-seven frames, while the semi-finals will now best best-of-11 frames and the final will be contested over the best-of-15 frames.
Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo made history for South America by winning the flagship title last May and he will open proceedings on the opening Wednesday afternoon. Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White, a record four-time champion, and two-time runner-up Ken Doherty are both set to begin their campaigns on the afternoon of Thursday 8 May.
I can’t really comment on the first announcement other than stating the obvious: Seniors snooker is determined to stay in Sheffield and to get involved in various projects that will benefit the city, its inhabitants and the Seniors circuit. What’s not to like?
Regarding the second announcement … longer matches, yes, that’s good news to me. It’s also a sign that the seniors involved nowadays in the competition are better than those who played in the “early” instalments of the Seniors World Championship1. One of the reason the matches were so “short” is because the frames tended to be long. Some of the legends involved really struggled to make telling breaks and weren’t really physically fit. Frames tended to last rather long …
Don’t get me wrong: they had every right to be there, they gave it their all and the crowd gave them a very warm support. They promoted the event with all their might and heart. It wouldn’t exist without them and what they did to promote it.
But the event has evolved. The seniors who now compete in it are younger and much fitter. Therefore, it is now reasonable – and desirable – to lengthen the matches a bit. I’m sure that the fans won’t complain!
In his current form, under Jason Francis’ management. ↩︎
The former World Seniors Snooker Championship winner came through a field of 39 cueists to secure a second consecutive title and boost his hopes of earning a return to the Crucible Theatre in May.
The 49-year-old from Jersey began his weekend in the last 32 stage and he overcame Mark Vincent (4-1) and Steve Crowley (4-0) to reach the concluding day of action.
A whitewash win over former Super Seniors event winner Anthony Harris saw Canavan begin the Sunday in style and he made it back-to-back finals with a 4-1 victory over 51-year-old Nigel Howe.
In the title match he met Williams from Wales, who had reached his third final of the campaign with victories over former professionals Andrew Norman and Gerard Greene on the last day.
The opening three frames of the final saw a 79 break from Canavan countered by a 69 from Williams as the Welshman moved 2-1 ahead in the best-of-seven contest.
Canavan stepped up a gear from then on, however, as he took three straight frames to secure a 4-2 victory and his second title in a row.
PIPE WINS MAIDEN TITLE
Richard Pipe defeated John Hunter 2-0 at The Crucible Club in Reading to win the first Super Seniors title of his career.
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 59-year-old Englishman did not drop a single frame across the day as he whitewashed Mark Thomas, David Brock and Andrew Barrett to reach the final.
Hunter, a winner of two events already this season, was his opponent in the title match but he proved no match for Pipe on this occasion as he ran out a 2-0 victor to win the title.
The final Race to the Crucible Series event will take place on 4-6 April at The Crucible Club in Reading, England.
Youth of Sheffield Day to be Staged During 2025 Seniors Snooker World Championship
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is pleased to announce that the first ‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ will be staged during the 2025 Seniors Snooker World Championship.
The new initiative will see WSS engage with multiple local youth groups to champion the young people of the steel city and takes place on semi-final Saturday, the 10th May, from the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
More than 50 young snooker players from the local Stephen Harrison Snooker Academy will be invited to showcase their skills on the morning before being invited to watch the semi-final action unfold on snooker’s most famous stage.
Competitions will also be staged by the academy with the winner set to be presented with their prize at the Crucible Theatre by a legend of the sport.
As well as this collaboration, ‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ will also see Tudor Square full of groups celebrating the city’s youth activities and a partnership with the local universities which will see graduates working alongside WSS on all aspects of the marketing, promotion and TV production of the event.
Stephen Harrison, who runs the academy, said: “We are delighted to be involved in the 2025 World Seniors Championships. The academy has been providing services for the Sheffield community for over 17 years – growing grassroots snooker within our region and around the UK. We currently provide weekly professional snooker coaching and competitions for over 200 of our disabled members.
“It is great to be involved in the Youth of Sheffield Day – the children are so excited and cannot wait to attend. I’d like to say a big thank you to Jason Francis and Mike Dunn at World Seniors Snooker for making our junior members dreams come true by getting to visit the Crucible Theatre and feel the intensity of watching a live match at the theatre of dreams.”
Mike Dunn, World Seniors Snooker Director, said: “Being able to use the great work Stephen is doing within the city to celebrate the Youth of Sheffield at the World Seniors Championship is brilliant. Snooker is synonymous with the city and helping to develop young talent is so important. I know as a player what it means to play at the Crucible Theatre and I know it will be amazing for these children to watch snooker live here for the first time.”
‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ follows on from the previous success of ‘Seniors of Sheffield Day’, which is back for the third time on Friday 9th May, and will once again see local members of the aging population invited to meet some snooker legends and watch the matches live.
In addition, a ‘Business of Sheffield Day’ will also be staged during the Championship to champion local business,. This will be staged on Thursday 8th with a business breakfast with 1985 World Snooker Champion Dennis Taylor.
To find out more about how your child can get involved in Youth Day please contact the Stephen Harrison Academy at info@stephenharrisonacademy.com
The snooker community, and the Egyptian snooker community in particular, is in mourning. Yesterday we lost Wael Talaat. Wael was a very, very good player and extremely respected in his country Egypt. He certainly inspired many young Egyptian apiring snooker player.
He was briefly professional in 1998 but he was mainly known for being a triple African Snooker Champion, as well as a four more times African Snooker Championship runner-up.
Wael became famous on 20th of June 2014 for making the first ever 83 break in a 6-reds remarkable competitive match1. Wael’s opponent, Milad Elabbar of Libya, failed to make contact with a red on the break off and the cue ball landed behind the blue ball. Wael was awarded a free ball. He nominated the blue as free ball, potted it and potted the black to follow. From there he cleared the table the table, taking the black with each red. It was a trulu memorable match as Wael’s opponent was actually well and truly whitewashed: he didn’t score a single point all match. Wael won all four frames, each time taking the first opportunity to score. The final result was 71(71)-00, 87(83)-00, 36-00 and 46(46)-00.
Wael played in the 2022 World Seniors Championship at the Crucible, beating Maria Catalano by 3-0, before losing by 0-3 to Jimmy White in the last 16.
The 2018 World Seniors Snooker champion boosted his hopes of a return to the flagship event at the Crucible Theatre by winning his first event of the season in Berkshire. The deciding frame victory for Canavan also denied Norman a fourth successive title in the Race to the Crucible Series.
Thirty-two competitors from five nations contested the two-day event and Canavan defeated Tam Mustafa (4-2) and former English Seniors champion Lee Stephens (4-3) to reach the final day.
A comfortable 4-1 defeat of Northern Ireland’s Billy Ginn earned a semi-final spot against World Seniors Snoooker’s world number one Wayne Townsend, who he overcame 4-2 to reach a final for the first time this season.
Norman’s seemingly unstoppable form continued over the weekend as he dropped just four frames in four games en route to the title match, last defeating Nigel Howe 4-1 at the semi-final stage.
In a high-quality final, the defending champion raced into a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven frame contest with breaks of 56 and 72. Canavan quickly rallied, however, to level before hitting a tournament high break of 111 to move one away from the title.
The two finalists went blow-for-blow as Norman once again hit back to deservedly force a deciding frame. Fittingly, the title was ultimately decided by a single point as Canavan made a half-century to win the seventh frame by a scoreline of 62-61.
Back-to-Back Super Seniors Titles for Harris
Anthony Harris beat David Brock 2-1 in the final of the Super Series event to win a second consecutive title.
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 56-year-old from England was one of 15 cueists involved in the one-day competition and beat Neil Carroll (2-1) and Karl Townsend (2-1) to reach the last four.
His semi-final opponent was the current Super Seniors number one and this season’s double-event winner John Hunter. Harris’ fine form continued as he ran out a 2-1 victor with a top break of 56 to reach the title match.
Fellow countryman David Brock had dropped just a single frame en route to the final and took the opener in the best-of-three frame contest. Harris hit back, however, to force a decider before taking frame three to secure a third Super Seniors title of the campaign.
The penultimate Race to the Crucible Series event will take place on 7-9 March at The Crucible Club in Reading, England
KEN DOHERTY WINS SECOND MR VEGAS WORLD SENIORS SNOOKER 900 TITLE IN EPSOM
Ken Doherty defeated Tony Drago in a dramatic blue ball shootout to win the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 title at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
The victory means Doherty becomes the first player to win multiple titles under the World Seniors Snooker 900 format following his emotional success at Goffs earlier in the year.
Six players embarked on Epsom for the fourth edition of the unique and exciting event with Alfie Burden, Nigel Bond and Rory McLeod each making their debuts while Doherty, Drago and four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy White returned.
In a repeat of the final at Goffs last March, Doherty met White in the opening match of Group B. ‘The Whirlwind’ was looking to exact revenge after ‘The Darling of Dublin’ had defeated him in that title match and a 55 clearance saw White make the perfect start to the afternoon.
A win for 1995 world finalist and former British Open champion Bond over White on the final black then set up a dramatic conclusion to the group.
Doherty was able to advance to the semi-finals by overcoming the debutant and scoring a high break of two more points, while White topped the group courtesy of his half-century under the tie-break rules.
In Group A, Burden made a confident start to life under the World Seniors Snooker 900 format as he comfortably overcame both McLeod and Drago to reach the knockout stages as group winner. ‘The Tornado’ from Malta then beat McLeod to complete the semi-final line-up.
Both group winners were toppled at the semi-final stage as Burden was defeated by Doherty, while White was denied a fourth consecutive final by Drago.
Drago, who was competing in his maiden final under the format, made the perfect start to the best-of-three contest by firing in the day’s high break of 93 in the opener.
The Maltese cueist was in first in the second frame but broke down on 31, allowing Doherty to force a decider with a break of 56.
Another break of 56 saw Doherty take the initiative in the decider but Drago impressively held his nerve to clear the table and tie the frame – meaning a blue ball shootout would decide who took home the trophy.
The two players each potted the blue ball on their first attempt and it was Drago who was first to blink and he put his second effort wide of the target.
After taking a moment to compose himself, Doherty confidently fired home the title-winning blue ball to secure his second World Seniors Snooker 900 crown.
After the final, Doherty said: “I’m absolutely delighted! I wasn’t expecting it – I flew in this morning on a 7am flight. I love playing in the 900, I love the concept of it and it was a great final. To play Tony in the final was just amazing and to go down to the blue ball shoot out was was incredible.”
“I was just thinking when he potted the first blue in the shoot out – ‘just try and cue it, don’t twitch and put your elbow in the front row!’ Then, when he missed the second one, I was just thinking the same and it just went right in the middle and I said ‘yeah’ before it even went in. It was a lovely moment.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship, which has eluded Doherty so far in his illustrious career, he reflected: “I’ve been beaten in a couple of finals – last year against Igor (Figueiredo) and of course against Jimmy White when I was 4-0 up and I collapsed like a cheap tent but we won’t mention that! I’d love to win it but, if I don’t, it doesn’t matter – I’ve been very lucky and blessed in my life by playing the game that I love. I’m still playing it and I still love it!”
I can’t be certain who took yje great images but I spotted my friend Andy Chubb on the floor …
It was enjoyable as always. I like the format and obviously the players like it as well. The team in commentary and on the floor did a sterling job as always. Thank You Jason and everyone involved!
Here are some more pictures shared by Jason Francis on Twitter as the action unfolded
Epsom Line-Up Confirmed for Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900
The line-up for the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event at Epsom next month has now been confirmed with Jimmy White and Ken Dohertyheadlining a six-player field.
‘The Whirlwind’ and ‘The Darling of Dublin’ will be joined by Malta’s Tony Drago, who makes his second appearance under the format, as well as debutants Nigel Bond, Alfie Burden and Rory McLeod.
The event will see a return to the Epsom Racecourse, twelve months on from the inaugural Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 there which was won by Stephen Hendry, and will be broadcast live on Channel 5.
Learn more about each of the six competitors in Epsom below:
Jimmy White
The record-breaking four-time World Seniors Snooker champion Jimmy Whitewill head to Epsom aiming to secure his maiden Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 title.
‘The Whirlwind’ has reached the final of all three previous events under the format, including in Epsom twelve months ago, but is yet to secure the title having suffered defeats to Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and Igor Figueiredo respectively.
The ten-time ranking event winner and former Masters champion will be aiming to go one better and take home the title next month.
Ken Doherty
Former world champion Ken Doherty maintains his ever-present record at Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 events and will be looking for a repeat of his emotional victory on home soil back in March.
The 1997 Crucible winner, who still competes on the World Snooker Tour, defeated Tony Knowles, Fergal O’Brien and Jimmy White to earn a famous victory at the iconic Goffs venue in Ireland.
‘The Darling of Dublin’ will head to Epsom hoping to round off the year in style with another success.
Tony Drago
Malta’s Tony Drago will bring his remarkably fast-paced play to Epsom next month for his second appearance in a Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event.
The man known as ‘The Tornado’ made his debut under the format in Hull back in September and will be looking to improve on a run to the semi-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Igor Figueiredo.
A former ranking event semi-finalist with a professional career spanning over thirty years, Drago has reached the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre in 2023 and 2024.
Nigel Bond
Nigel Bond is one of three players who will make their Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut in Epsom next month.
The 58-year-old from England maintained an unbroken spell as a professional between 1989 and 2022 and won a ranking event title in 1996 when he defeated John Higgins 9-8 in the British Open final.
Bond reached the World Championship final in 1995, losing to Stephen Hendryat the Crucible Theatre, and also made it to back-to-back World Seniors Championship finals – defeating Tony Chappel in the final in 2012.
Alfie Burden
Another Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debutant, Alfie Burden will compete for the title in Epsom in December.
Burden reached the final of the 2023 World Seniors Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre with impressive victories over former world champions Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry, before losing to Jimmy White in the title match.
A four-time ranking event quarter-finalist, the London cueist has competed on the World Snooker Tour for over 20 years and regained his professional status in 2021 via Q School.
Rory McLeod
Former professional Rory McLeod completes the line up in Epsom as another player making his Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut next month.
A professional over a spell of more than 30 years, McLeod reached the last 16 of ranking events on 11 occasions – including at the Crucible Theatre in 2017, where he famously defeated Judd Trump in the opening round.
The 53-year-old is a regular competitor on the World Seniors Snooker tour and won one of this season’s Race To The Crucible series events in Reading earlier this year.
Ticket Information
As well as the unique and exciting action on the table, there will also be a VIP Legends Lunch which will offer the chance to meet snooker legends Dennis Taylor and John Virgo, enjoy a two-course meal prior to the action getting underway in Surrey as well as a reserved seat, commentary ear piece, programme and more.
Tickets start from £50 with the limited VIP Legends Lunch tickets available at £147 per person. For ticket enquiries, please contact info@seniorssnooker.com.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 