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!
Andrew Norman won the first qualifying event of the season, the LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship Qualifying 1. He will play at the Crucible in May next year.
In the Final Andrew beat Ben Hancorn in a deciding frame. This was a difficult mat for both of them, as they are brothers in law, Ben’s sister being Andrew’s wife.
Here is what Andrew had to say on social media this after the match:
What a thrilling weekend winning the World Seniors Snooker LLP Solicitors World Championship Qualifier 1 Event.
Big shout out to my Bro-in-law Ben Hancorn. To play him in the final in prob the most intense occasion we’ve ever played together added with such a reward for the winner to get an invite to the crucible .. the pressure was unreal and it was such a close game.. we even had our wives and sons there this weekend cheering us on making it a real family occasion if stressful for them to watch!
it was always going to get nervy and I just fell over the line in the last few balls. Ben will be back.
Thank you to all the many many messages of congratulations, I will get back to as many as I can tomorrow as brain frazzled at mo!
Once again the efforts from Jason Francis, TD Paul and all the Refs & everyone at Crucible Sports & Social Club Reading make the Senior Tour a real asset and community for the players.
And he added a few pictures …
Congratulations Andrew!
There was also a Super Seniors event, played at the same venue yesterday. It was won by Asley Beal.
Congratulations Ashley!
This is Ashley, winner of the English Seniors Snooker Championship in 2021
The event started yesterday, with Philip Williams, Stuart Watson, Aaron Canavan and Ben Hancorn reaching the quarter-finals. The final rounds – QFs, SFs and Final – will be played tomorrow.
Some images shared on social media …
Unfortunately, the event isn’t streamed because WST didn’t give their permission to do it, probably because the Shanghai Masters is underway at the same time. But frankly, I can’t understand it. I can’t see those two events as “conflicting”.
We don’t have a calendar for the 2023/24 season yet and I do hope that there will be more than just the 2024 World Championship to look forward to … but, anyway, this is the first “calendar” announcement for the new season, the dates and venues for the 2024 World Seniors qualifiers:
The European Championships (EBSA) continued and the senior players once again showed their class.
In the 6-reds competition, open to all without age restrictions, it’s the 53 years old Wayne Brown, from England who prevailed. Wayne beat several former professionals en route to the title: Eden Sharav (31) from Israel (4-0) in the last 16, Alex Borg (54) from Malta (4-3) in the QFs and finally Harvey Chandler (28) from England by 5-3 in the final. In the semi-finals Wayne faced a young promising player from France, Nicolas Mortreux, only 20; he beat him by 4-1.
In the Seniors Team Event, Darren Morgan and Philip Williams, representing Wales, defeated Wayne Brown and Gary Milne by 5-1, representing England, in the final, to take the title.Both are successful regulars on the World Seniors tour.
Im the previous post I mentioned the EBSA competitions in Bulgaria, and the fact that the winner of the Seniors event would earn a sport at the 2024 Seniors Snooker World Championship.
Once again Darren Morgan proved what a force he remains in snooker.
Darren Morgan claimed his 13th EBSA European Seniors Snooker Championship with a 5-3 victory against Gary Milne in the final of the 2023 edition held at the Perunika Hall in Albena, Bulgaria.
Victory for the prolific Welshman also sees him qualify for the 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championship, an event he won in 2011.
Players representing 20 different nations entered this year’s event which was being held alongside several other continental championships in South-East Europe.
Former professional world number eight Morgan won all three of his matches without dropping a frame as he topped his group and progressed to the knockout rounds.
The 57-year-old then eliminated Ville Pirilä (Finland) 3-0, John Farrell (Ireland) 4-0 and Peter Bullen (Belgium) 4-0 to reach the semi-finals where he faced Wayne Brown (England) in a rerun of last year’s final. Brown won the opening frame with the help of an 80 break, but Morgan registered runs of 82, 62 and 51 as he strung together four frames in-a-row to make the final yet again.
Playing in the event for the first time, Englishman Milne qualified second from his group and then saw off players from Northern Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland before ousting Wales’ Philip Williams 4-3 in the last four.
However, Morgan was in no mood to relinquish the trophy as he won three consecutive frames from 3-2 down to retain the Championship.
The result means that Morgan maintains his perfect record in EBSA Seniors Championship finals. He first won this title in 2007, and he has triumphed at every staging since 2015; it’s now eight successive titles (no event held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic).
Last year’s World Seniors champion Lee Walker crafted the highest break of the tournament – a 117 during the groups phase. Walker bowed out to Williams in the quarter-finals.
World Seniors Snooker Championship a record-breaking success, confirms chairman
Phil Haigh Tuesday 9 May 2023 3:48 pm
Jimmy White became a four-time world seniors champion on Sunday night (Picture: Getty Images)
This year’s World Seniors Snooker Championship saw record ticket sales as chairman Jason Francis says it ‘bodes well for the future of seniors snooker’.
The thoroughly entertaining tournament was won by Jimmy White on Sunday night as the Whirlwind lifted the trophy for a fourth time, beating his good friend Alfie Burden 5-3 in the final.
Burden had enjoyed a superb run at the Crucible, beating Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry and Ben Hancorn to set up the showpiece with White, who himself had downed Philip Williams, Adrian Ridley and Tony Drago en route to the final.
With so many iconic names in the sport, tickets reasonably priced at as little as £15, and Sheffield still struck by snooker fever after the main event at the Crucible, everything fell into place for a successful tournament.
Francis told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’m very pleased, record-breaking ticket sales and really, really good feedback. It bodes well for the future of seniors snooker. We did just under 5,000 tickets, which is around 30 per cent up on last year. Great week, great event, great feedback.
‘There’s no doubt that Jimmy winning helped boost the profile of the weekend, the Jimmy and Hendry factor on Friday night was helpful.
‘I also think people were looking at the field this year and realising it’s undoubtedly stronger. There’s no doubt this project needed to start on the back of the legendary names like Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, John Parrot. Dennis and Cliff are in their seventies so it’s very difficult for them to compete at the same level as a Mark Davis or an Alfie Burden.
Alfie Burden lost out to his good friend and practice partner in the final (Picture: Getty Images)
‘We had a slightly younger field, recent and current professionals, so the standard was better, we had more centuries than ever before. Also, maybe people who couldn’t get a ticket for the main event thought maybe it was time to try a little bit of the Seniors. It was a mix of ages in the crowd, it really was.’
At 61 years old, White is playing some amazing stuff still and it means a huge amount to him to be lifting trophies at the Crucible after famously missing out on the World Championship title in six finals.
Not only does is it an amazing achievement for the winner, but the Seniors has developed so much that it is extremely disappointing for the losers.
‘He was buzzing, winning in the Crucible is incredibly special for any player, but for Jimmy White it’s cathartic, almost,’ said Francis.
‘Ken was devastated because he can do the ultimate grand slam of amateur, professional, junior and could add the world seniors. He’s still hungry to get his name on the trophy, but he had a tough first round with Alfie.
‘Ben Hancorn did fantastic for an amateur player, beating Peter Lines in a great match. And of course Drago was a breath of fresh air. He is incredibly watchable, potting the most unbelievable balls, then misses the easiest ball. I think Tony has proved that he’s still one of the best seniors in the world and clearly he’s an important part of our plans going forward.’
Tony Drago was one of the stars of the show in Sheffield (Picture: Getty Images)
This year’s tournament saw the introduction of Seniors of Sheffield day, as charities Age UK and Care Workers Charity were involved in bringing 500 older people in the city to the Friday afternoon session.
As WSS explained, the aim was to, ‘not only see some top class snooker but meet likeminded others and engage with many of the great organisations based in the city helping and serving the ageing population and those living in isolation.’
Reflecting on the day, Francis said: ‘Seniors of Sheffield day was a fantastic success and we’re still getting the feedback on that.
‘Local charities got to benefit, not only by sending their members for the networking, meeting the legends, seeing some snooker, but they got to be able to promote their services to people at the event who perhaps didn’t know their charity existed for them.
‘We’re going to build on that. The head of the chamber of commerce heard about that, came to the final on Sunday and wants to get involved in building on it.’
The calendar for the forthcoming season of seniors snooker is yet to be confirmed, but after a superb World Championship, there will be plenty of interest from players and fans alike when the next events roll around.
Jimmy White won the LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship for the fourth time, beating Alfie Burden 5-3 in the final at the Crucible.
Victory caps off a fantastic season for White in which he reached the last 16 of two ranking events as well as the last 32 of the UK Championship, earning enough ranking points to book two more years on the professional tour. To finish the campaign with a trophy on snooker’s most famous stage in Sheffield is a tremendous reward for the 61-year-old whose enthusiasm for snooker seems to get stronger as time goes on.
After knocking out Philip Williams and Adrian Ridley to reach the semi-finals, White saw off Tony Drago 4-1 before getting the better of close friend Burden. Over his four matches, the Londoner made breaks of 70, 76, 103, 80, 84, 64, 74, 56, 68, 62, 63, 55 and 84.
He looked set for a comfortable night in the final when he led 4-1, before Burden fought back by taking frame six. In the seventh, Burden trapped his opponent in a tough snooker behind the black after potting the last red, and gained enough penalty points to close to 4-3. In frame eight, White made 31 before playing safe, then capitalised on a loose safety from Burden to get back among the balls, and finished superbly with a break of 84 to secure the title which he had previously won in 2010, 2019 and 2020.
“I love the game, it’s fascinating,” said White, who may earn a place in the Champion of Champions in November. “Sometimes I can play good stuff and beat anyone, sometime I fall over the line. We both struggled to control the cue ball tonight, I got a bit ‘jabby.’ But I still have the motivation and sometimes you have to do what Mark Selby does and win when playing badly. I’m delighted.
“My thanks go to the sponsors LLP Solicitors, to Jason Ferguson and Jason Francis and everyone behind the event which gets bigger every year, and thanks to the fans for their support.”
Burden said: “If I was going to lose to anyone I would want it to be Jimmy. I enjoyed every moment of playing at the Crucible.”
How the final unfolded in pictures …
The players got a wonderful introduction in the arena! Three former World Champions, Cliff Thorburn, Dennis Taylor and John Parrot were acclaimed by the fans and interviewed by Rob Walker, before the finalists themselves were welcomed into the arena
Some images taken during the match from high in the arena … and the final balls.
And the trophy ceremony…
Thank you Jason Francis…
I was a fantastic event, the overall quality of the snooker was very high. The crowds were really good all week especially considering the event clashed with King Charles Coronation. Rob Walker and Alisha Singh did a great job, always with a smile, kindness and enthusiasm. Legends of the game were everywhere: on the floor, in the commentary box, in the audience.
It was covered by the BBC but also streamed live in China despite the fact that no Chinese player was involved.
For me personally, it was a wonderful return to live snooker and photography. Thank you Jason for having me. I reconnected with friends from all over the world, people I hadn’t seen in years. It was marvellous … thank you, 谢谢 xièxiè … you know who you are.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 