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.
Australia’s Hassan Kerde defeated Matthew Scarborough 4-2 in the final of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Seniors Snooker Championship to earn a place at the World Seniors Snooker Championship in May.
The 41-year-old cueist will compete at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield after becoming the latest continental champion – joining Craig Steadman (Europe), Fabio Anderson Luersen (Americas) and Charl Jonck (Africa).
A total of 43 players contested the event which was staged at the Club Forster in New South Wales, Australia and began with an initial group phase.
Kerde dropped just a single frame across four matches in a group that included former professional Robby Foldvari to book his place in the last 16 where he then downed Allen House 3-1.
Breaks of 63, 80 and 45 helped the Australian pick up further wins over David Wright (3-1) and Ian Barber (3-0) to reach the title match where he would face Scarborough.
The man from New Zealand, who won a WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific title earlier this season, had eliminated Ian Davies, Mark Hannah and Foldvari in the knockout stages to set up a showdown with Kerde.
Kerde made a strong start to the best-of-seven frame final contest as he raced into a 3-0 lead to move one away from the title.
His opponent refused to go down without a fight and rallied by taking the next two reduce his deficit to just a single frame, but the Australian cueist was able to hold his nerve and take frame six by a scoreline of 75-32 to take the title and earn a place at the World Seniors Snooker Championship later this year.
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
Andrew Norman defeated Gerard Greene 4-2 in the final of the sixth ‘Race to the Crucible Series’ event at the Crucible Club in Newbury to win a third consecutive title.
The 44-year-old Englishman has now won three events in a row as he remains dominant in his bid to secure a return to the iconic Crucible Theatre for the World Seniors Championship in May.
Norman arrived in Newbury on the back of eleven straight victories in the series and continued his fine form with back-to-back whitewash wins over Rob Lymath and Ashley Beal to reach the quarter-finals.
The concluding day of action featured eight players, including previous event winners Norman, Dharminder Lilly and Alfie Burden, from the initial field of 51.
Norman compiled the tournament high break of 125 during his quarter-final whitewash victory against Mark Vincent as he set up a last four meeting with Burden without dropping a frame en route.
After Norman took the first two frames to extend his streak to 14 successive frames across the weekend, Burden hit back and won three in a row to move one away from victory at 3-2.
The man from Bristol showed his battling qualities, however, to force a decider before getting over the line in frame seven to reach a third straight final.
In the title match he faced Northern Ireland’s Greene, who had overcome the world number one Wayne Townsend and event three champion Lilly on the final day.
Greene opened the final with a half-century break but Norman rallied and moved one away from the title as he took a 3-1 lead.
The Northern Irishman reduced his deficit by taking a tight fifth frame, but it proved to be too late as Norman won the next by a scoreline of 60-26 to complete a hat-trick of titles.
HARRIS WINS SECOND SUPER SENIORS TITLE
Anthony Harris defeated Richard Pipe 2-1 in the Super Seniors final in Newbury to win his second title of the season.
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.
A total of 15 players were involved and Harris beat Kevin Willsher, Ian Desmier and David Moritz without dropping a frame to reach the title match.
Pipe took the opener before Harris hit back to force a deciding frame in the final. The 56-year-old saved his best snooker for the most important moment as he compiled a break of 98 to complete the victory.
Event seven of the Race to the Crucible series takes place on 7-9 February at The Crucible Club in Reading.
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
A total of 42 cueists took part in the event which was staged at The Crucible Club in Reading. Among those in action were previous event winners Alfie Burden, Dharminder Lilly and Norman as well as former World Seniors Championship winners Aaron Canavan and Lee Walker.
Norman, who won the previous event last month, began his campaign in the last 32 stage and overcame Bulgaria’s Ivan Kyupov 4-1 before securing a 4-2 victory over fellow countryman Daniel Stott to book his place in the final day.
Anthony Harris, who compiled the tournament high break of 121 on the opening day, was Norman’s opponent in the last eight stage and it was the event four champion that ran out a 4-1 victor to set up a semi-final meeting with Burden.
The two previous event winners went blow for blow in the early stages as the first four frames were shared, before a break of 77 saw Norman move one frame away from the final at 3-2 ahead.
Norman was then able to take the sixth frame to reach a second consecutive final in as many months.
His opponent in the title match was 40-year Gallaby, who had reached his first final of the season by defeating Matthew Ford and new World Seniors Snooker world number one Wayne Townsend on the final day.
Galbally led the best-of-seven frame frame both 2-0 and 3-2, but the former professional rallied to force a deciding frame at The Crucible Club before getting over the line to win his second title of the campaign.
Super Seniors Glory for Milliard
Andy Milliard defeated John Hunter 2-1 in the final of the latest Super Seniors event in Reading.
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.
Eighteen players competed in the event and Milliard dropped just a single frame en route to the final as he beat Simon Chandler, Dennis Tristram, Andy Booker and David Moritz.
He trailed Hunter 1-0 in the best-of-three frame final but held his nerve to secure the next two frames and take home his first Super Seniors title of the season.
The World Seniors Snooker (WSS) ranking lists have been updated following the fifth event of the Race to the Crucible series at The Crucible Club in Reading last weekend.
The top two players on the official WSS ranking list, as well as the top two on the ‘Race to the Crucible’ one-year list will earn their places in the World Seniors Championship, and they will be joined by the winner of a ‘Top 16 Shootout’ event – where players ranked between third and tenth on each list will compete for the final place.
One point is awarded for each frame won at an event and, should the same players sit in the top two of both rankings lists, then the official world rankings would take priority.
Townsend in Top Spot
Wayne Townsend is the new World Seniors Snooker (WSS) world number one following a run to the final of the latest event in Reading last weekend.
He holds an eleven point advantage over Stuart Watson, who has climbed back into the automatic Crucible qualification positions despite falling at the last 16 stage of event five.
A second successive title for Andrew Norman boosts him a further five places to third, just three points behind Watson, while event three winner Dharminder Lilly drops from joint-first to fourth in the ranking list.
Former World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan (5th) and event one champion Alfie Burden (7th) remain among a top ten that is made up by Philip Williams, Nigel Howe, Gerard Greene and Gary Filtness.
TOWNSEND TAKES THE LEAD
The continued consistency of Wayne Townsend has seen him also rise to first place in the ‘Race to the Crucible’ series ranking list after reaching the semi-finals last weekend in Reading.
Despite not yet taking home a title this season, Townsend has reached at least the quarter-finals of four of the five events staged so far and climbs to the summit of the rankings for the first time as a result.
Event three winner Dharminer Lilly, who fell in the last 16 of the latest event, drops to second place – three points behind the new leader.
Back-to-back champion Andrew Norman enters the top ten for the first time as he climbs a further five positions to eighth on the latest ranking list.
The remainder of the top ten at this stage is made up of Philip Williams, Aaron Canavan, Alfie Burden, Gerard Greene, Anthony Harris, Matthew Ford and Nigel Howe.
HUNTER FURTHERS THE LEAD
John Hunter has furthered his advantage at the top of the Super Seniors ranking list following a run to the final in Reading last weekend.
The 58-year-old Englishman now leads second-placed Mukesh Parmar by 13 points, while David Brock, Dennis Tristram and Ian Desmier make up the remainder of the top five after five events.
A first title of the season for Andy Milliard sees him jump to 14th position in the Super Seniors ranking list – just two points away from entering the top ten.
Event six of the Race to the Crucible series takes place on 17-19 January at The Crucible Club in Newbury. Enter now!
Andrew Norman, once a constant friendly presence at the now defunct South West Snooker Academy, behind the bar and around the table is a player I have sorely missed on tour and as a friend. Passing time and geographical distance … but hopefully I will be able to reconnect once again with him at the Crucible next May as .he just won the Race to the Crucible Event 4
Norman, who is bidding for a return to the World Seniors Championship after making his debut at the event last May, trailed 3-1 in the final but breaks of 50 and 82 helped the former professional get over the line on a dramatic final day that featured six deciders.
The 44-year-old becomes the fourth different winner of an event on the new ‘Race to the Crucible’ series, which offers direct qualification to next year’s flagship event, after AlfieBurden, Rory McLeod and Dharminder Lilly each picked up titles earlier in the season.
A heartbreaking defeat in a deciding frame to four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy White earlier this year had left Norman eager to return to snooker’s most iconic venue and he made an impressive start to this latest qualification event as he fired in a break of 130, the highest of the weekend, in a whitewash victory over Nick O’Sullivan in the opening round.
Victories over David Athorn and Nigel Howe then saw him reach the quarter-finals and the concluding day of action in Berkshire.
Breaks of 67, 51 and 108 saw Norman overcome Andy Lavin with an impressive display to join a strong last four line-up that also featured 2018 World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan and former professionals Gerard Greene and Philip Williams.
Northern Ireland’s Greene was the semi-final opponent for Norman and he led 2-0 and 3-2 in the best-of-seven frame contest, but he was unable to get over the line as the Englishman took the deciding frame by a scoreline of 56-9.
Awaiting in the final was Williams after the Welshman had also come through a final frame decider against Canavan to reach the title match.
For Williams, it was a second ‘Race to the Crucible’ event final of the season having lost to McLeod in September, and he looked set to go one better on this occasion as he raced into a 3-1 lead to move one frame from glory.
Norman held his nerve, however, as two half-century breaks saw him force a deciding frame before he took the title on the final black in frame seven.
HARRIS WINS MAIDEN SUPER SENIORS CROWN
Anthony Harris defeated Karl Townsend 2-0 in the final of the latest Super Seniors event to win the title for the first time in 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.
A total of 20 competitors took part and Harris defeated Brian Sharpe, Andrew Barrett, defending champion John Hunter and Graham Beardmore to reach the title match – where he overcame Townsend with a whitewash victory to take home the trophy.
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 