World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce that JenningsBet will be the title sponsor for the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship.
Starting out in 1995 as ‘Jennings Racing’, they have grown from 10 Essex-based shops to become the UK’s largest independent bookmaker with over 200 shops nationwide.
The JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship will be held 7-11 May at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Defending Champion Igor Figueiredo from Brazil will join four-time champion Jimmy White, 1997 World champion Ken Doherty and ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago as well as former ranking event winners Dominic Dale and Joe Perry who make their debut in the tournament.
WSS Chairman Jason Francis said “Greg and his team at JenningsBet supported the launch of my World Seniors Darts Tour and, without them, those events which featured the return of Phil Taylor in 2022 may never have happened. It is great to team up again and showcase their brand from the home of snooker.”
Derek Somers, Sponsorship Manager at JenningsBet, said: “We at JenningsBet are proud to be sponsoring this prestigious event at an iconic sporting venue. Age is no barrier to sporting prowess and this tournament will crown a worthy champion.”
Line-Up Confirmed for 2025 JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship
Brazil’s Figueiredo made history for South American snooker 12 months ago by winning the flagship title and he will begin the defence of his crown as the top seed on the opening Wednesday afternoon session.
Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White will be aiming to win a record-extending fifth World Seniors Snooker Championship title at the sport’s most iconic venue and he gets underway on the afternoon of Thursday 8 May – as does the 1997 World champion Ken Doherty.
Former ranking event champions Joe Perry and Dominic Dale will make their World Seniors Snooker debuts at the event and they are joined as seeds by Malta’s Tony ‘The Tornado’ Drago, former world number two Tony Knowles and World Seniors Snooker’s world number one Aaron Canavan – who notably won the 2018 Championship.
Canavan is one of four players to have qualified via the ‘Race to the Crucible Series’ which saw players compete across nine events to earn their spots via the rankin
gs. The man from Jersey is joined by Andrew Norman, Gerard Greene and Crucible debutant Wayne Townsend in qualifying via this route.
Additionally, Craig Steadman, Hassan Kerde, Charl Jonck and Fabio Anderson Luersen will add to the international field having earned their right via the continental Seniors Championships in the Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Americas regions respectively.
One place remains up for grabs and this will go to the winner of the ‘Golden Ticket’ Play-Off which sees 16 players competing for the spot at The Crucible Club in Reading on 19-20 April.
Among the line-up is Alfie Burden, who reached the final of the 2023 World Seniors Snooker Championship and missed out on automatic qualification this year by just a single frame, and Rory McLeod – who famously defeated Judd Trump at the Crucible in 2017…
The draw for the last chance ‘Golden Ticket’ Play-Off for the JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship is now confirmed following the conclusion of the ‘Race to the Crucible Series’ last weekend.
Sixteen players will compete at The Crucible Club in Reading on 19-20 April with the winner earning the last remaining place at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in May.
Alfie Burden vs. Andy Lavin
Anthony Harris vs. Dean Galbally
Stuart Watson vs. Rory McLeod
Nigel Howe vs. Lee Stephens
Dharminder Lilly vs. Billy Ginn
Matt Ford vs. Gary Filtness
Neil Craycraft vs. Marc Shaw
Philip Williams vs. Tam Mustafa
The line-up is made up top eight ranked players who did not qualify automatically for the flagship event in each of the official two-year world ranking list and the one-year ‘Race to the Crucible Series’ ranking list.
Ken Doherty joined World Seniors Snooker (WSS) Chairman Jason Francis yesterday at Greystones Primary School in Sheffield to launch two initiatives which will form part of the ‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ for the World Seniors Snooker Championship.
On Saturday 10 May, 200 local children will attend the semi-finals courtesy of WSS and Sheffield City Council as part of their ‘Sheffield Loves Snooker’ campaign.
Children will get a chance to bring a grandparent to the Crucible Theatre as well as taking part in a snooker themed art competition which will be judged by 1997 world champion Doherty. The artwork will be displayed in the venue during the whole event which runs from the 7-11 May and follows on from the World Snooker Championship.
Doherty said: ”It was fantastic to meet the pupils today to tell them what Sheffield and the Crucible Theatre means to me and to also answer their questions about what it was like to win the World Championship in 1997. The plan for them to treat their grandparents to a day at the World Seniors Championship is brilliant and its great to see WSS engaging with so many local schools around the art competition.”
Jason Francis, WSS Chairman, said “The Youth of Sheffield Day is one of a number of projects we are running this year based around showcasing what is great about the steel city and the home of snooker. Semi-final Saturday will see Tudor Square full of local children and hopefully feeling the atmosphere of snooker at the Crucible could be the spark to encourage them to try the game themselves.”
Sinead Gaffney, Headteacher at Greystones Primary School said: “Everyone at Greystones loved meeting Ken today. It was a great opportunity for our children to learn more about the links between Sheffield and snooker, thanks to the Crucible’s role of hosting the World Championship.”
“Everyone wants to give snooker a go now and Ken’s message of working hard and aiming high is a brilliant model for every child, wherever their talents lie! Whether the children’s families have longstanding roots in the city, or if they are relative newcomers like myself, here’s another reason to feel proud of our wonderful city of Sheffield” she added.
This is really a great way, not just to promote the event, but to make it an opportunity for persons of different generations to spend time together, united by their love of sport and snooker in particular. Ken is the perfect ambassador for the endeavour. He loves his sport deeply and is a great communicator.
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.
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.
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.
Dharminder Lilly Lifts Third Race to the Crucible Series Title
Dharminder Lilly defeated former World Seniors champion Lee Walker 4-1 in the final of the third event of the ‘Race to the Crucible’ series at The Crucible Club in Reading.
The 49-year-old came through a field of 49 cueists, which included two former World Seniors Championship winners, to secure the victory and join Alfie Burden and Rory McLeod on this season’s roll of honour.
The Race to the Crucible series sees nine events held across the season with the top two ranked players at the conclusion of the final event earning places at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, while those who finish between third and tenth will qualify for the ‘Top 16 Shootout’ – where a further place in Sheffield will be on offer.
Four nations were represented at The Crucible Club in Reading, where the three-day event got underway on Friday afternoon. Lilly began the event in the last 32 stage and kicked off with a comfortable whitewash win over Ian Desmier.
In the last 16 he faced Steven Nevett, who had defeated Toby Pugh in a deciding frame in the previous round despite Hugh compiling a stunning tournament high break of 141 earlier in the contest.
Nevett proved no match for Lilly, however, as he ran out a 4-1 victor before defeating Anthony Harris by the same scoreline to reach the semi-finals. After sharing the first four frames of the last four meeting with Neil Craycraft, the eventual champion then pulled away to complete a 4-2 win and book his place in the final.
2022 World Seniors champion Walker was his opponent in the title match after the 48-year-old Welshman had shown tremendous form to overcome Jason Pusser, Gerard Greene, Matthew Ford and fellow former World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan to reach the final – compiling a trio of century breaks along the way.
Despite Walker scoring a half-century in the opening frame of the final, it went to way of Lilly by a 72-59 scoreline and he quickly doubled his advantage to 2-0 in the best-of-seven frame match.
Walker briefly rallied to halve the deficit, but Lilly was too strong on the day and took the next two frames to complete a 4-1 victory and secure the title in the third Race to the Crucible series event of the season.
Hunter Wins Super Seniors
John Hunter defeated Mukesh Parmar 2-1 in the final of the Super Seniors event on Sunday 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.
Hunter, who won the first Super Seniors title of the season in August, furthered his position at the top of the ranking list by coming through four matches to win the tournament.
The 58-year-old Englishman dropped just a single frame in defeating Dave Moritz, Andy Booker and Dennis Tristam to set up a final meeting with fellow countryman Parmar.
Parmar took the opener of the best-of-three frame title match to move one away from victory, but Hunter hit back to force a decider before taking the decisive frame by a scoreline of 68-40 to secure the title.
Event four of the Race to the Crucible series takes place on 22-24 November at The Crucible Club in Reading. Enter now!
LIVE SNOOKER RETURNS TO EPSOM RACECOURSE FOR CHRISTMAS
Following last years event we are delighted to say we will return on Monday 30th December 2024 for another Snooker 900 Special, and once again it will be live on Channel 5.
We are giving people who have registered an interest, an early chance to secure your tickets before they go on general sale. This year we will be providing a VIP ticket, a Gold Ticket and a Silver Ticket and you can secure tickets now with payment due on the 30th October, after which time they would be placed on general sale.
Jimmy White and Ken Doherty are already confirmed to play, Dennis Taylor, John Virgo, Neal Foulds and Reanne Evans have also been announced as part of the presenting team.
So, if you wish to join us here are your options and what you can
VIP LEGENDS LUNCH PACKAGE You will enjoy the very best hospitality we have to offer at the event. Your day begins with arrival at 11.30am where you will be escorted to our Legends Lounge to enjoy a glass of bubbly. Here you will get to meet your hosts Dennis Taylor and John Virgo and get the chance to grab a photo with them and our trophy. A signed photo from Dennis and John to keep. At your reserved seat, a goody bag awaits which will include your Official Event Programme as well as Commentary Earpiece. At 12 we will serve you a two-course meal, a free prize draw will give everyone a chance to win some signed prizes and you’ll hear from Dennis and John as they recount stories from their careers and give you their predictions for the days play. At 12.45 we will escort you to your VIP seating which will be raised table seating with a QR code where any further drinks you order will be delivered to you. You will enjoy all the live TV action from our reserved VIP area. A Free Racecourse Parking pass is included with your booking VIP Legends Lunch Tickets are £147 pp but limited For bookings of 10 or more we will also include a free match shirt which will be signed by all the players.
GOLD TICKET Closest to the action our front row ground floor seats mean you will have an unobstructed view of the action Gold tickets are £70 per person
SILVER TICKET From the second row you will still have a great view of the action. Silver tickets are £50 per person
To reserve your seats or find out how your company could benefit from our of our partnering packages which can include Tv Branding and your logo on a player please email
You can reserve seats on a first come first serve basis, seats must be paid for before 31st Oct 2024, after which any reserved seats will go back on general sale.
Fabio Anderson Luersen, from Brazil, has won the Pan American snooker championship, earning his place in the draw of the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship, to be played at the Crucible theatre next May.
Fabio Anderson Luersen Wins Pan American Seniors Snooker Championship
Brazil’s Fabio Anderson Luersen defeated Alberto Camara 4-0 in the final of the Pan American Seniors Championship to secure his place in next year’s World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Luersen, who lost just one frame in the event, will be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow countryman Igor Figueiredo – who qualified for last year’s flagship World Seniors Snooker (WSS) event via the Pan American Seniors Championship before defeating Jimmy White, Tony Drago and Ken Doherty en route to winning the prestigious title.
Photo: PABSA
Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association (PABSA) staged the annual championship at La Bande O’ Coin, Saint-Lambert in Canada from 5-8 October and total of 58 cueists aged over 40 embarked on the North American venue with aims of securing the title and a spot at snooker’s most iconic venue.
Luersen began the competition in style, earning a clean sweep of victories in his seven-player group and dropping just a single frame against opponents from Canada and USA.
The Brazilian, who also compiled the tournament high break of 103, then completed back-to-back whitewash wins against Canada’s Rolland Tremblay and Rodney Cuilleri to set up a semi-final meeting with Ajeya Prabhakar.
The former USA national champion proved no match for the in-form Luersen, who advanced once more without dropping a frame to reach the title match.
Canadian cueist Alberto Camara was his opponent after he had defeated Sylvain Ethier, former World Seniors Championship qualifier Vito Puopolo and Jeffrey Kennedy to book a final spot against Luersen.
A dominant weekend from Luersen was rounded off in style on Tuesday evening as the Brazilian completed yet another whitewash victory to win the title and earn a place at the 2025 World Seniors Championship.
Photo: PABSA
CongratulationsFabio Anderson Luersen!
This means that there will be two Brazilian Seniors at the Crucible next year! Let’s Samba!
The 53-year-old, who famously defeated Judd Trump at the Crucible Theatre during the 2017 World Championship, made a big step towards a return to the iconic venue by lifting the title last weekend in Berkshire.
The Race to the Crucible series sees nine events held across the season with the top two ranked players at the conclusion of the final event earning places at the World Seniors Snooker Championship, while those who finish between third and tenth will qualify for the ‘Top 16 Shootout’ – where a further place in Sheffield will be on offer.
Seven nations were represented at the second event of the series with a total of 54 cueists embarking on the Reading venue.
McLeod made a stunning start to the weekend with back-to-back whitewash victories in his opening two matches, during which he also compiled the tournament high break of 137.
In the last 16, the cueist representing Jamaica looked to be facing a certain exit as he fell 3-0 behind to Wayne Townsend in a best-of-seven frame contest. However, McLeod held his nerve to win four consecutive frames before overcoming both Lee Martin and Gary Filtness by a 4-2 scoreline to book his place in the final.
His opponent in the final was Welsh former professional Williams, who is bidding to qualify for the final stages of the World Seniors Championship for a fourth time.
McLeod looked to be too strong in the title match as a break of 119, his second century of the event, helped him to move one frame away from victory at 3-0.
Despite a brief rally from Williams to reduce the deficit to two, it was too little too late as McLeod was able to take the fifth frame by a scoreline of 71-55 to secure the title.
Graham Beardmore defeated Joy Mehra 2-1 in the final of the second Super Seniors event 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 19 competitors took part in the tournament, including event one winner John Hunter and former World Seniors Darts Championship runner-up Richie Howson – who eventual champion Beardmore defeated 2-1 in the opening round.
A trio of 2-0 victories against Kevin Willsher, Dennis Tristram and Hunter then set up a final meeting with India’s Mehra.
Mehra took the opening frame of the final to move one away from victory, but Beardmore hit back to force a decider before securing the title with a dominant 76-1 victory in the concluding frame of the contest.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 