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!
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.
South Africa’s Charl Jonck defeated fellow countryman Mutalieb Allie 4-2 in the final of the 2024 African Seniors Championship in Johannesburg.
Jonck was in stunning form during the event, dropping just three frames and compiling the high break of 128 as he earned the title and a place at the Crucible Theatre for next May’s World Seniors Championship.
Organised by the African Billiards & Snooker Confederation (ABSC), the African Seniors Championship is staged as part of the All-African Snooker Championships with the winner of the main singles competition receiving a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
A total of 28 cueists from four nations competed in the Seniors event with an initial group stage narrowing the field down to a final 16 in the knockout phase.
Eventual champion Jonck was in fine form throughout the competition and dominated his group with a clean sweep of 3-0 victories and a stunning tournament high break of 128.
A break of 72 helped Jonck to defeat Latchman Moodley 3-0 in the first knockout round before a further whitewash victory over Mervyn Donnely secured his place in the last four.
Morocco’s Naitali Mourad became the first player to take a frame off the dominant Jonck, but the South African once again proved too strong as he ran out a 4-1 winner to set up a final with fellow countryman Allie.
Allie, who had dropped just a single frame en route to the title match, gave Jonck his toughest test in a high quality affair which saw the two players split four half-century breaks between them.
However, a top break of 92 saw Jonck secure the African Seniors Championship crown and an invitation to compete in the World Seniors Championship as he ran out a 4-2 winner.
The fourth, and last, qualifying event for the 2024 Seniors Snooker World Championship was played over the week-end in Jersey. Rodney Goggins once again is “Crucible” bound…
Rodney Goggins secured his place at the Crucible Theatre in May by defeating Nigel Howe 4-0 in the final of the fourth LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship qualifier at the Jersey Mechanics Institute.
Goggins, a World Snooker Tour professional between 2004 and 2009, came through a field of 33 hopefuls which included 2018 World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan to book his place at snooker’s most iconic venue.
The 45-year-old got his weekend off to a strong start with back-to-back whitewash victories over Kieran O’Donovan and fellow Irishman Tony Corrigan.
In the quarter-finals he met Gary Filtness, who lifted the Super Seniors title in Jersey, and the Englishman twice moved ahead in the best-of-seven frame contest – including firing in an impressive 112 break in the third. Goggins ultimately proved too strong, however, and took the contest 4-2 to set up a last four meeting with Gary Britton.
Britton had already eliminated former champion Canavan at the last sixteen stage, and was looking to claim another scalp as he fought back from 2-0 down to level the contest after four frames.
Goggins was in fine form, however, having opened up the match with a stunning 128 break and eventually battled through a 4-2 victor to reach the title match.
There he met Howe, who had beaten John Leahy, David Brock, Simon Dent and Wayne Townsend to reach the final, but proved no match for Goggins as the experienced Irishman took the title with a comfortable 4-0 victory.
BACK-TO-BACK SUPER SENIORS GLORY FOR GARY FILTNESS
Gary Filtness followed up his recent Super Seniors victory in Ireland with further success in Jersey, as he defeated Simon Dent 2-0 in the final to claim the title.
Filtness, who lost out to eventual champion Rodney Goggins in the qualifying event, defeated former professional Andrew Norman 2-0 in his opening match of the Super Seniors and dropped just a single frame en route to the final as he later overcame Raymond Grall and Tony Corrigan.
His opponent in the title match was Dent, who had beaten John Leahy, John Hunter and Karl Townsend to reach the final.
Filtness proved too strong, however, as breaks of 58 and 72 secured the title for the 60-year-old.
Ken Doherty defeated Jimmy White 2-1 in the final of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 at Goffs to lift the title on home soil.
Doherty was overcome with emotion following the victory in front of his home crowd, which sees him become the second winner of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event following Stephen Hendry’s success in Epsom last December.
The 1997 world champion did not got off to the best of starts in this fast-paced event, losing his opening group stage encounter to fellow eventual finalist White, courtesy of a break of 47 from The Whirlwind.
White had already overcome Tony Knowles in his opening group game with a magnificent break of 96, meaning his place in the semi-finals was secured while Doherty and Knowles faced off in a ‘winner-takes-all’ final group contest.
Unfortunately for Knowles, who had been drafted in as a late replacement for Tony Drago, his trip to Ireland saw him fail to pot a single ball as Doherty fired in a break of 77 to book his place in the last four.
In the other group, Hendry and Fergal O’Brien had kicked off proceedings at Goffs with a hard-fought match that saw the Irishman run out the eventual winner on his debut in this format.
Both players would go on to defeat the 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, with Hendry compiling an impressive 88 break in the final group game, to ensure both Hendry and O’Brien reached the knockout stage.
The semi-final line-up was a mouthwatering prospect for the excitable Irish crowd.
First up, an all-Ireland meeting pitted O’Brien and Doherty against each other on home soil – with ‘The Darling of Dublin’ hitting top form at just the right time as he fired in a break of 101, the highest of the day, to secure a place in the the title match.
Old foes White and Hendry met in the second semi-final for another dramatic chapter in their epic rivalry.
The two both had chances to secure the frame, but as the contest approached the final few balls, the tension was clear everyone in the packed-out venue to see. Ultimately, it was White who held his nerve to clear from blue to the final black and set up a final meeting with Doherty.
The final, a repeat of the 2020 World Seniors Championship final at the Crucible Theatre, saw the two legends of the game face off in a best-of-3 frame contest under the unique Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 format.
White moved into the ascendancy with a break of 77, but Doherty hit back with a 71 of his own to ensure that the final would, suitably, be decided by a one-frame shootout.
In front of his home crowd and at a venue where he used to work as a boy, it was Doherty who got over the line to complete the victory and lift the title at the iconic Goffs venue.
World Seniors Snooker returns in May with the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for ticket details.
And some more images shared on social media during the event.
It was great entertainment as always although the players were giving it their all at the table. Neal, Rachel and Lee were at their best enthusiast self! The channel 5 coverage was good. There was a big crowd, very lively, as you would expect in this area and arena. Phil Seymour was the MC and excellent as ever.
Great job by Jason Francis and the WSS team! Thank you guys!
The event will start on Saturday at the iconic arena of Goffs. The arena is getting ready…
Also it has been announced that Tony Drago will be replaced in the draw by Tony Knowles
Tony can still play! He qualified into the later stages of the World Amateur Championships in Albania recently. Also, he’s already got a taste of the Mr Vegas format … he will be a contender.
Tyson Crinis – Wins the Asia-Pacific Seniors Championship.
Tyson Crinis is the latest to add their name to the entry list for the 2024 World Seniors Snooker Championships. Tyson hails from Wollongong which is South of Sydney along the Grand Pacific Drive, he recently moved to Canberra for work.
He defeated Hassan Kerde 4-1 in the final of the Asia-Pacific Seniors and locked in his spot for the Seniors Championship which will take place at the Crucible Theatre from the 8-12th May
On securing his spot he said…
“I grew up watching Stephen Hendry at the crucible on VHS tapes passed on from snooker enthusiasts and always dreamed of going even just to be a part of the crowd – now I could get to play him – its a dream come true“
Tyson started playing as a junior at just 12 which is when he first met Neil Robertson. They both played at the national championship.
He fondly recalls that The Thunder lost the semi and he lost the final, which was probably the first and last time I got one up on Neil.
Tyson joins names already confirmed which include Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, James Wattana, Joe Johnson, Tony Drago, Darren Morgan and Igor Figueredo
Tyson Crinis is 41 years old and has never been a professional.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 