The World Seniors Tour is the snooker tour for senior players. Founded in 2017 by Snooker Legends, the tour has been run since 2018 by World Seniors Snooker, a subsidiary company of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

World Seniors Tour
Logo of World Seniors Snooker
SportSnooker (senior)
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationWST
FoundedJune 2017 Snooker Legends
AffiliationSnooker Legends (2017–2018)
World Senior Snooker (since May 2018)[1]
HeadquartersBristol, United Kingdom
ChairmanJason Francis[2]
Official website
seniorssnooker.com

World Seniors Tour events are open to all snooker players aged 40 or older, including current professionals who are ranked outside the top 64 in the snooker world rankings.[3][4] Winners of the UK Seniors Championship and World Seniors Championship earn places in the World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds.[5]

History

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The tour was created and run by the company Snooker Legends in 2017, after it first staged the 2017 World Seniors Championship.

The World Seniors Tour began with a series of four non-ranking events in the 2017–18 season: the UK Seniors Championship, the Seniors Irish Masters, the Seniors Masters and the World Seniors Championship.

In 2018, a newly formed company called World Seniors Snooker took over the running of the tour. Six events were to take place during the 2018–19 season. However, only four of the events were staged. The European Seniors Open was cancelled and the World Seniors Championship was postponed in March 2019. It was pushed back and played in August 2019, becoming the first event of the 2019–20 season.[6][7][8] Other qualifying events for amateurs were held in Canada, Hong Kong, Belgium and the United States.[1][9]

The 2019–20 season of the World Seniors Tour was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] The Seniors Masters, Seniors Irish Masters, 6 Red World Championship and a new event, the British Seniors Open, were all cancelled. Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation the 2020-21 seniors season was restricted to just a seniors Q-School in January 2021, and the 2021 World Seniors Championship in May, at the Crucible Theatre.[11]

Seasons and results

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Season Tournament Winner Runner-up Score City Ref.
Snooker Legends – World Seniors Tour
2017–18 2017 UK Seniors Championship   Jimmy White   Ken Doherty 4–2   Redhill
2018 Seniors Irish Masters   Steve Davis   Johnathan Bagley 4–0   Kill
2018 World Seniors Championship   Aaron Canavan   Patrick Wallace 4–3   Scunthorpe
2018 Seniors Masters   Cliff Thorburn   Johnathan Bagley 2–1   Sheffield
World Seniors Snooker – World Seniors Tour
2018–19 2018 UK Seniors Championship   Ken Doherty   Igor Figueiredo 4–1   Hull
2019 Seniors Irish Masters   Jimmy White   Rodney Goggins 4–1   Kill
2019 Seniors 6-Red World Championship   Jimmy White   Aaron Canavan 4–2   Belfast
2019 Seniors Masters   Joe Johnson   Barry Pinches 2–1   Sheffield
2019–20 2019 World Seniors Championship   Jimmy White   Darren Morgan 5–3   Sheffield
2019 UK Seniors Championship   Michael Judge   Jimmy White 4–2   Hull
2020 World Seniors Championship   Jimmy White   Ken Doherty 5–4   Sheffield
2020–21
2021 World Seniors Championship   David Lilley   Jimmy White 5–3   Sheffield [12]
2021–22 2022 UK Seniors Championship   Peter Lines   David Lilley 5–1   Hull [13]
2022 World Seniors Championship   Lee Walker   Jimmy White 5–4   Sheffield [14]
2022–23 2023 World Seniors Championship   Jimmy White   Alfie Burden 5–3   Sheffield
2023–24 2024 World Seniors Championship   Igor Figueiredo   Ken Doherty 5–2   Sheffield

References

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  1. ^ a b "WPBSA World Seniors Tour - World Snooker". World Snooker. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Stephen Hendry Fronts New World Seniors Tour - SnookerHQ". SnookerHQ. June 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Crucible Field Set for World Seniors Championship". WPBSA. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ "World Seniors | WSS | Seniors Snooker". Seniors. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  5. ^ "WPBSA World Seniors Tour". WPBSA. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Snooker: Key dates for World Seniors Tour". Blasting News. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Six Events in WPBSA World Seniors Tour - SnookerHQ". SnookerHQ. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. ^ "The WPBSA World Seniors Tour". Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  9. ^ "World Seniors Tour - European Open Qualifier 3 - Snooker Hub". Snooker Hub. Retrieved 3 October 2018.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "WSS ROKiT Phones.com Tour Statement – 17 March 2020". Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. ^ "WSS 2021 Q-School – the draws are out". 23 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Lilley is World Seniors Champion". 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021.
  13. ^ "The 2021 WSS UK Championship is on". 9 December 2020.
  14. ^ "'A dream come true' – Lee Walker hits back to deny Jimmy White in World Seniors final". Eurosport. 9 May 2022.
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