RILEY snooker tables, most notably the legendary RILEY Aristocrat, set the benchmark for professional snooker between 1992 and 2009, including at the World Snooker Championship. During this era, greats such as Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins secured world titles on these Iconic tables. In 2026, a new champion will have the opportunity to add their name to that illustrious list.

The Championship will once again be broadcast live in full by Channel 5 and will expand to a 24-player field. For the first time, a two-table RILEY setup will be installed at the Crucible Theatre, offering more players the chance to experience competing at the spiritual home of snooker. Snooker Fans outside the UK can also enjoy the action on Pluto TV.

Star-Studded Field

The 2026 event will feature an exceptional line-up of snooker legends and debutants, including:

• Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan
• Three-time world champion Mark Williams
• 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham
• Twelve-time World Women’s champion Reanne Evans

They are joined by leading names including Matthew Stevens, Ali Carter, Anthony Hamilton, four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy White, 1997 world champion Ken Doherty and Malta’s Tony Drago.

Defending champion Alfie Burden returns alongside ranking event winners Joe Perry, Robert Milkins and Dominic Dale.

Global Representation

Through collaboration with international federations, the Championship continues to highlight the global strength of the senior game. Confirmed international qualifiers include:

• Pan America Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo
• European Seniors champion Craig Steadman
• African Seniors champion Mohamed Samy Elkhayat
• Pan-Asian Seniors champion Roger Farebrother

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker, said: “When you think of snooker tables, you think RILEY. Bringing the most iconic table manufacturer back to the Crucible Theatre is incredibly special. The Aristocrat is widely regarded as the industry benchmark and remains a favourite among many of the game’s greatest players.”

Stuart Lacey, Managing Director of RILEY, added: “It is a great pleasure to see the RILEY Aristocrat return to the Crucible Theatre, the home of snooker. The Aristocrat is a truly iconic table with a rich and distinguished history, and this marks a wonderful opportunity for a new generation of fans to experience first-hand the quality and heritage that define RILEY.

The World Seniors Snooker Tour has developed into an outstanding series of events, providing a platform for some of the game’s most celebrated players—many of whom continue to compete at the highest level. The strength of this year’s field is a clear reflection of the importance of a thriving Seniors tour and its place within the sport.”

Limited tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship remain available. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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• Results

Ward won through four matches at The Crucible Club in Reading to earn the last spot in the 24-player line-up at snooker’s most iconic venue.

Sixteen hopefuls, who qualified via the two-year official and one-year ‘Race to the Crucible’ ranking lists, competed across two days for the opportunity to take on four-time World Seniors Snooker champion White.

The 44-year-old made a strong start to the weekend by whitewashing Matthew Day in the opening round before downing former English Amateur champion Jamie Curtis-Barrett 4-1 to reach the final day.

The weekend’s highest break of 106 helped Ward to a further 4-0 success in the semi-finals as he set up a final round meeting with Andrew Norman.

Former professional Norman was aiming to reach the final stages of the World Seniors Snooker Championship for a third successive year and had beaten Billy Ginn (4-2), Stephen Groves (4-0) and Mark Love (4-1) en route to the final.

Ward, who previously lifted the title in event five of the World Seniors Tour, took a tight opening frame on the black and never looked back – wrapping up the victory with a break of 59 in the fourth.

He will face White during the 12:00 session of Thursday 7 May with the winner set to take on Robert Milkins in the second round.

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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A total of 16 players, who qualified via the two-year and ‘Race to the Crucible’ ranking lists, began the event and now Daniel Ward, Neil Craycraft, Andrew Norman and Mark Love are still standing.

The tournament winner will earn a place in the World Seniors Snooker Championship and face four-time World Seniors champion White in the opening round on Thursday afternoon.

Schedule

• 12:00 BST: Daniel Ward vs. Neil Craycraft
• 13:30 BST: Andrew Norman vs. Mark Love
• 16:00 BST: The Final

How To Watch

You can watch all the action live on Pluto TV, who will also broadcast the Worlds Seniors Snooker Championship next month following a new simulcast partnership with 5.

Live scores can also be follow via WPBSA SnookerScores.

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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• Results

By reaching the title match, both players secured their places at the Crucible Theatre for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship via the ranking lists. For Jones, it will be a debut appearance at the sport’s most famous venue, while Townsend will return for a second successive year.

Townsend made a strong start to the weekend by overcoming Karl Ashmore and Tam Mustafa with the loss of just a single frame to reach the final day.

Consecutive deciding frame successes against Steve Crowley and event five winner Daniel Ward then saw Townsend into a final against Jones.

Jones had battled through a final frame against former World Seniors Snooker champion Aaron Canavan to reach the title match. He proved to be no match for Townsend on this occasion as the 46-year-old ran out a 4-0 victor, with both players having done enough to qualify for the Crucible.

Super Seniors Hat-Trick for Hunter

• Results

John Hunter won his third consecutive Super Seniors title at The Crucible Club in Reading by defeating Kevin Willsher 2-0.

The Super Seniors number one came through a field of 15 players in the one-day event to round off the season in style.

Victories over John Rees (2-0) and Ashley Beal (2-1) saw Hunter reach the title match where he faced Willsher, who had defeated Mark Evans 2-1 in the semi-finals.

A dominant final display from Hunter saw him compile breaks of 54 and 56 en route to securing a 2-0 victory.

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• Player List
• Draw
• Schedule
• Results

A total of 43 cueists from four countries will compete in the tournament which is the last of nine staged. Among the line-up are Gerard Greene, who has won four events, and current World Seniors Snooker number one Aaron Canavan from Jersey.

The series offers qualification for the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre next May. Four places are available for players in the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship via the ranking list qualification system.

Learn more about the 2025/26 World Seniors Snooker Tour season.

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Nigel Oldfield, who is currently a Governance Director for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), will join the WSS Board – as will Ken Doherty and Lee Walker, who offer representation from the WPBSA Players’ Board.

In addition, Rohit Sagoo and Mike Dunn will continue as WSS Directors with each receiving new four-year terms while Jason Ferguson and David Murray have stepped down from the WSS Board to focus on other projects within the WPBSA Group.

Jason Francis, WSS Chairman, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Nigel Oldfield to the WSS Board. Nigel is someone with vast experience from his time with World Snooker Tour (WST) who can assist with many aspects of tournament operations.”

“It is great to also have Ken Doherty and Lee Walker joining us, providing player representation at a board level. Rohit Sagoo and Mike Dunn remain very valuable members of the company which has achieved huge growth over the last two years.”

The biggest ever World Seniors Snooker Championship will take place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on 6-10 May 2026 with a star-studded line-up featuring Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Jimmy White and many more.

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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On 11-12 April, snooker legends Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry will compete in Ireland for the John Virgo Trophy. The full tournament will be shown live on Pluto TV, with viewers in the UK also able to watch every moment on 5Action or stream on the 5 app.

In May, between 6-10, 5 will once again broadcast the World Seniors Snooker Championship, with Pluto TV streaming the event in the UK and internationally across the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Australia.

This year’s World Seniors Snooker Championship will showcase a star-studded field including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Reanne Evans, Stuart Bingham, Ken Doherty, Jimmy White and Tony Drago. For the first time, 5 will also be offering second table coverage of the event on 5 streaming.

Ronnie O’Sullivan said: “It’s great to see Pluto TV and 5 working together to bring these events to even more snooker fans.”

Raphael Pendergast, Director of Sport at 5, commented: “We’re delighted to be working with Pluto TV, World Seniors Snooker and Snooker 900 to bring the biggest names in snooker to the widest possible audience.”

Olivier Jollet, EVP Head of Pluto TV EMEA & Asia, said: “Snooker is a cultural cornerstone of the UK, and partnering with 5 allows us to engage with even more fans. At Pluto TV, we’re committed to making culturally relevant sports accessible to everyone with traditional and innovative formats.”

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker, said: “This is a brilliant partnership for these two events, and I hope it leads to even more. We know how much people want to watch both events and with 5 and Pluto TV we are delivering a huge global reach.”

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre will host the biggest ever edition of the flagship event for World Seniors Snooker (WSS) on May 6-10 with 24 players set to compete.

The top eight seeds will advance directly into the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight winners of the first round matches.

THE TOP EIGHT

Defending champion Alfie Burden will arrive as the top seed, while reigning British Seniors Open winner Joe Perry is in the opposite side of the draw as the second seed. The rest are ordered by the official World Snooker Tour (WST) ranking list, meaning Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan take third and fourth positions respectively.

The remainder of the top eight is made up of Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter, Matthew Stevens and Robert Milkins – while Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Reanne Evans are among the seeded players for the opening round draw.

FORMAT

• Up to and including the quarter-finals: Best-of-7 Frames
• Semi-Finals: Best-of-13 Frames
• Final: Best-of-19 Frames

In an exciting twist, a black ball shoot out will replace any deciding frames should the scoreline reach 3-3/6-6/9-9.

THE DRAW

The last two remaining places in the line-up will be confirmed following the final event of the World Seniors Tour at the Crucible Club in Reading on 5-6 April.

Once the full line-up is confirmed, the draw and schedule will be announced during the following week.

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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Players will compete for a total prize fund of £80,000 this May, up from £50,000 last year, with the winner set to receive £30,000 – the largest prize in the history of the WSS Tour.

The flagship event will take place at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on 6-10 May and will feature the biggest ever line-up with 24 players – including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams, Jimmy White and many more!

Jason Francis, Chairman of WSS, said: “Follow last year’s World Seniors Snooker Championship, we promised both the fans and players that we would continue to grow the event and we are delivering on that promise with an expanded field and increased prize fund.”

“More than 4,000 tickets have already been sold and we are continuing our broadcast partnership with Channel 5 in the UK, with international coverage to be announced soon. The presence of players like Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams reflects their belief in what we are building. Seniors snooker is one big family and everyone is welcome.”

Tickets for the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship are available from just £17.50 plus booking fee. Click here to secure your visit to the home of snooker.

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• Official Two-Year Ranking List
• Race to the Crucible Ranking List
• Super Seniors Ranking List
• Rankings FAQ

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.

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.

CANAVAN CONFIRMS CRUCIBLE SPOT

Aaron Canavan has guaranteed his place at the top of the official two-year WSS ranking list after winning the event eight title in Reading.

The former World Seniors champion, who finished as runner-up to Alfie Burden at the Crucible Theatre last year, has therefore confirmed his return to snooker’s most iconic venue in May.

In second place is Northern Ireland’s Gerard Greene, who has won four titles this season and is favourite to secure the other qualifying position via the two-year ranking list.

Greene holds a 21-point advantage over third-placed Wayne Townsend, who is aiming for a second Crucible appearance, while the top five is completed by Dharminder Lilly and the already qualified Burden.

GREENE IN POLL POSITION

Gerard Greene has maintained his position at the summit of the one-year ‘Race to the Crucible’ ranking list after reaching a sixth consecutive final in Reading.

Greene and Jersey’s Aaron Canavan holds the top two positions, just as they do in the two-year ranking list, with 14 points separating the two.

Wayne Townsend remains in third, 25 points behind second-placed Canavan, while Stuart Watson and Matthew Ford lead the chasing pack.

The remainder of the top ten is made up of Neal Jones, Philip Williams, Daniel Ward and Neil Craycraft.

HUNTER MAINTAINS LEAD

John Hunter remains at the top of the Super Seniors ranking list after securing another title at The Crucible Club in Reading.

He now holds a 15 point advantage over second placed David Brock, while Neil Carroll holds third position.

The rest of the top ten sees Dennis Tristram, Andrew Barrett, Mark Evans, Wayne Martin, Andrew Norman, John Rees and Kevin Wilshere.

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