• View all the draw and full results at snookerscores.net

The culmination to the 2018/19 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Tour, the championship will feature 20 players representing 14 different nations and five continents, each of whom are aiming to lift the iconic trophy and pocket the £25,000 first prize

Over the past nine months, several qualifying events open to all amateur players aged 40 or above have taken place in Europe, North America and Asia. These qualifiers will line up alongside the seeded star names, wildcards, national and continental nominations in the draw.

Top Half

Reigning champion Aaron Canavan will begin his title defence with a tricky tie against Hong Kong’s experienced Au Chi Wai, who came through the competitive Chinese qualifying event in Beijing.

The Jersey cueman enjoyed the best moment of his career last year in Scunthorpe when he came from behind to pip Patrick Wallace on a tie-breaker black in the final. Elsewhere in the top quarter, former professional Leo Fernandez faces the current Dutch national champion Joris Maas – winner of the Toronto qualifying event.

World professional champion in 1991, John Parrott returns to the scene of his greatest triumph to play either Willie Thorne or Darren Morgan; one of four preliminary round ties. Winner of this title in 2011, Morgan will be fancied by many to do well in Sheffield as he remains active and very successful on the amateur scene both at home and abroad.

Completing the top half is the ‘King of the Crucible’ Stephen Hendry. The seven-time world champion used to ‘own’ this venue in the nineties; he will be hoping to reignite that bullishness again as he tries to kick-start a seniors career that has not yet seen the Scot return to winning ways. Meeting him in the last 16 will be one of the sport’s most well-known non-UK players – Malta’s Tony Drago or Oceania nomination Dene O’Kane from New Zealand.

Bottom Half

Just four months ago Joe Johnson overcame the odds at the Crucible once again when he lifted the Seniors Masters trophy.

The 67-year-old, who memorably won snooker’s biggest accolade in 1986 when he outplayed Steve Davis in the final, is also guaranteed to play an ‘overseas’ player in the form of either Asia’s first ranking event winner and superstar James Wattana or Egyptian Wael Talaat, three times an African champion.

Former world champion Cliff Thorburn knows what it is like to win at the Crucible in different periods having preceded Johnson as the Seniors Masters title holder. The Canadian will discover his opponent when former world number two Tony Knowles and Chinese nomination Chen Gang open the tournament up on Thursday morning.

In the final quarter of the draw, Dennis Taylor – the fifth and final world professional champion in the event – will cross cues with Stuart Watson, who emerged from the Jersey qualifier last  November.

Jimmy White, for whom the Crucible harbors so many bittersweet memories, will be trying to claim his second world seniors championship following victory in 2010.

Evergreen White and his legion of fans would dearly love him lift a trophy here, and the signs should be positive after securing consecutive titles at the Irish Seniors Masters and Seniors 6-Red World Championship earlier this term.

However, he will have a stern test when going up against Welshman Rhydian Richards in round one; the first qualifier to have booked their berth in Sheffield.

In a change to last year’s edition, there will be no tie-breaker black should the scores reach 2-2, or 3-3 in the final. The entire 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship will be shown live on FreeSports TV and on SuperStar Online in China.

Women’s, Disability Sessions

The event will also see special sessions staged during the final weekend to promote the activities of World Women’s Snooker and World Disability Billiards and Snooker. Taking place at 10:00am on Saturday 17^th and Sunday 18^th August respectively, each session will see four leading players from each tour compete at the home of snooker.

Tickets for these sessions are still available for just £1.47 when purchased with a full-price ticket to a session of the ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship.

Tickets for all sessions are available here: http://bit.ly/SheffieldSeniorsTickets

The post ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship 2019: Tournament Preview appeared first on WSS | World Seniors Snooker.

Organised by World Seniors Snooker, the event is open to players who are over 40 and has already attracted entries from the UK and mainland Europe, as well as China, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

With renowned players including former world number 18 Dene O’Kane set to take to the baize, competition is sure to be fierce with a place at the main event alongside the likes of Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White up for grabs.

The venue stages of the event will take place at the all-new Bonus Arena in Hull on 23-25 October.

It’s not too late to enter the event in Hong Kong, for more information click here.

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The former world number 18 and two-time World Championship quarter-finalist will be returning to the country where he reached his only professional ranking final at the 1989 Hong Kong Open, narrowly losing out 9-8 to Mike Hallett.

Dene O’Kane said: “I am delighted to be a part of the new World Seniors Snooker Tour. I must say it is long overdue and will be the perfect platform for many ex-professional players to compete again together with new opportunities for amateur players in participating countries.”

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker said: “The tour we are building is the perfect vehicle for former professionals of the game like Dene who were household names in the 1980s and still enjoy competing, It would be great to see more players of his era giving this tour a go.”

The UK Seniors Championship qualifiers take place on 21-23 September 2018 at the i20 club in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is open to any player over 40 years of age who is a member of their national federation. The winner in Hong Kong will take their place alongside legends including Jimmy White in Hull this October, with the winner to earn their place at the professional 2019 Betfred World Championship.

To enter a qualifier click HERE.

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