The day began at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sheffield where a business breakfast was staged with around 30 attendees from local businesses attending to network and listen to special guest speeches.

Tom Hunt, Leader of the Sheffield City Council, spoke proudly about the long-standing relationship between snooker and Sheffield as well as his future vision of the city.

The morning concluded with an entertaining chat between World Seniors Snooker Chairman Jason Francis and 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, who discussed his famous connection with Sheffield since he played at the first ever World Snooker Championship in 1977.

Attendees to the event were then invited to attend the afternoon session at the Crucible Theatre where four-time World Seniors Snooker champion Jimmy White and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty were among those in action on the baize.

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker, said: “We are proud to have staged the first ‘Business of Sheffield Day’ during the 2025 JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship. It was wonderful to see so many people in attendance and we hope that this is an event that can grow year on year as World Seniors Snooker continues to build an important relationship with the city.”

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‘The Whirlwind’ and ‘The Darling of Dublin’ will be joined by Malta’s Tony Drago, who makes his second appearance under the format, as well as debutants Nigel Bond, Alfie Burden and Rory McLeod.

The event will see a return to the Epsom Racecourse, twelve months on from the inaugural Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 there which was won by Stephen Hendry, and will be broadcast live on Channel 5.

Learn more about each of the six competitors in Epsom below:

Jimmy White

The record-breaking four-time World Seniors Snooker champion Jimmy White will head to Epsom aiming to secure his maiden Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 title.

‘The Whirlwind’ has reached the final of all three previous events under the format, including in Epsom twelve months ago, but is yet to secure the title having suffered defeats to Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and Igor Figueiredo respectively.

The ten-time ranking event winner and former Masters champion will be aiming to go one better and take home the title next month.

Ken Doherty

Former world champion Ken Doherty maintains his ever-present record at Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 events and will be looking for a repeat of his emotional victory on home soil back in March.

The 1997 Crucible winner, who still competes on the World Snooker Tour, defeated Tony Knowles, Fergal O’Brien and Jimmy White to earn a famous victory at the iconic Goffs venue in Ireland.

‘The Darling of Dublin’ will head to Epsom hoping to round off the year in style with another success.

Tony Drago

Malta’s Tony Drago will bring his remarkably fast-paced play to Epsom next month for his second appearance in a Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 event.

The man known as ‘The Tornado’ made his debut under the format in Hull back in September and will be looking to improve on a run to the semi-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Igor Figueiredo.

A former ranking event semi-finalist with a professional career spanning over thirty years, Drago has reached the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre in 2023 and 2024.

Nigel Bond

Nigel Bond is one of three players who will make their Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut in Epsom next month.

The 58-year-old from England maintained an unbroken spell as a professional between 1989 and 2022 and won a ranking event title in 1996 when he defeated John Higgins 9-8 in the British Open final.

Bond reached the World Championship final in 1995, losing to Stephen Hendry at the Crucible Theatre, and also made it to back-to-back World Seniors Championship finals – defeating Tony Chappel in the final in 2012.

Alfie Burden

Another Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debutant, Alfie Burden will compete for the title in Epsom in December.

Burden reached the final of the 2023 World Seniors Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre with impressive victories over former world champions Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry, before losing to Jimmy White in the title match.

A four-time ranking event quarter-finalist, the London cueist has competed on the World Snooker Tour for over 20 years and regained his professional status in 2021 via Q School.

Rory McLeod

Former professional Rory McLeod completes the line up in Epsom as another player making his Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut next month.

A professional over a spell of more than 30 years, McLeod reached the last 16 of ranking events on 11 occasions – including at the Crucible Theatre in 2017, where he famously defeated Judd Trump in the opening round.

The 53-year-old is a regular competitor on the World Seniors Snooker tour and won one of this season’s Race To The Crucible series events in Reading earlier this year.

Ticket Information

As well as the unique and exciting action on the table, there will also be a VIP Legends Lunch which will offer the chance to meet snooker legends Dennis Taylor and John Virgo, enjoy a two-course meal prior to the action getting underway in Surrey as well as a reserved seat, commentary ear piece, programme and more.

Tickets start from £50 with the limited VIP Legends Lunch tickets available at £147 per person. For ticket enquiries, please contact info@seniorssnooker.com.

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The event will see a return to the Epsom Racecourse, twelve months on from the inaugural Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 there which was won by Stephen Hendry, and will be broadcast live on Channel 5.

There will also be a VIP Legends Lunch which will offer the chance to meet snooker legends Dennis Taylor and John Virgo, enjoy a two-course meal prior to the action getting underway in Surrey as well as a reserved seat, commentary ear piece, programme and more.

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker, said: “We are delighted to be returning to Epsom for the second year in a row and look forward to welcoming the fans for an afternoon of enthralling, unpredictable action under the World Seniors Snooker 900 format.

“We would also like to once again thank our title sponsors Mr Vegas Casino and our host broadcaster Channel 5 for their continued support.”

Tickets start from £50 with the limited VIP Legends Lunch tickets available at £147 per person. For ticket enquiries, please contact info@seniorssnooker.com.

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The event, which will be broadcast live on Channel 5, will bring some of the most decorated names in the sport to the city for the third edition of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900, following victory for seven-time world champion Hendry in Epsom and an emotional success for Doherty on home soil at Goffs in March.

Reigning World Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo, ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago and Barry Pinches also feature in the line-up at the former home of the UK Seniors Championship in East Yorkshire.

Jason Francis, Chairman of World Seniors Snooker said, “It is brilliant to return to Hull, a city that has welcomed World Seniors Snooker with open arms for many years. The field contains the four players who contested the semi-finals of the recent Mr Vegas World Seniors Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre, as well as two icons of the game in Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry.”

Tickets start from just £10 and offer the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of top class snooker played under the exciting ‘900’ format, with each frame only lasting a maximum of 15 minutes (900 seconds).

Former world champion Dennis Taylor will also be in Hull as part of the TV commentary team and will host a special ‘VIP Legends Lunch’ which will see snooker fans enjoy a champagne two course meal and a front row seat for the action.

To book tickets go to www.connexinlivehull.com.

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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.

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The event is the second instalment of this new and exciting format where anything can happen. Each match will last 15 minutes (900 seconds) and has a 20-second shot clock in play at all times, allowing for unmissable action that has proven a hit with fans and players alike.

How It Works

All matches throughout the tournament are just a single frame and each of these frames has a time limit of just 15 minutes. Should the frame not be complete at the end of the allocated 15 minutes, whoever is leading the frame claims the win. 

Played with a spotted cueball, cueists have just 20 seconds per shot and there are no extensions or time-outs (unless at the discretion of the referee). 

For every shot played, either a ball must be potted, or a cushion must be struck with the cueball or an object ball. 

All fouls result in cueball in hand for the opponent. 

At the end of the 15 minutes, should the players be tied on points, a blue-ball shoot-out will be used to determine the winner. 

The six players will compete in two round-robin groups of three players, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. The winner of Group A will face the runner-up in Group B, and the winner of Group B will face the runner-up in Group A in the last four.

Group A

Stephen Hendry, champion of the inaugural Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 in Epsom in December, headlines Group A alongside local favourites Dennis Taylor and Fergal O’Brien.

Hendry, who won the Irish Masters at the iconic Goffs venue on three occasions, kicks off the event on Saturday against veteran Irish professional and former ranking event winner O’Brien.

1985 world champion Taylor completes the group line-up with the top two players in the final standings qualifying for the semi-finals.

Group B

Jimmy White, a back-to-back Irish Masters champion at Goffs in 1985 and 1986, is joined in Group B by 1997 world champion Ken Doherty and former world number two Tony Knowles – who replaces the initially announced Tony Drago in the draw.

Four-time World Seniors champion White will kick off the Group B action in Saturday’s second match, taking on Knowles, before Doherty faces the two legends of the game on home soil as they compete for two semi-final places.

Schedule

The action gets underway at 12 o’clock on Saturday, broadcast live on Channel 5, with the champion expected to be crowned at around 5pm.

• Group Stages (Single-Frame Shootout)
  • Stephen Hendry v Fergal O’Brien
  • Jimmy White v Tony Knowles
  • Dennis Taylor v Winner of Match 1
  • Ken Doherty v Winner of Match 2
  • Dennis Taylor v Loser of Match 1
  • Ken Doherty v Loser of Match 2
• Semi Finals (Single-Frame Shootout)
  • Winner of Group A v Runner-Up of Group B
  • Winner of Group B v Runner-Up of Group A
• Final (Best of 3 Frames)
  • Winner of Semi-Final 1 v Winner of Semi-Final 2

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The event will be broadcast live on Channel 5 on Saturday 2 March and is the second instalment of this new and exciting format where anything can happen. Each match will last 15 minutes (900 seconds) and has a 20-second shot clock in play at all times, allowing for unmissable action that has proven a hit with fans and players alike.

Stephen Hendry, the champion of the first event in Epsom, will face two Irishmen in the group stages on his return to Goffs – Dennis Taylor and Fergal O’Brien. Taylor is, of course, best remembered for his famous 1985 World Championship final victory over Steve Davis on the final black, while local hero O’Brien will bring to a close an incredible 30-year professional career this year.

In group B Jimmy White, a four-time World Seniors champion, will meet 1997 world champion ‘The Darling of Dublin’ Ken Doherty and ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago of Malta.

The round-robin stage sees two players from each group advance to the semi-finals. The action begins at 12 o’clock on Saturday 2 March with Hendry facing O’Brien, before White takes on Drago in the second game of the day. The full schedule can be found below.

To buy your ticket please click here. One ticket gets you in for all the matches at Goffs and the champion is due to be crowned at around 5pm.

• Schedule
• Group Stages (Single-Frame Shootout)
  • Stephen Hendry v Fergal O’Brien
  • Jimmy White v Tony Drago
  • Dennis Taylor v Winner of Match 1
  • Ken Doherty v Winner of Match 2
  • Dennis Taylor v Loser of Match 1
  • Ken Doherty v Loser of Match 2
• Semi Finals (Single-Frame Shootout)
  • Winner of Group A v Runner-Up of Group B
  • Winner of Group B v Runner-Up of Group A
• Final (Best of 3 Frames)
  • Winner of Semi-Final 1 v Winner of Semi-Final 2

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White, Hendry and Doherty will be joined 1985 world champion Dennis Taylor, ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago and local favourite Fergal O’Brien.

The tournament is played under an exciting new format known as ‘The 900’ that sees each match played over 900 seconds or 15 minutes. The event at Goffs is a one-off and the fast-paced, exciting action is not to be missed.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 22 January at 12:00GMT with an all day ticket priced at €50. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.ie.

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Held at the famous Epsom Racecourse, this unique, one-day World Seniors Snooker Tour event featured six of the sport’s most iconic characters competing in single-frame matches with a 20-second shot-clock in operation throughout.

Split into two round robin groups of three players with the top two from each progressing to the knockout semi-finals, Hendry and White both qualified from Group A earlier in the day. 

The duo initially met in the second match of the tournament with Hendry coming out on top with the help of a 55 break after White had broken down on 46.

Hendry also came from behind to defeat 1985 World Champion Dennis Taylor in his other group match, registering a run of 56 during the tie. That result set up a winner-goes-through contest between White and Taylor which the former won without conceding a point. 

There was a grandstand finish to Group B as all three contestants finished level on one victory each. 

In a meeting of former world champions to break the tournament off, Ken Doherty countered with a decisive 60 break to get the win against Joe Johnson. 

Former world number two Tony Knowles entered the fray and impressed as he dispatched Doherty, but in the final fixture of the group, Johnson responded from his opening loss to pip Knowles in a close encounter and put everyone level on wins. However, due to the highest break tiebreak rule, it was Doherty and Johnson who both advanced to the last four.

In the semi-finals – pitching group winners against runners-up from the other group – Hendry eliminated Johnson, and White constructed a break of 59 during his frame success against Doherty. 

That meant a new chapter to the Hendry-White career rivalry would be written as they squared off in yet another televised final. 

Hendry potted the opening red of the title match but was unfortunate to go in-off after deliberately colliding with the pack of reds. However, after receiving cueball in hand for his opponent’s foul, White unexpectedly missed a black off its spot when on a break of 17 to present Hendry with a scoring opportunity.

The seven-time World Champion duly obliged, although whilst on a run of 62, he too missed a relatively straightforward pot, with the winning line very close. 

White had a chance to counter-attack with the final three reds remaining, but – despite knocking in a fantastic long pot on the final red – he was unable to convert, and after some subsequent dramatic moments Hendry managed to secure victory on the colours and claim his maiden title on the World Seniors circuit.

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Held at the famous Epsom Racecourse – home to the prestigious Derby Festival – six snooker icons will perform throughout the one-day spectacular in an innovative format consisting of 15-minute, one-frame matches under shot-clock conditions. 

Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Dennis Taylor, Ken Doherty, Tony Knowles and Joe Johnson are all set to compete in the one-day spectacular.

Mr Vegas Snooker: Playing Rules 

All matches throughout the tournament are just a single frame, although each of these frames has a time limit of just 15 minutes. Should the frame not be complete at the end of the allocated 15 minutes, whoever is leading the frame claims the win. 

Played with a spotted cueball, cueists have just 20 seconds per shot and there are no extensions or time-outs (unless at the discretion of the referee). 

For every shot played, either a ball must be potted, or a cushion must be struck with the cueball or an object ball. 

All fouls result in cueball in hand for the opponent. 

At the end of the 15 minutes, should the players be tied on points, a blue-ball shoot-out will be used to determine the winner. 

A very different mentality to that of traditional matchplay snooker, competitors will need to think and act fast on the Mr Vegas Snooker stage. 

Mr Vegas Snooker: Tournament Format

The six competitors have been drawn into two round robin groups of three. 

In each group, the players will face each other once. 

The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout semi-finals which will commence following the completion of the groups stage. 

The winner of Group A will play the runner-up of Group B, the winner of Group B will play the runner-up of Group A. The two winning semi-finalists will then meet in the final.

Should all players be level on one win each following the completion of the group, the player who compiled the highest break in that respective group will finish top of the group. The player who made the second highest break of the group will qualify as the runner-up.

Mr Vegas Snooker: Draw and Schedule

Group A

• Jimmy White
• Stephen Hendry
• Dennis Taylor

Group B

• Ken Doherty
• Tony Knowles
• Joe Johnson

The 2023 World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker begins at 12 noon (GMT) on Friday 29th December. The order of play is below:

Mr Vegas Snooker: How to Watch

The 2023 World Seniors Mr Vegas Snooker is live and exclusive on Channel 5. Please visit the Channel 5 website here for more information on how to access their platforms.

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