The success saw the Brazilian secure back-to-back televised titles on the World Seniors Snooker tour as he followed up on his victory in the World Seniors Championship at the iconic Crucible Theatre back in May.

The unique event, which sees the competitors face off in single-frame shootouts of no more than 15 minutes (or 900 seconds) and was shown live on Channel 5, began with a repeat of the Crucible final from earlier this year as 900 format debutant Figueiredo took on Ken Doherty.

The man known as ‘The Darling of Dublin’ had arrived in England at around 5am that morning, following time as a player and pundit at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh, but showed no signs of fatigue as a break of 67 saw him gain revenge on his Brazilian opponent.

Doherty would follow this up with a further group stage victory over Barry Pinches, another debutant to the format, to secure his place in the semi-finals.

Malta’s Tony Drago was the first man to join him in the knockout stages as he secured a duo of impressive victories over four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy White and seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry.

Back-to-back victories for both Doherty and Drago meant that the final two group stage encounters were effectively knockout matches, with the two winners securing their places in the last four.

Breaks of 49 and 46 were enough for Figueiredo to overcome Pinches in the first of these contests, before White and Hendry renewed their famous rivalry in front of the Hull crowd – with a break of 66 from ‘The Whirlwind’ earning him the last semi-final spot.

The action continued to come thick and fast in East Yorkshire as the event entered the knockout stages and it was the two group runner-ups who set up a final meeting as White overcame Doherty in a repeat of the 2020 World Seniors Championship final, before Figueiredo continued his fine form by defeating Drago.

The title match saw the two most recent winners of the World Seniors Championship go head to head in a best-of-three frame contest.

White compiled the highest break of the day to take the opener with a 69 but, fittingly, the event would ultimately be decided by a final frame shootout as Figueiredo hit back with a 66 to restore parity.

‘The Whirlwind’, who has been defeated in the previous two Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 finals, look set to finally get his hands on the trophy as he was in the balls in the final frame on a break of 40.

Dramatically, however, White broke down allowing the Brazilian to clear up and seal the victory on the final black before letting out an ecstatic roar in celebration.

Post-match, Figueiredo said: “It’s a fantastic time for me, my career and for the Americas as well. I think it was a fantastic final, I feel over the moon with that clearance – I don’t believe it! I enjoy playing in the World Seniors events and I want to fix my place here and come back for every tournament.”

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Contested at the former home of the UK Seniors Championship, the event features a 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.

Among those in action are seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who won the inaugural staging in Epsom in December, and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty – who lifted the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 title on home soil at the iconic Goffs venue earlier this year.

They are joined by reigning World Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo, four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White, Malta’s Tony ‘The Tornado’ Drago and former ranking event winner Barry Pinches.

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

Sunday’s action will begin with a rematch of May’s World Seniors Championship final between Ken Doherty and Igor Figueiredo.

Brazil’s Figueiredo ran out a 5-2 victor at the Crucible Theatre to lift the prestigious trophy and will be looking to repeat the feat on his Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut in Hull.

The two recent World Seniors Championship finalists are joined by former ranking event winner Barry Pinches, who is also making his debut under the fast-paced and exciting format.

Group B

Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White will renew their storied rivalry at the Connexin Live in Hull as the two meet in the group stages.

The two contested the first ever Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 final in December, with Hendry coming out on top in Epsom, before White gained revenge at Goffs by eliminating the seven-time world champion at the semi-final stage.

Hendry and White are joined in the group by Malta’s Tony Drago, who reached the semi-finals of this year’s World Seniors Championship in Sheffield.

Schedule

The action gets underway at 13:00 BST on Sunday, broadcast live on Channel 5.

• Group Stages (Single-Frame Shootout)

• • (A) Igor Figueiredo v Ken Doherty
  • (B) Jimmy White v Tony Drago
  • (A) Barry Pinches v Winner of Match 1
  • (B) Stephen Hendry v Winner of Match 2
  • (A) Barry Pinches v Loser of Match 1
  • (B) Stephen Hendry 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

Limited tickets remain available via the Connexin Live website – click here.

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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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Since December 2023, the WSS tour has achieved remarkable success by bringing household names such as Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor into the front rooms of millions people via the free-to-air channel in the UK.

The recent Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker Championship, held at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, saw the first ever cue sports world champion from South America as Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo lifted the crown, while there were also victories from Hendry in Epsom and an emotional Doherty at Goffs in Ireland for the Mr Vegas Snooker 900 events.

WSS Chairman Jason Francis said “This year has been a breakthrough for World Seniors Snooker and we are finally getting the platform that this project deserves.

“We now have a brilliant free-to-air broadcaster in Channel 5, as well as a great supporting title sponsor in Mr Vegas and some brilliant tour partners who have been with us at every event. The key now is to use what we have done so far to stage many more events for both amateur and professional senior snooker players globally”

Raphael Pendergast from Channel 5 said “The tournament was a real success and the feedback from the audience has been massively positive, we are delighted to see that the event achieved great TV numbers.”

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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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