The World Seniors Championship is an invitational seniors

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

tournament which has been played under different formats. As of 2020 the minimum age is 40, but it was 45 in 2011 and 2012.

History

The event was first held in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

with 16 players aged over 40. It took place at the

Trentham Gardens The Trentham Estate, in the village of Trentham, is a visitor attraction located on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. History The estate was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. At t ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

with the sponsorship of

Matchroom Matchroom Sport is a sporting event promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and run by Hearn and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, gol ...

. The final was contested between the two highest ranked players, with

Cliff Wilson Clifford Wilson (10 May 193421 May 1994) was a Welsh professional snooker player who reached the highest ranking of 16, in 1988-89. He was the 1978 World Amateur Champion and won the 1991 World Seniors Championship. He was a successful junior ...

defeating

Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton, (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winn ...

5–4 to become the inaugural champion. The event was revived in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, but the field was reduced to 9 players and was played in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

. The event was sponsored by Wyldecrest Park Homes, who remained the sponsor until 2012. In 2011 event the minimum age for competitors was increased from 40 to 45 years, and it was moved to the

East of England Showground The East of England Showground is a large showground area (667,731sqm) located on East of England Way in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The Showground is owned by Bellway as of around 2019 and the site currently includes the East of Engla ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

. All matches were best of 3 frames, a 30-second shot clock was introduced after ten minutes of play, and the miss rule was altered so was awarded anywhere on table after the third miss. The field was increased to 16 players, with 12 being invited and four coming through qualifying. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

the event was moved to the

Mountbatten Centre The Mountbatten Centre is a leisure centre in Portsmouth, England, which opened in 1979. The "Mountbatten Centre" is located in Hilsea, an area in Portsmouth. Facilities *8 lane 50 m pool *12.5 m teaching pool *150 station fitness gym *5-a-s ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

the number of qualifying spots was reduced to two, and the event was sponsored by 888casino.com.

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

became eligible to compete at tournament, because he turned 45 during the 2013/2014 season. In the 2014/2015 season the event was moved to the second half of the season, and held at Circus Arena in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

. The minimum age for the event returned to 40 years. All former World Seniors Champions and World Snooker Champions, who registered for the event, were seeded through to Blackpool, and the remaining places were filled through a qualifying event. In 2017 and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

it was held for non-tour players aged 40 or over at the beginning of the year.http://www.snookerlegends.co.uk/docs/WST_17-18_t&c.pdf From 2019 the tournament was played at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

Winners

References

{{Snooker tournaments World championships in snooker Recurring sporting events established in 1991 1991 establishments in England Snooker non-ranking competitions Snooker competitions in England Senior sports competitions