The World Seniors Snooker Championship is supposed to be the most prestigious event on the tour for those players over 40, and this year’s edition was set to be particularly special with Ronnie O’Sullivan making his debut appearance after a rule change allowed the game’s elite to take part.

But the tournament descended into farce this week amid player criticism, mysterious jumping balls and a “heartbroken” reigning champion.

It began with a war of words over whether or not the event should be held at the Crucible Theatre, as it has been since 2019. The world No 39, Dave Gilbert, made clear he was unhappy the seniors continue to play at snooker’s spiritual home.

“I hate that they play the Seniors there,” he said this week. “I think that’s shocking. The only people that should play at the Crucible are people that go through this qualifying school or a top 16 professional. It’s not for hacking around in exhibitions. It’s the Mecca of snooker.”

Jimmy White responded by telling Gilbert to “get a life”, in comments to Metro.

There was also scepticism over a decision by organisers to scrap deciding frames – shown to be full of drama and excitement during the World Championship final days earlier – and replace them with a black-ball finish.

But it was the snooker tables themselves which started the real furore. First it was their appearance, framed with an almost blinding white edge, at least on TV, which brought criticism from viewers. And then came strange interactions between the balls and the cloth during Matthew Stevens’ first-round match with Dominic Dale.

Balls were bouncing into the air as they neared the black spot, and in one extraordinary moment the white almost leapt off the table. Stevens was baffled, and after discussions between the players, the referee and tournament officials, play was suspended. Closer inspection revealed the slate beneath the cloth was cracked, causing the uneven roll.

“The slate’s completely gone underneath, it’s raised,” said John Parrott in the Channel 5 studio. “It’s a bit like playing over a sleeping policeman at the minute. The ball’s coming along and then just jumping in the air. There’s a big problem, you can’t play on it, simple as.”

The World Seniors Snooker Tour made an announcement: “Due to a fault with Table Two, there will be no further play on it this evening. Matthew Stevens and Dominic Dale will conclude their match on Table One following Ali Carter v Roger Farebrother.”

But then came fresh controversy. “Alfie Burden and Igor Figueiredo will play at 9pm BST in a private area of the practice room,” the tour added. “Table Two will be replaced overnight.”

Burden, it should be noted, was the reigning champion after winning the world seniors title last year, one of the highlights of the 49-year-old’s relatively modest snooker career. But instead of beginning his title defence in front of a packed Crucible crowd, he was sent to play on a practice table backstage.

Figueiredo won the match 4-0, meaning last year’s champion was not able to play a single frame inside the arena.

“To say I’m disappointed would be a huge understatement, don’t remember feeling this low after a snooker event,” Burden posted on X. “I wasn’t in the mental state of mind to play that match in a practice room to be honest I was in a state of shock at what was unfolding. Literally heartbroken.”

O’Sullivan may distract from the negativity after beginning his tournament on Friday against 1997 world champion Ken Doherty. He confirmed his participation after exiting the main World Championship at the hands of John Higgins, saying: “It’s work, mate, got to go to work. Got bills to pay. Got a lot of people on the payroll.”

But while O’Sullivan will bring eyeballs and boost ticket sales, the presence of the greatest player of all time is likely to render any sense of competition almost obsolete, if he brings his A game.

“I’d rather not play him, if I’m honest,” Doherty told Metro. “I’d rather be playing somebody else, but it is what it is, and listen, I’m just going to go and enjoy it. I’m not expecting too much, and we’ll just see what happens … I don’t know how much he wants to win. That’s up to himself.”

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Central Co-op County Ground, Derby (day one)

Derbyshire 342-3: Jewell 91*, Came 73, Madsen 57*, Montgomery 54

Northamptonshire: Yet to bat

Derbyshire 2pts, Northamptonshire 1pt

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Match scorecard

Caleb Jewell emerged from a poor run of form to help Derbyshire enjoy a day of prosperity in their County Championship Division Two match against Northamptonshire.

The Tasmanian opener responded to moving down the order after scoring only 58 runs in six innings with an unbeaten 91 as the home side’s batsmen dominated day one at Derby.

Harry Came made 73, Matt Montgomery 54 and skipper Wayne Madsen 57 not out to take Derbyshire to 342-3.

After losing their previous three games, the home side needed to restore some confidence and on a sunny morning, Came and Luis Reece batted through the opening session with few alarms.

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On a pitch which offered little in terms of movement, it looked a good toss to win with the visitors using seven bowlers to try and break the stand.

Sanderson and skipper Luke Procter, making his 100th first-class appearance for Northants, kept it tight but Harry Conway struggled to maintain a consistent line, conceding 33 from his first five overs.

Came completed his third 50 of the season before Derbyshire reached their first century opening stand of the campaign shortly before lunch.

It was the sixth time the pair have shared an opening stand of a hundred or more in first-class cricket but they were parted in the second over after the interval as Reece (39) played a loose clip off his legs against Conway and was caught at mid-wicket.

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Came and Montgomery forged another partnership until Ben Sanderson was rewarded for a testing spell from the Racecourse End as he moved one away to have the former held at slip.

Jewell had scored only one half-century this season and he struggled initially, particularly against Sanderson who beat him several times.

But the left-hander fought his way through and with the other seamers unable to match Sanderson’s discipline, started to impose himself on the bowling.

With Montgomery reaching 50 before tea, Derbyshire were well placed but for the second time they lost a wicket early in a session.

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The leg-spin of Calvin Harrison made the breakthrough with Montgomery pinned in front when he missed a defensive push.

But once again, the visitors were unable to build on that as Madsen, captaining Derbyshire for the 150th time in all competitions, joined Jewell to swing the momentum back towards his team.

Although the floodlights were now on, the pair negotiated the second new ball and by the close had added 107 when bad light ended played four overs early.

Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.

Rookie minicamp would be difficult to pull off without somebody to toss the pigskin. The Vikings snagged a pair of arms to address the deficit.

Consider what Ben Goessling of The Star Tribune had to say: “The two QBs for the #Vikings’ rookie minicamp this weekend are Aidan Bouman — son of former Vikings QB Todd Bouman — and veteran invite Cooper Rush, who made his first NFL start at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2021, when he led the Cowboys to a Sunday night win over Mike Zimmer’s final team.”

Vikings Snagged Two Passers for Minicamp

Lately, the news has been focused on WR Jauan Jennings. Bringing him to town greatly enhances the danger of the offensive attack. No longer is there concern about the (potential) drop off at WR3.

Lingering in the background of those receiver quibbles — concerns that are largely satisfied by Mr. Jennings — are the young fellas who have been tossed into the mix. UDFA signing Dillon Bell has generated optimism. Likewise, there have been other young receivers tossed into the equation, such as Luke Wysong, Marcus Sanders Jr., and Shaleak Knotts (among others).

Who is going to pass the ball to these guys?

Last year, the Vikings had Max Brosmer as a rookie. He could shoulder a lot of the burden as he got acclimated to life as a pro. Such is not the case for the current iteration of the Minnesota Vikings due to no quarterbacks being added via the draft or undrafted free agency. A pivot toward a pair of arms therefore makes sense.

Aidan Bouman makes sense as a regional guy, having played college ball at South Dakota (which is to say nothing of the family connection Goessling highlights). The likelihood of him proving so impressive that he gets invited back to compete for a roster spot as a member of the 90-man offseason roster is low, but all a ball player can ask for is a chance. The focus shifts to him making the most of his opportunity.

For Cooper Rush, the intrigue is a bit higher since he has proven to be a capable NFL passer, if only in a depth capacity.

The 32-year-old boasts a pretty nice build for the position at 6’3″ and 225 pounds. The great majority of his experience came down in Dallas but he snagged some work in Baltimore, as well. Since 2017, Rush has played in 42 games while starting 16. His career stats show a 61.1% completion rate alongside a 20/14 TD-to-INT ratio.

Now, that’s not to say the Vikings are looking to acquire Cooper Rush.

What he offers, though, is a veteran presence who now has a touch more familiarity with the team’s coaching staff. A future where the position gets walloped by injury yet again could involve giving him a call to see about coming in as a QB3 or practice squad passer.

Craig Peters offers a broader list of everyone who is involved with the festivities at rookie minicamp. Lots of the participants are the drafted players alongside the UDFA haul, but there’s a ton of tryout players, too. Sometimes, those guys impress, earning a contract to come back for other portions of the offseason.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

The Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream premiered on May 8, 2026, showcasing the content for the upcoming update. Besides three new characters, there will be a brand new Archon Quest available, which will bridge the gap between the next story chapter of Snezhnaya and that of Nod-Krai. The upcoming patch is set to release on May 20, 2026.

This article will cover everything you need to know about the Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream.

Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream overview

1) New characters

Nicole, Prune, and Lohen will be the three new characters in the Luna VII update to become playable. Nicole and Lohen are 5-star characters, while Prune will be a 4-star.

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2) New weapons

Two new weapons will be available during the Luna VII update:

• Angelos’ Heptades: Signature weapon of Nicole (5-star Catalyst)
• Disaster and Remorse: Signature weapon of Lohen (5-star Polearm)

3) New Story Quests and Boss

Two new quests will be available, one of which will be a main story mission (Archon Quest), titled the Truth Amongst the Pages of Puranas. The second one is a main story quest related to Lohen, and is called Lepus Miles Chapter: Act 1.

After you complete the Archon Quest, a new weekly boss, Exiled Master of the Heretical Path, will be available.

4) New Artifacts

Two new artifact sets will be available, as was announced during the Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream:

• Celestial Gift
• Disenchantment in Deep Shadows

5) Banners

The following banners will be available during the Genshin Impact Luna VII update:

Phase 1

• Nicole (5-star Pyro)
• Durin (5-star Pyro)
• Prune (4-star Anemo)

Phase 2

• Lohen (5-star Cryo)
• Mavuika (5-star Pyro)

Each of the 5-star characters will also receive a banner for their signature weapons.

New Events

The following events will be available as part of the upcoming update:

• Phantasmal Pals
• Kaleidoscopic Color Chase
• Trials of the Brave Warrior

Gameplay updates and quality-of-life changes

The following QoL patches were announced during the Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream:

• New feature that will showcase when the story auto-saves
• A new feature allowing you to read key events from past main story quests.
• New rewards are claimable after obtaining the Stella Fortuna from the To Temper Thyself and Journey Afar mode.

Genshin Impact Luna VII livestream codes and other key details

Here are the codes from the Genshin Impact Luna VII special program:

• BacktoSumeru: Primogems x100, Mystical Enhancement Ore x10
• NiColaCoco: Primogems x100, Hero’s Wit x5
• WilltoWin: Primogems x100, Mora x50000

The codes will expire on May 11 at 12 AM (UTC+8). The special preview program also showcased a clip from the upcoming region of Snezhnaya.

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