How World Seniors Snooker Championship descended into Crucible farce

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.”