This weekend we have the World Seniors Championships on the snooker circuit which are being held at the Preston Guildhall and being broadcast on Sky Sports. This is the only event now being broadcast on Sky Sports after the Snooker Shoot-Out has been taken on by ITV4 and that event will be coming very soon.
The seniors championship has taken on an interesting turn in the last few years. Last year the age limit was lowered to anybody who was 40 years of age or over at some point during the 2014/2015 season. What that led to was Mark Williams becoming the seniors champion at the age of 39, as his 40th birthday was not until after the tournament.
This year, of the 16 players in the event only four of them are no longer on the professional tour which means the event feels like a professional event. The format is still only a best-of-3 frames throughout the event with a random draw after each round is completed which makes it just that little bit tougher to try and pick out the winner.
First Round Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Peter Ebdon Vs Nigel Bond - Saturday 30th 1pm
Mark Williams Vs Anthony Hamilton - Saturday 30th 2pm
Robert Milkins Vs Tony Drago - Saturday 30th 3pm
Darren Morgan Vs Joe Johnson - Saturday 30th 4pm
Mark Davis Vs Ken Doherty - Saturday 30th 7pm
Dominic Dale Vs John Parrott - Saturday 30th 8pm
Fergal O'Brien Vs Rory McLeod - Saturday 30th 9pm
Jimmy White Vs Gary Lees - Saturday 30th 10pm
That's the draw for the opening round but of course with a random draw it means that anyone could play anyone in the coming rounds it makes it very difficult to try and predict two finalists.
Mark Williams is a clear favourite for the event after his exploits in Group 4 of the Championship League and of course being the events defending champion after his runaway win last year.
If you're looking for some outsiders then somebody like Dominic Dale has been playing some good snooker at points this year and can easily come through a few best-of-3's.
Darren Morgan is a former seniors champion and he has Joe Johnson in the first round who didn't look particularly capable in his appearance in the seniors last year, so if the draw is kind to Morgan then he may be able to produce a run. On the other hand, with 12 main tour professionals it is hard to see someone like Morgan, Johnson, Parrott or Gary Lees who have not been competing on the TV regularly or on the tour for sometime to come through.
Fergal O'Brien was the runner-up last year and played some great snooker to achieve that, and as he is one of the four players in this event playing in the German Masters (along with Williams, Doherty and his first round opponent McLeod) then he will be looking to find some form and get a little bit of good practice in for Berlin.
All of the first round matches are played on Saturday over two sessions on a one-table set-up, before the quarter-finals are played on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final are on Sunday evening and it will be a fun weekend to see some of the guys who are no longer regulars on our TV screens (even if many are still on the tour), and I hope you all enjoy it at home too.
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