The World Seniors Championship is an invitational seniors

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

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

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

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with the sponsorship of

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. 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 juni ...

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

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

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. 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

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. 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

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the event was moved to the

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. In

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the number of qualifying spots was reduced to two, and the event was sponsored by

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.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

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. 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

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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

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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