Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 | Epsom Preview

The fourth Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 tournament will take place on Monday 30 December with six of the sport’s biggest stars embarking on the Epsom Racecourse for an afternoon of fast-paced, exciting action on the baize.

World Seniors Snooker returns to the venue where seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry won the inaugural edition of the format by defeating long-time rival Jimmy White in the final twelve months ago.

‘The Whirlwind’ returns to Epsom next Monday aiming to avenge three consecutive title match losses under the ‘900’ format and he is joined by Goffs champion Ken Doherty, ‘The Tornado’ Tony Drago and debutants Nigel Bond, Alfie Burden and Rory McLeod.

How It Works

All matches throughout the tournament are just a single frame and each of these frames has a time limit of just 15 minutes. Should the frame not be complete at the end of the allocated 15 minutes, whoever is leading the frame claims the win. 

Played with a spotted cueball, cueists have just 20 seconds per shot and there are no extensions or time-outs (unless at the discretion of the referee). 

For every shot played, either a ball must be potted, or a cushion must be struck with the cueball or an object ball. 

All fouls result in cueball in hand for the opponent. 

At the end of the 15 minutes, should the players be tied on points, a blue-ball shoot-out will be used to determine the winner. 

The six players will compete in two round-robin groups of three players, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. The winner of Group A will face the runner-up in Group B, and the winner of Group B will face the runner-up in Group A in the last four.

Group A

Malta’s Tony Drago is the only player in Group A with prior experience under the ‘900’ format having made his debut in the previous event in Hull, where he lost to eventual champion Igor Figueiredo in the semi-finals.

Alfie Burden, the 2023 World Seniors Championship runner-up and current World Snooker Tour (WST) professional, makes his ‘900’ debut in Epsom and will kick off the action on Monday afternoon when he meets Drago in the opening match.

The three-player group, from which the top two will advance to the semi-finals, is completed by fellow debutant Rory McLeod – a former professional of over 30 years who famously defeated Judd Trump at the Crucible Theatre during the 2017 World Championship.

Group B

Ken Doherty arrives in Epsom as the only player in the line-up to have previously lifted a title at a World Seniors Snooker 900 event.

On an emotional afternoon in County Kildare, Doherty overcame Jimmy White in the final at the iconic Goffs to secure the crown in the same venue he used to work in as a boy.

Doherty and White will go head-to-head in the opening match of Group B on Monday afternoon and their group is completed by a debutant, Nigel Bond, who won the 1996 British Open and reached the final of the 1995 World Championship during an illustrious career that spanned more than 30 years.

Schedule

The action gets underway at 14:00 BST on Monday, broadcast live on Channel 5.

Limited tickets remain available – contact info@seniorssnooker.com