Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 | Hull Preview

Six of snooker’s biggest names head to the Connexin Live in Hull on Sunday for the third edition of the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900.

Contested at the former home of the UK Seniors Championship, the event features a new and exciting format where anything can happen. Each match will last 15 minutes (900 seconds) and has a 20-second shot clock in play at all times, allowing for unmissable action that has proven a hit with fans and players alike.

Among those in action are seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who won the inaugural staging in Epsom in December, and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty – who lifted the Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 title on home soil at the iconic Goffs venue earlier this year.

They are joined by reigning World Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo, four-time World Seniors champion Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White, Malta’s Tony ‘The Tornado’ Drago and former ranking event winner Barry Pinches.

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

Sunday’s action will begin with a rematch of May’s World Seniors Championship final between Ken Doherty and Igor Figueiredo.

Brazil’s Figueiredo ran out a 5-2 victor at the Crucible Theatre to lift the prestigious trophy and will be looking to repeat the feat on his Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 debut in Hull.

The two recent World Seniors Championship finalists are joined by former ranking event winner Barry Pinches, who is also making his debut under the fast-paced and exciting format.

Group B

Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White will renew their storied rivalry at the Connexin Live in Hull as the two meet in the group stages.

The two contested the first ever Mr Vegas World Seniors Snooker 900 final in December, with Hendry coming out on top in Epsom, before White gained revenge at Goffs by eliminating the seven-time world champion at the semi-final stage.

Hendry and White are joined in the group by Malta’s Tony Drago, who reached the semi-finals of this year’s World Seniors Championship in Sheffield.

Schedule

The action gets underway at 13:00 BST on Sunday, broadcast live on Channel 5.

• Group Stages (Single-Frame Shootout)

• • (A) Igor Figueiredo v Ken Doherty
  • (B) Jimmy White v Tony Drago
  • (A) Barry Pinches v Winner of Match 1
  • (B) Stephen Hendry v Winner of Match 2
  • (A) Barry Pinches v Loser of Match 1
  • (B) Stephen Hendry v Loser of Match 2

• Semi Finals (Single-Frame Shootout)

• • Winner of Group A v Runner-Up of Group B
  • Winner of Group B v Runner-Up of Group A

• Final (Best of 3 Frames)

• • Winner of Semi-Final 1 v Winner of Semi-Final 2

Limited tickets remain available via the Connexin Live website – click here.