2019 World Seniors Championship Explained

Tournament Name:2019 World Seniors Championship
Venue:Crucible Theatre
Location:Sheffield
Country:England
Organisation:World Seniors Snooker
Format:Seniors event
Total Prize Fund:£63,500
Winners Share:£25,000
Highest Break: James Wattana (113)
Winner: Jimmy White
Runner Up: Darren Morgan
Score:5–3
Previous:2018
Next:2020

The 2019 World Seniors Championship was a snooker tournament, that took place from 15 to 18 August 2019 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the first event of the 2019–20 World Seniors Tour. It was the tenth World Seniors Championship, first held in 1991. The event had a total prize fund of £63,500 up from £18,000 the previous year, with £15,000 more for the winner, at £25,000.

Aaron Canavan was the defending champion, having won the 2018 edition with a 4–3 victory against Patrick Wallace in the final. However, he lost 3–1 to Leo Fernandez in the quarter finals. Jimmy White won the title, defeating Darren Morgan 5–3 in the final.

Overview

The World Seniors Championship is a snooker tournament that first took place in 1991.[1] The event is open to players over 40 who are not in the top 64 of the world rankings.[2] The 2019 event took place from 15 to 18 August 2019 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the first event of the 2019–20 World Seniors Tour and the 10th edition of the World Seniors Championship. The event featured 20 participants,[3] with matches being contested as the best-of-5, until the final, which was a best-of-9.[4] Aaron Canavan was the defending champion, having won the 2018 edition with a 4–3 victory against Patrick Wallace in the final.[5]

Prize fund

The breakdown of the tournament prizes is shown below:[6]

Participants

Fourteen players were invited to play at the event, ten by the WPBSA and four by continental governing bodies:[7] [8]

In addition, six qualifying events took place during the World Seniors Tour 2018–19, with winners receiving a place at the event.[10]

Summary

The first two rounds were played on 15 and 16 August 2019 as the best of 5 frames.[11] Four matches were held as qualifiers to reach the last 16. Both James Wattana and Darren Morgan won their matches 3–0, with Wattana making the only century break of the tournament, a 113 in the opening frame.[12] Chinese player Chen Gang and Maltese player Tony Drago also qualified after 3–1 and 3–2 victories. Three of the four would also win their second round match, with Chen defeating Cliff Thorburn, Morgan defeating John Parrott and Wattana completing a whitewash over Joe Johnson.[13] Leo Fernandez and Stephen Hendry also completed second round 3–0 whitewash victories over Joris Maas and Drago, respectively.[14] [15]

The quarter-finals were held on 17 August as the best of five frames. Fernandez completed a 3–1 victory over defending champion Canavan, White defeated Stuart Watson 3–2 whilst Wattana defeated Gang and Morgan defeated Hendry 3–1.[16] The quarter-finals were prefaced by a women's exhibition four player tournament, won by Reanne Evans.[17] The semi-finals, played on 18 August were held between White and Wattana, and Morgan and Fernandez. White won his match 3-1 before Morgan completed a 3-0 victory in the second semi-final.[18]

The final was played on 19 August as the best of nine frames. Morgan won the opening frame, before White made a break of 55 to win the second. White took a 3-2 lead after a break of 53 in frame five.[19] Morgan took frame six to tie the match before White made the highest break of the final, an 86. White took the next frame to complete a 5-3 victory and win the event for the second time. Having lost the World Snooker Championship final at the venue six times, this was the first tournament that White had won at the Crucible Theatre.

Main draw

The draw for the event is shown below. Players in bold denote match winners.[20]

Final

Final: Best of 9 frames. Referee: Michaela Tabb[21]
Crucible Theatre, 18 August 2019
Darren Morgan
3–5Jimmy White
56–46,,,,,,,
55Highest break86
0Century breaks0
150+ breaks2

Century breaks

There was only one century break made during the event, James Wattana made a 113 in the first round.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ROKiT World Seniors Snooker 2019/20 Calendar Announced . WPBSA . 30 April 2019. 16 August 2020 . 18 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018212822/https://wpbsa.com/rokit-world-seniors-snooker-2019-20-calendar-announced/ . live.
  2. Web site: World Seniors Snooker Returns . worldsnooker.com . . 29 October 2011.
  3. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship – Players . snookerscores.net . 16 June 2022 .
  4. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT Phones World Seniors Snooker Championship – Results . snookerscores.net .
  5. Web site: Canavan pockets world title. 27 March 2018. Jersey Evening Post. 3 October 2018.
  6. Web site: World Seniors Snooker Tour Prize Money Schedule 2018/19. Snooker Legends. 3 October 2018.
  7. Web site: ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship 2019: Tournament Preview . WPBSA . 9 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  8. Web site: Preview: World Seniors Snooker Championship - SnookerHQ . Caulfield . David . SnookerHQ . 13 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  9. Web site: Mohammed Abdelkader to replace Wael Talaat at the 2019 WSS ROKiT World Championship. 11 August 2019. 12 August 2019.
  10. Web site: Six Events in WPBSA World Seniors Tour - SnookerHQ . Caulfield . David . SnookerHQ . 4 May 2018. 13 September 2022 .
  11. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship – Session Schedule . snookerscores.net . 2 August 2022 .
  12. Web site: Wattana, Morgan Among Opening Day Winners in Sheffield . WPBSA . 15 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  13. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship – Results . snookerscores.net . 2 August 2022 .
  14. Web site: Wattana, Morgan Among Opening Day Winners in Sheffield . WPBSA . 15 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  15. Web site: Jimmy White Wins World Seniors Opener . Caulfield . David . SnookerHQ . 17 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  16. Web site: Stephen Hendry Loses at the Crucible - SnookerHQ . Caulfield . David . SnookerHQ . 18 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  17. Web site: Crucible Set for Seniors Semi-Finals - WPBSA . WPBSA . 17 August 2019. 13 September 2022 .
  18. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores - 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship - Results . snookerscores.net . 2 August 2022 .
  19. Web site: White Wins at the Crucible . WPBSA . 18 August 2019. 2 August 2022 .
  20. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship – Knockout . snookerscores.net . 16 June 2022 .
  21. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores - Referee: Michaela Tabb . snookerscores.net . 13 September 2022 .
  22. Web site: WPBSA SnookerScores – 2019 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship – 50+ Breaks . snookerscores.net . 16 June 2022 .