The 2023 World Seniors Championship (officially the 2023 LLP Solicitors World Seniors Snooker Championship) was a snooker tournament that took place from 3 to 7 May 2023 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the fifth consecutive year that the tournament was held at the venue. Open to all players over 40 who were ranked outside the top 64 in the snooker world rankings, the event was the 14th edition of the World Seniors Championship, first held in 1991. Organised by the World Seniors Tour, the event was broadcast domestically by the BBC and internationally by other broadcasters.
The main stage of the event featured 16 competitors. Former world champions Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, and Joe Johnson were among seven invited players. The holders of four regional seniors titles qualified for the main stage, along with four players who won qualifying events staged throughout the 2022–23 snooker season at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading. The final participant was selected via a Golden Ticket playoff event. The African seniors champion Mohamed Khairy was unable to travel to the event due to visa issues, and was replaced in the draw by Tony Knowles.
Lee Walker was the defending champion, having defeated Jimmy White 5–4 in the 2022 final, but he lost 1–3 to Gerard Greene in the last 16. White, aged 61, reached the final of the event for the sixth time—and a fifth consecutive year—where he defeated tournament debutant Alfie Burden 5–3 to win a record-extending fourth World Seniors title, following his previous wins in 2010, 2019, and 2020. Mark Davis made the tournament's highest break of 137 in his quarter-final match against Tony Drago.
Overview
The 2023 World Seniors Championship was a snooker tournament that took place from 3 to 7 May 2023 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The 14th edition of the World Seniors Championship, first held in 1991, it was held at the Crucible for the fifth consecutive year and sponsored for the first time by law firm LLP Solicitors. A World Seniors Tour event, the tournament was open to all players over 40 who were ranked outside the top 64 in the snooker world rankings. The event was broadcast domestically on the BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer, in China by Superstar Online, and in all other territories by Matchroom Sport. Referees at the tournament were Peggy Li, Leo Scullion, and Michaela Tabb.
Participants
The main stage of the event featured 16 competitors. Seven players were invited to the event: Mark Davis, Ken Doherty, Tony Drago, Stephen Hendry, Joe Johnson, Lee Walker, and Jimmy White. Four other players qualified as the winners of regional seniors titles: European seniors champion Darren Morgan, Pan-American seniors champion Vito Puopolo, African seniors champion Mohamed Khairy, and Asia-Pacific seniors champion Adrian Ridley. A further four players reached the main draw by winning qualifying events during the season at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading, held respectively from 28 to 30 October 2022, 13 to 15 January 2023, 17 to 19 February 2023, and 10 to 12 March 2023. Ben Hancorn won the first event with a 4–2 victory over Alfie Burden in the final, and Gerard Greene won the second, defeating Philip Williams in the final by the same score. Burden won the third event, defeating Peter Lines 4–3 in the final, and Lines won the fourth event, beating Andrew Norman 4–2 in the final. The last participant was selected through a "Golden Ticket" playoff event among 16 players ranked highly in the world seniors rankings, held on 22 and 23 April 2023. Williams won the Golden Ticket event, defeating Craig Steadman 4–1 in the final. The seven invited players were seeded for the tournament, with Walker seeded number one as the defending champion, having defeated White 5–4 in the 2022 final. Of the remaining participants, Lines was ranked highest in the snooker world rankings and was seeded eighth. Unable to travel due to visa issues, Khairy withdrew from the event and was replaced in the draw by Tony Knowles.
Prize fund
The winner of the event received £15,000. The breakdown of prize money is shown below:
Winner: £15,000
Runner-up: £7,000
Semi-finalists: £3,000
Quarter-finalists: £2,000
First round: No prize money.