Ronnie, Rivalries and a Record Prize Fund: The 2026 World Seniors Championship Has Everything
Sheffield's second act
The roar had barely faded from the Crucible. Two days after the last ball dropped in the 2026 World Snooker Championship, the theatre on Pond Street was being reset for another kind of drama — one with older hands on the cues, longer careers behind them, and in some cases, an awful lot left to prove. The World Seniors Snooker Championship returned to Sheffield on 6th May, and this year felt different. Bigger. Louder. More loaded with storylines than anyone could reasonably have predicted.
The expansion of the field from 16 to 24 players has injected fresh energy into a tournament that was already gaining momentum, and with a total prize fund of £80,000 — up from £50,000 last year — the financial stakes have risen sharply. The winner will pocket £30,000, the largest first prize in the competition's history. For the players lining up at the Crucible this week, this is no nostalgic exhibition. It is a proper tournament.
O'Sullivan arrives, and the atmosphere changes
Every draw has a name around which the rest of the bracket quietly organises itself. This year, that name is Ronnie O'Sullivan. The seven-time world champion — who needs no further introduction in this city — makes his seniors debut in what is comfortably the headline storyline of the week. His path to the last 16 involves the winner of a genuinely mouthwatering first-round tie: Ken Doherty against Gerard Greene, an all-Ireland clash that deserves a crowd of its own. Whichever of them emerges will face O'Sullivan knowing their name will be mentioned in the same breath as one of the sport's immortals. For Doherty, who lifted the world title here back in 1997, there is particular poetry in the prospect.
O'Sullivan is one of several high-profile additions to the seniors ranks this year. Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter, both six-time ranking event winners on the main tour, have also stepped into the field and are seeded through to the last 16 alongside Ronnie. Carter makes his maiden seniors appearance against either Tony Drago — the flamboyant Maltese potter who was lighting up the game before some of this year's qualifiers were born — or Roger Farebrother. Bingham, meanwhile, faces either Peter Lines or Anthony Hamilton. None of these are soft introductions.
The defending champion and the contenders
Alfie Burden returns as top seed and defending champion, beginning his title defence against the winner of Igor Figueiredo versus Mohamed Elkhayat. Figueiredo knows this occasion well — he was champion himself in 2024 — and will be no kind of draw for anyone looking for an easy passage into the last 16. Second seed Joe Perry, the reigning British Seniors Open champion, faces either Reanne Evans or Aaron Canavan. Evans, a trailblazer in women's snooker for two decades, continues to test herself in mixed-field competition and her presence adds another dimension to the tournament's appeal.
There is a notable absentee to acknowledge. Mark Williams, the three-time world champion who had been listed in the original draw, has withdrawn from the event, with Nigel Bond stepping in as his replacement. Bond opens against Craig Steadman or Neal Jones. It is a shame not to see Williams — whose droll humour and Wales-versus-the-world persona would have been a welcome addition — but these things happen, and Bond is a more-than-capable substitute.
Jimmy White and the pull of Sheffield
You cannot write about the seniors event without pausing on Jimmy White. A record four-time world seniors champion, the Whirlwind is back in Sheffield with that same restless energy he has carried around snooker halls since the 1980s. He faces qualifier Daniel Ward in the first round, with Robert Milkins — relegated from the main tour this season — waiting for the winner. Meanwhile, Matthew Stevens will play either Dominic Dale or Wayne Townsend. Dale, a two-time ranking event winner and one of the most recognisable personalities the sport has produced, is exactly the kind of player who can make the seniors game must-watch television.
The top eight seeds have received byes into the last 16, meaning the opening two days serve as a compelling appetiser before the main course from Thursday onwards. Five days of snooker at the Crucible, a record prize fund, a field that mixes proven seniors champions with some of the biggest names ever to pick up a cue — the 2026 World Seniors Championship had every reason to feel like a statement event. From the moment the first ball was struck on 6th May, it proved exactly that.
