The Seniors Are Coming to the Crucible: Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 JenningsBet World Seniors Championship
Sheffield Calling
There is something quietly magical about watching a player who once commanded the Crucible in their prime return to those same hallowed seats, that same electric hush, and remind everyone exactly why they fell in love with snooker in the first place. From Wednesday 6 May through to Sunday 10 May, the JenningsBet World Seniors Snooker Championship brings that feeling back to Sheffield — and this year, it arrives with the biggest field the World Seniors Snooker Tour has ever assembled.
Reigning champion Alfie Burden will be the man with a target on his back when the action gets under way at 7pm on the opening evening. Burden, who has carved out a remarkable second chapter to his career on the seniors circuit, will need to navigate a draw that includes some of the most recognisable names in the sport's history if he is to defend his crown on the Theatre's famous stage.
The Names That Will Fill the Seats
Cast your eye down the entry list and it reads like a greatest-hits compilation from three decades of snooker. Ronnie O'Sullivan — seven-time world champion, the sport's most box-office performer — is in the field, and his presence alone guarantees that the Crucible will crackle with anticipation every time he steps to the table. Jimmy White, the people's champion who famously reached six World Championship finals without ever lifting the trophy, returns to a venue where his story is woven into the very fabric of the tournament's folklore.
Alongside them come Ali Carter, twice a world finalist himself, the meticulous Stuart Bingham, former world champion, and a supporting cast that includes Ken Doherty, Matthew Stevens, Peter Lines, Dominic Dale, and the perpetually entertaining Tony Drago. There is even history in the making with Reanne Evans in the draw — a fifteen-time Women's World Champion whose inclusion underlines how the seniors game is broadening its horizons.
It is worth remembering that the World Seniors Championship only returned to the Crucible relatively recently, and each year it has grown in stature. Snooker fans who thought they might never again see White or O'Sullivan under those Sheffield spotlights have been gifted something genuinely special.
How the Tournament Unfolds
The opening two evenings serve up the first-round action across two tables, with several matches requiring winners to come through before facing their seeded opponents in a second preliminary round. Jimmy White meets Daniel Ward on Thursday afternoon, with the winner stepping straight into a Thursday evening clash against Rob Milkins. Meanwhile, the Friday afternoon session delivers what could be the most talked-about match of the early rounds: Ronnie O'Sullivan facing the winner of Ken Doherty versus Gerard Greene — a prospect that will have plenty of fans setting their reminders now.
The quarter-finals follow on Friday evening, with the semi-finals splitting across Saturday's afternoon and evening sessions. The final itself is scheduled across two sessions on Sunday 10 May — a fitting way to round off what promises to be a compelling week of snooker.
Where to Watch
For the third consecutive year, Channel 5 will broadcast the World Seniors Snooker Championship, cementing what has become a reliable home for the event on free-to-air British television. This year, however, the coverage takes a significant step forward with a new simulcast partnership with Pluto TV, which will stream every session both in the UK and internationally.
That international reach is genuinely impressive. Viewers in the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Australia will all be able to follow the action live — a sign of just how far the seniors game has travelled since its revival. For snooker fans scattered across those territories who grew up watching White's heartbreaks or O'Sullivan's centuries, that access will feel long overdue.
Coverage begins at 7pm on Wednesday 6 May across both platforms.
Why This One Matters
Senior sport, at its best, offers something the main tour occasionally struggles to deliver — context. When Jimmy White steps up to play a shot at the Crucible, you are not just watching a snooker match. You are watching decades of dedication, heartbreak, brilliance and sheer love for the game compressed into a single moment. This year's JenningsBet World Seniors Championship has the names, the venue and the platform to remind a new generation of fans exactly what made those players legends in the first place. Don't miss it.
