David Lilley triumphed in the final of the World Seniors Championship by beating defending champion Jimmy White 5-3 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
45-year-old Lilley, who is a three-time English Amateur champion, had to qualify for the tournament back in January and managed to defeat qualifier Philip Williams, 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty and 2018 World Seniors runner-up Patrick Wallace before defeating fan-favourite White.
White was looking to win the World Seniors title for the third time in a row, but he just came up short. Lilley raced 3-0 ahead in the final before White won the final frame before the interval. Despite levelling up at 3-3, Lilley won the seventh frame on the colours and sealed the match with 69 break to lift the wonderful trophy.
Lilley will hope to carry that form to Q School since he just dropped off the tour at the end of his first two-year professional stint.
The field was certainly not lacking in strength
There were seven players who competed on the professional tour in the season just gone, including Stephen Hendry, Lee Walker, Igor Figueiredo and Barry Pinches. It does say it all when the likes of Rory McLeod, Aaron Canavan and Peter Lines failed to qualify!
The players seem calmer and had fun with the experience compared to the high-octane pressure of the World Snooker Championship. They are more appreciative to be playing at the Crucible while being competitive.
The standard was good, with four centuries in total, two of which were made by Darren Morgan. The 2011 World Seniors champion also managed to make the highest break of the tournament, scoring a 134 against Jimmy White.
However, one critique of the tournament would be the qualifying criteria. Participants must be 40 years-old and over and professional players can enter if they are not inside of the Top 64. Some argued that the age limit is too young. Others believe being professional players give those an unfair advantage because they had been playing competitively on a regular basis all season compared to amateurs who have not.
The World Seniors event was broadcast on the BBC Red Button and was well received by the viewing public. It is nostalgic, relaxing and up to a good standard.
All credit must go to World Seniors Tour and especially to organiser Jason Francis for getting the event up and running during these troubled times for obvious reasons.
This article can’t be without a tribute to Dennis Taylor.
The 1985 champion announced his retirement from competitive snooker after his 3-0 loss to Barry Pinches. It was very poignant that he retired in the venue that made him such a legendary name. I’m sure I can speak for all of us that we wish Taylor a very happy retirement and we look forward to seeing him in the commentary box soon!
All pictures courtesy of Andy Chubb/World Seniors Snooker. My written post was first published on Snooker Hub and I have been given permission to publish it on my website.
