Snooker legends Jimmy White and Ken Doherty to star at the Crucible for world seniors crown

The premier event on the World Seniors Snooker Tour will be played on the sport's grandest stage in Sheffield across five days between May 7-11, almost immediately after the professional event finishes there on the bank holiday Monday.

In total, 16 players will make it through to the main draw; the field will include a plethora of famous names from the pro circuit in recent years, and top senior amateurs who have qualified from various international qualification routes.

The reigning and defending champion is Brazil's Igor Figueiredo, who lifted the trophy for the first time in his career last year when he defeated Ken Doherty 5-2 in the final on the Crucible stage.

Irishman Doherty, who has won the world junior, amateur and professional championships during his illustrious career, will be back to try and become the first person in snooker history to complete the unique world title quadruple.

Jimmy White - the most decorated player in seniors snooker history - also returns, aiming to win the world seniors crown for a record-extending fifth time.

White has an incredible record at the Crucible for this event - he won the title there in 2019, 2020 and 2023, and was runner-up in 2021 and 2022. He was denied a sixth consecutive final appearance in 2024 when he bowed out to eventual champion Figueiredo in the quarter-finals.

Maltese sporting icon Tony Drago has impressed and reached the semi-finals here in each of the past two years, and the quick cueist is due to grace the famous arena once again in 2025.

New faces set for the World Seniors stage

Joe Perry and Dominic Dale - multiple-time world ranking event winners on the professional snooker circuit - are both expected to retire from the sport’s top tier following their campaigns at the upcoming world professional championship.

However, Perry and Dale are not completely hanging up their cues, and are set to make their seniors debuts in this year's tournament after accepting invitations.

The full list of contestants for the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with the final qualification events to be played.

There has been a change to this year's format with match lengths increasing. The first round and quarter-finals will be the best of seven frames, the semi-finals are the best of 11, and the final is the best of 15.

Who has won the World Seniors Snooker Championship? List of finals and champions

The World Seniors Snooker Championship has found stability and consistency in recent years with the founding of the World Seniors Snooker Tour and support of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

Since 2019, the Championship has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

• 1991: Cliff Wilson (Wales) 5-4 Eddie Charlton (Australia) | Stoke-on-Trent
• 2010: Jimmy White (England) 4-1 Steve Davis (England) | Bradford
• 2011: Darren Morgan (Wales) 2-1 Steve Davis (England) | Peterborough
• 2012: Nigel Bond (England) 2-0 Tony Chappel (Wales) | Portsmouth
• 2013: Steve Davis (England) 2-1 Nigel Bond (England) | Portsmouth
• 2015: Mark Williams (Wales) 2-1 Fergal O'Brien (Ireland) | Blackpool
• 2016: Mark Davis (England) 2-1 Darren Morgan (Wales) | Preston
• 2017: Peter Lines (England) 4-0 John Parrott (England) | Scunthorpe
• 2018: Aaron Canavan (Jersey) 4-3 Patrick Wallace (Northern Ireland) | Scunthorpe
• 2019: Jimmy White (England) 5-3 Darren Morgan (England) | Sheffield
• 2020: Jimmy White (England) 5-4 Ken Doherty (Ireland) | Sheffield
• 2021: David Lilley (England) 5-3 Jimmy White (England) | Sheffield
• 2022: Lee Walker (Wales) 5-4 Jimmy White (England) | Sheffield
• 2023: Jimmy White (England) 5-3 Alfie Burden (England) | Sheffield
• 2024: Igor Figueiredo (Brazil) 5-2 Ken Doherty (Ireland) | Sheffield