Snooker star Mark Williams in generous gesture to donate any world seniors prize money won to charity

The annual, flagship event on the World Seniors Snooker Tour (WSST), the Championship will take place on snooker’s grandest stage in Sheffield between May 6-10 - just days after the professional version finishes there.

A three-time winner of the world professional championship, Williams claimed the world seniors title in 2015 - when he was just 39-years-old - after defeating Fergal O’Brien 2-1 in the final at the Blackpool Tower Circus.

Williams defended the title the following year when the competition was held at the Preston Guild Hall, but he was defeated 2-1 in the opening round by Anthony Hamilton. This was the final year the event was covered by Sky Sports, and the last time that the legendary Welshman competed in it.

However, a decade on, and following a recent relaxation of the rules which now allow any player aged 40 or over to play in it, regardless of their ranking position on the World Snooker Tour, Williams is back in after an announcement from the WSST.

The 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament ever, with the field expanded to 24 players and the introduction of a second table for the early rounds. The five-day spectacular will be televised live by Channel 5 in the UK.

An impressive field is assembling, with Williams joining a confirmed list of players that includes current title holder Alfie Burden, Stuart Bingham, Reanne Evans, Matthew Stevens, Anthony Hamilton, Ken Doherty, Joe Perry, Dominic Dale, Tony Drago, and record four-time winner Jimmy White. Further names are to be announced.

The Championship also provides pathways for amateur players, with the winners of continental and qualifying events earning tickets to the Crucible.

Williams pledges to donate prize money to local hospice

Now aged 50, Williams is still going very strong on the professional circuit. Currently ranked fourth in the global standings, he became the oldest-ever world professional championship finalist earlier this year, and just several weeks ago broke a long-standing record when he won the Xi’an Grand Prix to become the sport’s most senior ranking event champion, ever.

Next spring, fans could see the bizarre situation of Williams claiming snooker’s blue riband accolade for a fourth time, and then returning just a few days later at the Crucible to complete a title double with the seniors.

Williams - who will make his seniors return during the afternoon session of Friday 8th May - has pledged to donate any prize money he wins at the seniors event to the Hospice of the Valleys, a local hospice to him in Ebbw Vale.

Jason Francis - the World Seniors Snooker Tour Chairman - said: “Its brilliant to welcome Mark back to the World Seniors Snooker Championship and what a fantastic gesture to donate any prize money he wins to his local Hospital.

“With our strongest field already announced the addition of Mark adds even more quality with every ball of our new 24 player event being shown on Channel 5.”

Despite the expansion of the Championship, it has been left off the initial qualification list for next year’s Champion of Champions invitational. The reigning world seniors champion has been a part of that tournament every year between 2019 to 2025.