Angered snooker boss claims 'disrespect' as seniors winner 'snubbed' for next Champion of Champions

In its current iteration on the professional circuit, the Champion of Champions has been a yearly fixture since 2013. Popular with players and fans alike, the unique tournament brings together the title winners of events from the snooker scene across the past 12 months.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the record four-time winner, although Mark Selby is currently the reigning champion having claimed it for the first time a few weeks ago when he defeated world number one Judd Trump 10-5 in the final on home soil in Leicester.

Whilst the event is very well-received, there has been criticism about the unclear qualification criteria for it, and which champions get priority over others with there always being a strict field of 16 to suit the format.

Ultimately, Matchroom run the event - not the World Snooker Tour - and they can send invites to whoever they want; they put it on and stump up the prize money. It’s not a ranked competition.

Down the years, the topic of who gets an invite hasn’t really been an issue with several players on the circuit winning multiple events, therefore qualifying on multiple occasions and freeing up spots. In times gone by, there haven’t been enough ‘unique’ champions, and organisers have filled the spots with ‘non-champions’ from the world ranking list.

The 2025 edition was slightly different, though, and caused controversy when correspondence on the qualifying criteria was released just weeks before the event at the Mattioli Arena.

This initial list did not include the reigning world seniors champion - Alfie Burden - instead a place was being reserved for the highest-placed player from the world ranking list who hadn’t already qualified as a champion. This was perhaps in an attempt to shoehorn in ticket seller O’Sullivan, who was first in line to receive this entry.

However, a confirmed list was published several days later, this time with Burden on it, and the place from the world rankings list removed. It is unclear whether O’Sullivan was invited but declined the invite, or if organisers changed the criteria to having the seniors champion in, which people believed to be the correct decision in the first place. The winner of the annual World Seniors Snooker Championship held at the Crucible Theatre has been allocated a place every year since 2019.

Burden, who is currently off the professional circuit, went on to make his Champion of Champions debut where he lost 4-0 to then reigning and defending champion Mark Williams in the first round.

Perhaps in response to the recent criticism they received over the late publishing of and inconsistent qualifying criteria, Matchroom have got in early with information on who can earn an invite for the 2026 Champion of Champions.

The organisation posted an infographic on the Champion of Champions website and its social media channels to list which events are eligible for an invite, and seemingly in an order of priority, although it did also note that: 'the qualifying schedule is subject to change including the addition of new events'.

With this released, the first three qualifiers for the 2026 edition are now confirmed: reigning champion Selby, International Championship winner Wu Yize, and Riyadh Season Championship winner Zhao Xintong.

Francis: “Thank you for totally disrespecting the 2026 World Seniors Champion”

Notably, the new qualifying schedule does not list the World Seniors Snooker Championship - maybe a politically charged decision over the fallout before this year's event.

Neither the world seniors or world women's champions who have featured in the Champion of Champions have yet to win a match (although there was no world women's championship in 2020, therefore no invite), but there is still a spot for the women's premier event in 2026 on the list.

In response to this, World Seniors Snooker Tour Chairman Jason Francis - who is currently involved in a legal dispute with the World Snooker Tour - reacted angrily on social media saying: "Thank you for totally disrespecting the 2026 World Seniors Champion. Lets hope it ends up being someone you then need for commercial needs... did you inform the @wpbsaplayers board ahead of announcing this?"

The 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament ever, with the competition held at the home of snooker in Sheffield just days after the professional version finishes.

With the recent relaxing of rules to allow players from anywhere in the professional rankings to enter, the five-day event has expanded to 24 players and two tables will initially be used.

An impressive field is assembling, with the recent announcement that Mark Williams - winner of the seniors title in 2015 - is in the draw. Other confirmed names include title holder Burden, Stuart Bingham, Reanne Evans, Matthew Stevens, Anthony Hamilton, Ken Doherty, Joe Perry, Dominic Dale, Tony Drago, and record four-time winner Jimmy White.