John Virgo to be honoured at new event with blockbuster line-up including Ronnie O'Sullivan

The snooker world is still united in mourning after the unexpected passing of former UK Champion Virgo last week, aged 79. The beloved broadcaster had commentated on the Masters at the Alexandra Palace in London for BBC Sport only a few weeks before.

The John Virgo Trophy will take place at the iconic Goffs venue in Kildare - the atmospheric home of the Irish Masters for many years - across the weekend of April 11th & 12th. The tournament comes a week before the 2026 World Snooker Championship gets underway at the Crucible Theatre.

A blockbuster four-player field is scheduled to travel to and compete on the Emerald Isle: all three members of the fabled ‘Class of 92’ Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan will be joined by seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry.

The tournament will be shown exclusively on dedicated 24/7 snooker channel Pluto TV and will be played under the unique ‘Snooker 900’ rules where frames can last no longer than 15 minutes - 900 seconds, hence the name - with a 20-second shot-clock in operation throughout.

Played in a knockout format, the semi-finals draw has been done, with Higgins to play Williams in the opening match on Saturday afternoon, in what is a rerun of their epic Crucible final from 2018.

A few hours later in the evening session, arguably snooker’s two greatest players, ever, will clash, as the ultimate Crucible kings Hendry and O’Sullivan will reignite their rivalry on the green baize.

Action continues on the Sunday with a third/fourth-place play-off in the afternoon, with the final coming in the evening. All matches are the best of 11 frames, except for the play-off which will be the best of nine.

“This is not an exhibition”

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan played the Irish Masters at Goffs several times, including the last occasion the invitational was held there in 2000. ‘The Rocket’ is looking forward to returning: “I think I’d have to say Goffs in Ireland, for me is the greatest venue. It’s the only time where I’ve played when you hear people say ‘the hairs on the back of your neck stand up’ that was the one time it did”.

Snooker 900 Creator Jason Francis was keen to point out that whilst the weekend will be a fitting tribute to one of snooker’s most popular and influential figures ever, the competition will be serious.

“The line-up speaks for itself, all four probably sit within the top five or six of the greatest ever to play this game, but this is not an exhibition, they are playing for prize money and competing hard, just the way our great friend John Virgo would have wanted” Francis said.

“It will be a wonderful tribute to him and a great treat for our fans in Ireland. With this event being just a week before the World Professional Championship I expect the players to be very sharp”.

As well as the main event, two further tournaments will be held on the famous Goffs arena floor that weekend with an ‘Irish Doubles’ featuring home heroes Fergal O’Brien, Michael Judge and Joe Delaney, and an Irish junior competition showcasing four of the nation’s top under-16 cueists.

Dennis Taylor - the 1985 World Snooker Champion - will also be present, and is set to perform a ‘Trickshot Cabaret’ on the Sunday afternoon.

Tickets for the weekend will go on sale on Friday 27th February and can be bought on Ticketmaster here.

Fans can view live coverage of The John Virgo Trophy via the Pluto TV app or on Snooker900.tv