For several years now I have tried – with not as much success as I wished – to promote the Seniors Snooker Tour. I feel it’s important, I feel that as much as it is important to develop the game by supporting young aspiring players, it’s equally important to give those who have served the game for years, and older players in general, a good platform, allowing them to continue to play competitively and enjoy the game they love.
Someone like Lee Walker who dedicated his whole life to the sport probably got the best “reward” for his efforts by winning the Seniors World Championship at the Crucible in front of his family. Other deserve that chance too. Maybe I feel this way because I’m 68 and still feeling full of energy with many projects? Maybe, but I’m not the only one and life doesn’t stop when your hair turn grey.. or white.
Jason Francis created such a “playing platform” … the Seniors tour, that was later taken under the umbrella of WPBSA. Pre-covid the Seniors tour was thriving, but last season there was just the one “main event”, the World Championship at the Crucible. That tour needs rebuilding. There is a demand for it.
Today, I have published this on my seniors blog.
As you can see only amateurs can enter the qualifying events … what happened?
Well … here is a screenshot of (part of) the conversation Jason Francis had on Facebook with some very unhappy older professionals. That conversation explains a lot.
I know for certain that Jason’s proposal – the one he refers to in that conversation – comprises many more events. But he can’t promote them properly if people don’t find recognisable names in there, and if he can’t promote them, of course, they would be financially unsustainable.
The older Legends he started his tour with – Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, John Parrott, Steve Davis … – are no more available, either because they decided to retire for good because their game isn’t anymore where they want it to be, or because they have developed totally different interests in life.
People like Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, Marco Fu or the reigning Seniors World Champion, Jimmy White are currently prevented to enter or play in those events. If the situation doesn’t change, Jimmy will not have the opportunity to defend his title come May.
So why doesn’t WST agree to allow some of his older pros, who are outside the top 64, to play on that tour? Maybe allowing players over 45 only? I’m sure Jason would be OK with that.
I can’t really come up with an explanation, or any sort of rationale to it, especially as Jason is absolutely adamant that the Seniors events will not clash with main tour events.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
These are my thoughts as to the possible reasons for the current decision by WST not to allow pros to play in the WSS Tour events.
They are not my opinions as to what should happen, just musing on the situation as it is.
For a start, one can only guess as to what the thinking is behind WST’s decision, but that’s nothing new in itself. They do have a tendency to act without telling the general public why they are doing what they doing.
For a start, the World Seniors isn’t a new event but if not for Jason Francis, it might not have happened after 2016. After a couple of successful years, the WPBSA brought the tour under their umbrella.
Is WST now looking to revive their own pro-only version?
Could there be a place on the pro version for the winner of the amateur version?
Some say that the WSS should be just for amateurs and not involve ‘legends’, even at the latter stages.
Would the event work at the Crucible without the old legends?
Should the World Champion be crowned from what is basically an exhibition event?
Is it being on TV that’s causing the issue?
Like I say, these are not suggestions from me, simply thoughts that have come about from trying to figure out what’s going on.
Hopefully WST will tell us or at least let Jason tell us.
Here’s a few possible plausible? explanations
The proposed new scoreboard system can’t cope with extra matches and events
Champion of champions place for WSS winner to be discontinued as keeps high ranking player who doesn’t win anything else out of event. If no WSS event takes place WST are not in breach of contract for reneging on agreement.
All WPBSA directors are too old to remember their age and whether they are eligible to play in WSS events
Saudi Arabia want to host/take over senior snooker events with wildcard for anyone called Hearn
WPBSA want to pass off Jason Francis ideas as their own and will say they thought of it first when Rodney Walker was in charge