World Seniors Championship 2015

Betway World Seniors Championship 2015
Tournament type:	Invitation tournament
Venue:	Tower Circus Arena , Blackpool , England
Opening:	March 2, 2015
Endgame:	March 3, 2015
Winner:	Mark Williams
Finalist:	Fergal O'Brien
Highest Break:	140 ( Mark Williams )
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The Betway World Seniors Championship 2015 was an invitation-only snooker tournament as part of the Snooker Main Tour of the 2014/15 season . It was the sixth edition of the World Seniors Championship and took place from March 2-3, 2015. It was first played at the Tower Circus Arena in Blackpool , England .

The defending champion was the six-time world champion Steve Davis , who was eliminated in the quarter-finals against the Irish Fergal O'Brien . The tournament winner was Mark Williams , who, despite his age of 39, was able to take part in the tournament for the first time this year thanks to a new regulation. He also scored the highest break of the tournament with a 140.

format

The invitation tournament was held for the sixth time, having made its debut in 1991 and re-added to the tournament calendar in 2010. A total of 83 players had registered for the tournament. Eleven participants, former winners of the World Seniors Championship and former world champions , were selected for the finals. The remaining five places were determined over four qualifying rounds, which were held on December 20 and 21, 2014 at Robin Park in Wigan , England .

The age limit was again reduced to 40 years after only players aged 45 and over were eligible to participate in the last three tournaments. According to the new regulation, all current or former professional players who have reached the age of 40 at the end of the 2015 World Snooker Championship , i.e. on May 4, 2015, are permitted .

Prize money

The winnings remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

	Prize money
winner	£ 18,000
finalist	£ 8,000
Semi-finalist	£ 4,000
Quarter finalist	£ 2,000
Round of 16	£ 1,000
All in all	£ 50,000

Main round

Laws players

The following eleven players were seeded by the WPBSA for the final round of the final sixteen. The age information corresponds to the status of May 4, 2015, according to which the conditions of participation are based. Record world champion Stephen Hendry will not take part in the tournament this year. For the first time for the tournament, the 39-year-old two-time world champion Mark Williams and the 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon qualified .

Steve Davis (57) John Parrott (50) Cliff Thorburn (67) Nigel Bond (49) Dennis Taylor (66) Darren Morgan (49)

Mark Williams (40) Joe Johnson (62) Jimmy White (53) Ken Doherty (45) Peter Ebdon (44)

Tournament schedule

All games were played in best-of-3 mode . All times are local time ( UTC ).

Round of 16

Monday, March 2nd, 1:00 p.m. Steve Davis 2 : 1 Rory McLeod John Parrott 2 : 0 Cliff Thorburn Nigel Bond 0: 2 Dominic Dale Dennis Taylor 0: 2 Darren Morgan

Monday, March 2nd, 7:00 p.m. Mark Williams 2 : 0 Darryn Walker Joe Johnson 1: 2 Paul McPhillips Jimmy White 0: 2 Ken Doherty Peter Ebdon 0: 2 Fergal O'Brien

Quarter finals

Tuesday, March 3, 1:00 p.m. John Parrott 2 : 0 Paul McPhillips Ken Doherty 2 : 0 Darren Morgan

Tuesday, March 3, 1:00 p.m. Fergal O'Brien 2 : 0 Steve Davis Mark Williams 2 : 0 Dominic Dale

Semifinals

• Tuesday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.
  • Mark Williams 2 : 0 John Parrott
  • Fergal O'Brien 2 : 0 Ken Doherty

final

Final: Best of 3 Frames Referee: Greg Coniglio Tower Circus Arena ,  Blackpool , England , 3rd March 2015
Mark Williams	2 : 1	Fergal O'Brien
30: 41 , 87 : 4 (74), 94 : 0
74	Highest break	39
-	Century breaks	-
1	50+ breaks	-

qualification

The qualifiers were played on December 20 and 21, 2014 at Robin Park in Wigan , England . All games were played in best-of-3 mode.

Round 1

game	Player 1	Result	Player 2		game	Player 1	Result	Player 2
1	Tony Drago	1: 2	Rory McLeod		17th	Darren Thompson	kl.	Anthony Hamilton
2	Andrew Billion	2 : 1	Tony Taylor		18th	Andy Hicks	0: 2	Peter Lines
3	David Singh	kl.	Jamie Bodle		19th	Jonathan Bagley	kl.	Alex Borg
4th	Ian Brumby	2 : 0	Ashley Beal		20th	Jamie Rous	2 : 1	Tony Knowles
5	Dessie Sheehan	1: 2	John Leahy		21st	David McLellan	1: 2	Robin Hull
6th	Gerard Greene	2 : 0	Balvinder Sembi		22nd	Marcus Campbell	kl.	Nigel Gilbert
7th	Alan McManus	2 : 1	Steve Meakin		23	Mike Hallett	0: 2	Gary Filtness
8th	Dominic Dale	2 : 0	Peter Delaney		24	Karl Townsend	2 : 1	Craig Barber
9	Geoff Williams	2 : 1	Stuart Parnell		25th	Ian Barry Stark	2 : 0	Rod Lawler
10	Mike Dunn	kl.	Peter Bardsley		26th	Craig MacGillivray	2 : 0	Hassan Vaizie
11	Joe Perry	kl.	Andrew Alexandrou		27	Patsy Fagan	2 : 0	Paul Moss
12	Richard Somauroo	0: 2	Tony Chappel		28	David Roe	0: 2	Joe Swail
13	Scott MacFarlane	2 : 1	Paul Davison		29	Jimmy O'Shea	0: 2	Fergal O'Brien
14th	Dave Harold	2 : 0	Raymon Fabrie		30th	Mark King	2 : 0	Barry Pinches
15th	Anthony Harris	2 : 0	Shane Haines		31	Les Dodd	0: 2	John Welsh
16	Darryn Walker	2 : 0	Jamie Home		32	Alex Peart	0: 2	Adrian Rosa

round 2

game	Player 1	Result	Player 2		game	Player 1	Result	Player 2
1	Rory McLeod	2 : 0	Andrew Billion		11	Peter Lines	0: 2	Jonathan Bagley
2	Alan Edmonds	kl.	Jamie Bodle		12	Jamie Rous	0: 2	Robin Hull
3	Ian Brumby	2 : 1	John Leahy		13	Dean Reynolds	0: 2	Marcus Campbell
4th	Gerard Greene	0: 2	Alan McManus		14th	Paul McPhillips	2 : 0	Gary Filtness
5	Dominic Dale	2 : 1	Geoff Williams		15th	Karl Townsend	2 : 1	Barry Stark
6th	Peter Bardsley	1: 2	Andrew Alexandrou		16	Craig MacGillivray	2 : 0	Patsy Fagan
7th	Anthony Davies	1: 2	Tony Chappel		17th	Gary Miller	0: 2	Joe Swail
8th	Scott MacFarlane	0: 2	Dave Harold		18th	Mark Davis	0: 2	Fergal O'Brien
9	Darryn Walker	0: 2	Anthony Harris		19th	Gary Wilkinson	2 : 0	Mark King
10	Paul Stockwell	0: 2	Darren Thompson		20th	John Welsh	2 : 0	Adrian Rosa

Round 3

game	Player 1	Result	Player 2		game	Player 1	Result	Player 2
1	Rory McLeod	2 : 1	Jamie Bodle		6th	Jonathan Bagley	2 : 1	Robin Hull
2	Ian Brumby	2 : 0	Alan McManus		7th	Marcus Campbell	1: 2	Paul McPhillips
3	Dominic Dale	2 : 0	Andrew Alexandrou		8th	Karl Townsend	0: 2	Craig MacGillivray
4th	Tony Chappel	2 : 0	Dave Harold		9	Joe Swail	0: 2	Fergal O'Brien
5	Darryn Walker	2 : 1	Darren Thompson		10	Gary Wilkinson	2 : 1	John Welsh

Round 4

game	Player 1	Result	Player 2		game	Player 1	Result	Player 2
1	Rory McLeod	2 : 0	Ian Brumby		4th	Paul McPhillips	2 : 1	Craig MacGillivray
2	Dominic Dale	2 : 0	Tony Chappel		5	Fergal O'Brien	2 : 1	Gary Wilkinson
3	Darryn Walker	2 : 0	Jonathan Bagley

Century breaks

Main round

Mark Williams	140
Fergal O'Brien	110, 105

qualification

Dominic Dale	129
Rory McLeod	104

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} New Criteria For World Seniors. (No longer available online.) In: worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association , September 1, 2014, archived from the original on July 11, 2015 ; accessed on July 10, 2015 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} World Seniors Championship Qualifiers. In: snooker.org. Retrieved July 10, 2015 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} World Seniors Championship. In: snooker.org. Retrieved July 10, 2015 . 
4. ^ World Seniors Draw and Format. (No longer available online.) In: worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association , December 12, 2014, archived from the original on July 1, 2015 ; accessed on July 10, 2015 . 
5. ^ World Seniors Championship Qualifiers Draw. (PDF; 594 kB) (No longer available online.) World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association , December 21, 2014, archived from the original on December 22, 2014 ; accessed on July 10, 2015 . 
6. ↑ World Seniors Championship Qualifiers - Century Breaks. In: worldsnookerdata.com. World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association , archived from the original on December 20, 2014 ; accessed on December 21, 2014 .