World Seniors Championship 2011 - ready for the legends

This weekend is no ordinary weekend. This weekend we are going to see the legends play on TV. This weekend the second edition of the World Seniors Championship will kick off and I have the feeling we'll have a ball.

Picture this: last year I was on my way home, in a smelly bus, obsessively hitting the refresh button from my poor mobile phone in order to see who's winning the first edition of the World Seniors Championship. I was so happy to see two of my favourite players reach the final: Jimmy White and Steve Davis and at the end, I was really pleased to see Jimmy lift the trophy ... well, to see the picture with him lifting the trophy, to be more precise.

The snooker knights are ready to fight

One year later this seems like a memory from the Mesozoic Era, because this year the tournament will be fully broadcasted by SkySports 4. I'm sure that I'm not the only one over the moon with it, but may I please say how great this is?!!!! I mean, to really have the chance and see all those "walking snooker encyclopaedias" in action ... what can be better than that? Well, maybe to actually be in the arena, but that's a dream for next year. Baby steps.

So, here we are in front of a snooker event, which for me personally, represents a glorious gathering of snooker legends many of them still writing history on the main tour. I could stay here and blab about how much I admire them and how much these guys have inspired me as well as a whole bunch of players that are kicking arse today, but you already know that, so I'll skip that part. Lucky you, I had a whole speech prepared.

The main thing here is that you don’t see this happening every day. Although we only have 16 players, a number that doesn’t do justice for the real number of players that have had an impact on snooker, those 16 are ready for the kill as well as to have fun.
Last year edition got some pretty good feedbacks from the players and the crowd, so this year, with the event being televised and all should be an even greater one. 

Maybe that 30-seconds shot-clock thing isn't the best idea. Maybe the "best of three" rule is not what we would have expected at all. But hey! At least the event wasn't cancelled and at least we have a variety of players. From a six-time world champion to the player that won the second UK Championship title back in '78 when it wasn't even a ranking event and 10 years later when the tournament was already on the ranking events list. Just for the record, I'm talking about Steve Davis and Doug Mountjoy.

Jimmy will be defending his crown

I will be honest with you and say that no, I do not get the whole 30-seconds shot-clock, but I'm willing to give it a chance. And the reason why I'm doing this is because the tournament is a great one. It's a special one. It really sends a positive vibe towards the snooker loopy that lies inside me. So, yep ... I'm going to be on duty this weekend and cover it, because at the end of the day I love snooker and the line-up of players. 

As most of you already know the defending champion is Jimmy White. "The Whirlwind" will give his best in order to retain his beloved crown and I'm sure his opponents will feel that. If there's one thing that Jimmy is (besides being a great player), is being a very competitive person. That’s crucial for a sportsman and that's what's been keeping him playing all these years. 
But don't get yourselves fooled, for I'm sure the rest of the players aren't here just for a cup of tea will their old friends. They are here for the win too. Actually, all of them are what you would call "competitive animals" and they won’t stop at nothing from fulfilling their dream.

So a mix of legendary snooker and modern fast snooker spiced up with a bit of fun here and there and you have the World Seniors Championship.

The action starts tomorrow in Peterborough and below you can check the match schedule for the first day of cues action.

1pm

7pm
*all hours are UK time

The matches will be played on a roll on/roll off basis, but there's a 15 minutes between each of the matches. The rule at hand is "the best of three" including the semis and the final.

TV coverage:

Useful link to watch snooker
mypremium.tv
www.sportlemon.tv