The Snooker World Seniors Championship - final note

Davis and Johnson are being interviewed by Willie Thorne

Every big event has behind him an army of passionate people who put their heart and soul into making that particular event successful and very special. Every project starts with an idea, or more then just one...with a person who wants to do something, with people who want to shout out to the whole world what they believe it needs to be heard.
The World Seniors Championship was made a reality thanks to a group of people who never stopped in loving the sport of snooker: Joe Johnson (representing the players’ gang), Dave Shiplay (the one who speaks business) and World Snooker (the ones who put their stamp on every important and well worthy tournament).


After three days of class snooker, but also a lot of fun, Joe Johnson shared with the World Snooker boys his thoughts on the Seniors Championship.


"The whole event exceeded our expectations," said local favorite Johnson, who helped promote the event alongside his business partner Dave Shipley and World Snooker. When you try something new you always worry that something is going to go wrong, but overall everything went very smoothly.


"The public loved it, we sold out of tickets on Saturday and Sunday, and had a good crowd on Friday even though it was bonfire night. I thought the standard of snooker was superb - you can tell that by some of the breaks that were scored. Jimmy played extremely well although John Parrott was one ball away from beating him in the semi-finals."


Johnson didn't last long in the event as a player, losing 2-0 to Steve Davis in a repeat of the 1986 and 1987 Crucible finals. He added: "The players are never keen on short matches because they can be over very quickly, but from the public's point of view they create a lot of excitement and keep the fans captive right from the beginning.


"I think everyone enjoyed the way that all of the players interacted with the fans. All of them stayed until the end, sat at tables and chatted with the public and signed autographs. Quite a few of those who played in the qualifiers were also there, like David Taylor, Tony Drago and Mike Hallett. Willie Thorne and John Virgo were also great fun.
I want to thank everyone involved in the event, particularly World Snooker, the sponsor Wyldecrest Park Homes, the Cedar Court Hotel, Cue Gardens, Yorkshire Forward and the local council and university."


In fact, White wasn't the only player to go home with a trophy as, just before the final, Johnson was presented with an award for the Best Dressed Player, mainly due to his sparkling black winklepickers. "They cost me £150 but it paid off, didn't it!?" he laughed. 

Source: www.worldsnooker.com