This weekend sees the World Seniors Championship staged for the first time since 1991 at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford thanks to the efforts of 1986 world champion Joe Johnson and tonight the draw for the quarter-finals has been revealed…
The draw and running order is as follows:
Saturday 6th November
11am
Ken Doherty v Peter Ebdon or Nigel Bond
followed by
Steve Davis v Joe Johnson
3pm
Dennis Taylor v John Parrott
followed by
Jimmy White v Cliff Thorburn
Good news for the romantics therefore as Ken Doherty and Peter Ebdon, arguably the two favourites for the event being the youngest two players involved, will meet early on should Peter overcome Nigel Bond tonight, perhaps giving some of the older players more of a chance to progress.
That said, none of them have easy draws as Joe Johnson meets last season’s World Championship quarter-finalist Steve Davis, Cliff Thorburn plays off against Jimmy White and Dennis Taylor faces a clash with the recently retired John Parrott.
Whilst the event is perhaps not the biggest event on the calendar, it is good to see the old favourites who helped to establish the sport that we know and love back in the spotlight and give fans of the sport from that era a chance to watch their heroes in anger once again. The standard may not be the highest but if this event can eventually lead to a more regular series then the players will perhaps have increased motivation to practice and fine tune their game.