Snooker

World Seniors Snooker Championship 2026: Can Anyone Stop The Rocket In Pursuit Of Glory?

1 hour ago

| BY Sam Cox

A look at the latest 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship odds, with William Hill News previewing this year’s competition.

First played in 1991, the World Seniors Championship is an invitational event held at the Crucible. It is only open to players 40 and over and, in Jimmy White, has one multi-time winner.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is unsurprisingly the snooker betting favourite to win the event this time around. The Rocket is facing Ken Doherty in the second round after losing in the second round of the World Championships.

Igor Figueiredo and Alfie Burden, the last two winners of this event, meet in the second round. Alongside the superstars like O’Sullivan and White, there are players like Figueiredo, who was never higher than 65th in the world rankings, and Burden, who had a career-best of the first round in the World Championship.

There is intrigue in pitting these players against one another. Short matches (best of seven until the semis when it becomes best of 13, then best of 19 for the final) adds a degree of unpredictability, making it much easier for underdogs to topple more talented players.

Burden Finds Success

After years grinding on the Tour, Burden finally won a ranking event with the snooker shootout in 2025. He also added the Seniors Championship, but other successes have been hard to come by over the last 12 months.

Figueiredo beat David Grace emphatically at the World Championship before losing to Duane Jones, while Joe Perry beat Dylan Emery at the World Championship and took a couple of frames off Ding Junhui at the World Open.

Stuart Bingham, despite a defeat to Matthew Stevens at the World Championship, enters with one of the best records outside of O’Sullivan. Bingham reached the last eight at the Welsh Open and German Masters. He has wins over Zhao Xintong and Neil Robertson since the turn of the year.

Can Anyone Stop Ronnie?

O’Sullivan should have no problem beating Doherty in the second round. It’s then likely Bingham in a best-of-seven quarter-final, which probably poses the most peril to the greatest player this sport has seen.

Bingham has demonstrated some good form over the last few months and has shown he can topple the world’s best players. In a short match, there’s a decent chance he catches O’Sullivan off-guard. O’Sullivan has only played two events since Feb. 5.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Ali Carter is well-placed for a run to the final with a couple of wins at the World Championship before a battling defeat to John Higgins.

Carter is the value bet if you’re fading O’Sullivan. Burden, Bingham, and O’Sullivan being in the same half of the draw makes it difficult to predict which of the three will reach the final.