Stephen Hendry beat Jimmy White to win the inaugural Mr Vegas Snooker title on Friday in Epsom.
Victory for the Scot over his old rival marks the first time he has won a tournament on the World Seniors Snooker Tour.
Adopting a similar format used on the amateur 900 Series, Hendry topped his round-robin phase with victories over White and Dennis Taylor.
The seven-time world champion then defeated Joe Johnson in the last four before facing the Whirlwind again in the final.
White, the reigning world seniors champion and the pre-tournament favourite, kept his hopes alive by beating Taylor in a winner-took-all showdown at the end of the group stage.
The 61 year-old then comfortably beat Ken Doherty in the semi-finals with a break of 59, the latter having topped the other group ahead of Johnson and Tony Knowles.
The 900 format – how it works:
– Each match is one frame lasting 900 seconds (15 minutes)
– There is a 20-second shot clock
– Players must hit a cushion or pot a ball with each shot
– The ball-in-hand rule is in operation for fouls
The final between Hendry and White – live on Channel 5 in the UK and Ireland – was just as dramatic as many of their showdowns from 30-odd years ago.
With the cue ball in hand following an early foul from his opponent, White had the first chance among the balls but missed a routine black off the spot.
Hendry looked set to immediately take advantage by clearing the table but jawed the third-last red while on 62 to gift White a reprieve.
Soon after with just the colours remaining, White fluked a snooker which appeared to swing the final back in his favour.
But Hendry produced an excellent, albeit slightly fortuitous, escape as he came off the cushion to thump the yellow into the back of the pocket.
The 54 year-old duly sank a long green to take him across the winning line and back into the champion’s enclosure.
“I think it’s a fabulous event,” Stephen Hendry, who has regularly competed on the World Seniors Tour during the last decade, said afterwards.
“There’s no snooker between Christmas and New Year, this is the perfect thing to watch.”
“I’ve had a great time. Maybe 20 seconds a shot is getting rid of the voices in my head when I’ve got plenty of time.”
Featured photo credit: World Seniors Snooker
They’ve already announced a further seniors 900 event to be shown on Channel 5 in March. This format works well in seniors competition. I’ve no great interest in seeing them play more than one lengthier event so supplementing the World Seniors Championship at the Crucible with a few 900 events seems a better way to move forward with the tour.
How much money did Hendry win for this?? Any idea, great to see him lift a trophy on TV
Henry won £125,000 + £10,000 for the highest break (144)
He never made a 144 and no chance he won that amount!