Legend of the game Stephen Hendry will compete in the new Snooker 900 series on Pluto TV, it has been confirmed by the tournament organisers.
Backed by Jason Francis, the man behind the Snooker Legends exhibition circuit and the World Seniors Tour, and seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, a dedicated channel for the Snooker 900 was launched last month.
The channel broadcasts 18 hours of live snooker every week, classic matches from the archive, and footage from O’Sullivan’s own Rocket Method coaching series.
There are events staged on a weekly basis, with the new venture intending to shine a spotlight on the future of the sport by giving amateurs, women, juniors, and disabled players the TV platform usually reserved for the elite.
But there is set to be a star-studded lineup later in November with a decent pot of prize money up for grabs as well.
A Snooker 900 tournament in Reading called the Crucible Cup will feature five former world champions and another three proven ranking event winners.
John Higgins, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, and Neil Robertson had already been confirmed to be taking part alongside Barry Hawkins, Xiao Guodong, and Gary Wilson.
The remaining spot in the field was announced on Wednesday with Stephen Hendry being awarded an unexpected place in the draw.
The seven-time world champion hasn’t played a competitive match since losing 4-2 to fellow Scotsman Ross Muir at the Welsh Open in January of last year.
Hendry was playing on the main tour through his status as an invitational tour card holder but that was revoked at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
There hadn’t been much talk of another return, especially considering the 56 year-old didn’t even enter the World Seniors Championship in May.
The Crucible Cup Draw
Stephen Hendry vs Neil Robertson
Mark Selby vs Xiao Guodong
John Higgins vs Barry Hawkins
Mark Williams vs Gary Wilson
The Crucible Cup, meanwhile, will be played on November 24th and 25th at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading.
There is a prize fund of £70,000, with £5,000 also on offer if any of the star names can manage to make a 147 break.
The tournament adopts the Snooker 900 format, which translates to 900 seconds (15 minutes) per frame, a 20-second timer for each shot, ball in hand for fouls, and a sudden-death shootout on the blue to settle ties.
Quarter-final and semi-final matches will be played over 11 frames before there is a best-of-13 final to determine the winner.
Getting Hendry and so many marquee names from the current top 16 in the world rankings is a genuine coup for the promoters.
The likes of Williams, Higgins, Selby, and Robertson will be looking to hone their match sharpness ahead of the UK Championship in York.
A week earlier from November 17th to 19th, there will be another tournament live on Pluto TV with familiar names attached to it.
Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Reanne Evans, Stuart Bingham, and Robert Milkins are all set to be in action in that one.
“When I came up with Snooker 900, the dream was to create a format that could bring snooker to a new generation while still thrilling the purists,” Jason Francis said ahead of the launch.
“To see it now become the focus of the first dedicated snooker channel on Pluto TV, and to have Ronnie O’Sullivan backing it, is beyond anything I imagined.”
I always think faster formats is very attractive for anybody really,” O’Sullivan said. “I think it’s more exciting.”
“You look at 20/20 cricket. I think most people will be able to sit there and watch that because it’s a slugfest.
“I think most people playing the game, they’ll want to play like Jimmy White, Alex Higgins, Judd Trump, myself. But this format actually forces you to play like that.
“I think it will bring out an exciting brand of snooker”.
O’Sullivan hasn’t competed in the Snooker 900 yet but is expected to take part in the series sometime in 2026.
Featured photo credit: WST
