Ronnie O’Sullivan won the 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championship on Sunday with a 10-4 triumph over Joe Perry at the Crucible Theatre.
The Rocket captured his maiden title on the World Seniors Snooker Tour with a strong display against his fellow Englishman.
O’Sullivan enjoyed a memorable debut campaign in the competition, recording victories against Ken Doherty, Peter Lines, and Robert Milkins en route to the final in Sheffield.
The 50 year-old had barely left first gear in those early victories and began the title-deciding bout with a tournament pot-success rate of just 85%.
But that quickly changed as he launched off in rapid fashion in the final, compiling a hat-trick of century breaks to reach the mid-session interval with a 3-1 advantage.
After the next two frames were shared, Perry won a dramatic seventh on the black before O’Sullivan took the last of the afternoon session to move 5-3 ahead.
There was an excellent reception when the duo returned for the evening setting in front of a packed auditorium.
Perry again got back to within a frame of parity, but the match then began to get away from the reigning British Seniors Open champion.
After winning a scrappy tenth frame, O’Sullivan compiled his fourth century break to move 7-4 clear, and when he established a four-frame cushion for the first time, the writing was on the wall.
With the winning line in sight, O’Sullivan didn’t look like buckling and another fine contribution of 100 saw him lift the trophy aloft.
The former IBSF world under-21 champion has now added a world seniors crown to a glittering CV that already includes a record-equalling seven World Championship titles.
Aside from winning the John Virgo Trophy last month, it marks O’Sullivan’s first piece of silverware since capturing the World Masters of Snooker in March of 2024.
The 50 year-old pockets the £30,000 top prize while victory completes a strong response to his crushing 13-12 loss against John Higgins in the last 16 of the recent World Snooker Championship less than two weeks ago.
O’Sullivan’s involvement at the World Seniors Snooker Championship had been one of the dominant talking points throughout the week.
Many questioned whether active top-ranked professionals should have been eligible for the tournament at all, with fellow current main tour stars Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham also featuring in the draw.
There was further controversy at the beginning of the event after issues with one of the match tables caused disruption to the schedule at the Crucible Theatre.
The contest between Matthew Stevens and Dominic Dale was delayed after complaints regarding conditions on Table 2, which was later taken out of use altogether for an evening session.
The problems subsequently forced defending champion Alfie Burden and Igor Figueiredo to complete their match in a practice room away from the television cameras and spectators.
The tournament, though, was generally well attended across the week and received widespread exposure through Channel 5 coverage in the UK.
And despite the controversies and logistical problems, the 2026 edition of the World Seniors Snooker Championship ultimately delivered another memorable week at the sport’s most iconic venue.
Perhaps fittingly, it concluded with one of the sport’s greatest ever players adding yet another trophy to his remarkable collection.
Featured image credit: 5
It means Ronnie can qualify for the Champion of Champions competition even he never wins another professional title.
Mark Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan have a clear advantage over John Higgins now. They’ve both won the retiree world championship without being retired, but John Higgins hasn’t even got out of the blocks. He is surely the last and least of the three now. Until the seniors tour is for retired professionals I won’t pay heed to it going forwards. When approx half the top 16 on the main professional tour are aged 40+ the current entry criteria for the seniors tour is laughable to me.
I think this week has been well attended but you have to question its meaning when one of the world’s best is winning it. The primary function of seniors sport is an exercise in nostalgia and to watch big names past their prime.
There’s no denying O’Sullivan brings commercial clout, but this victory is a mere footnote in a glittering career.
There’s no longer an opportunity to qualify for the Champion of Champions tournament through this event.
One of the greatest?! He is the GOAT!!
The widespread exposure was somewhat negated by much of the evening action being broadcast on the little known 5 Action channel.