O'Sullivan beats Perry in final on World Seniors debut

Ronnie O'Sullivan prepares to play a shot during his first-round match at the 2026 World Snooker Championship

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Changes to seniors tournament rules allowed Ronnie O'Sullivan to take part in the World Seniors Snooker Championship

ByBen CollinsBBC Sport journalist

Published39 minutes ago

Ronnie O'Sullivan has capped off his debut at the World Seniors Snooker Championship by beating Joe Perry in the final.

O'Sullivan, a seven-time winner of the main World Championship, confirmed before this year's tournament that he would make his seniors debut at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

The 50-year-old was knocked out of the second round of the World Championship by John Higgins but overcame Ken Doherty, Peter Lines and Robert Milkins to reach the seniors final.

And he completed a fine week by producing five century breaks in a 10-4 win over fellow Englishman Perry.

O'Sullivan scored three centuries before being pegged back by Perry, 51, who cut his deficit to 5-3 heading into the evening session.

The current British Seniors Open champion, who retired from the professional game after last year's main World Championship, then claimed the first frame of the session to make it 5-4.

But the world number 14 regained his rhythm to cruise to victory, rattling off the next five frames and two more centuries.

Changes to seniors tournament rules mean players aged 45 or over who are ranked in the world's top 64 are now eligible to take part.