John Higgins in the frame as Ronnie O'Sullivan's manager makes bold 'Class of 92' prediction

Daily Record

3 days ago

The iconic trio of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins, along with players inside the world's top 64, can now play in certain events on a rival tour
Ronnie O'Sullivan's manager believes at least one member of snooker's iconic 'Class of 92' will feature in the 2026 World Seniors Championship at the Crucible following a relaxation of eligibility rules.
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The illustrious trio of O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and Scottish legend John Higgins, along with players ranked within the world's top 64, were formerly prohibited from participating in World Seniors Snooker (WSS) tournaments due to an accord with the World Snooker Tour (WST). Jason Francis, who as well as managing the Rocket is chairman of WSS, had been campaigning for the WST to allow all players aged 45 and above to compete in their events.
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When negotiations failed to yield a satisfactory agreement, WSS terminated its agreement with WST after May's World Seniors Championship in Sheffield. Now, any competitor who meets the age criteria, regardless of their ranking status, is permitted to participate in WSS tournaments, provided they don't conflict with WST events.
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The development has conjecture about whether O'Sullivan, 49, Williams, 50, and Higgins, 50, who collectively hold 14 world titles, might compete in two separate World Championships at the Crucible next spring.
The participation of any 'Class of 92' member would represent a significant coup for WSS. Francis told the Mirror:"They're available to me right now. If the commercial terms are right, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins can all play World Seniors Snooker UK broadcast events.
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"A lot of players have expressed an interest in supporting the World Seniors and would like the chance to play in what they like. I would be staggered this season if you didn't see at least one of the Class of 92 in World Seniors events, maybe more."
Regarding seven-time world champion O'Sullivan's potential involvement, Francis added: "The interest will be, 'Will Ronnie O'Sullivan play at the Crucible at the World Seniors Championship?' I don't know at this point but he can, that's the point."
Matthew Stevens, a former UK Championship runner-up and currently ranked 52nd in the world, has already seized the opportunity presented by the lifting of restrictions. The 47-year-old will be part of the field at the British Seniors Open in Derby, which will be broadcast on Channel 5 between Boxing Day and December 28.
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Francis said: "While the headline will always be that (the Class of 92), let's look at the other players who now become eligible for another earning opportunity.
"People like Matthew Stevens are looking at this rule change and thinking, 'Hang on a second, I get the chance to play at the Crucible again.' If we get the bigger names in, we should get prize money up, then these things start snowballing.
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"Now that we've broken away from that restrictive contract, we're able to compete, albeit we have an age group in the seniors. We're not in a position where we can broadcast Judd Trump and Zhao Xintong yet. But there are no (other) restrictions as long as we put our events on when World Snooker don't have an event on."
Earlier this year, NST Worldwide, of which Francis is a director, launched a £10.2m lawsuit in the Competition Appeal Tribunal against WST and snooker's governing body, the WPBSA.
NST claims that "unlawful and anti-competitive practices" have been used to prevent snooker players "playing in tournaments, events, or matches organised by competitor promoters."
Victory for NST would potentially lift playing restrictions further. WST, which is owned by Barry Hearn's Matchroom operation, has said it "rejects" and "will defend" the claims against it.