THE 2018 World Seniors Snooker champion’s dream of returning to the Crucible Theatre is one step closer, after Aaron Canavan secured a memorable win in round seven of the Race to the Crucible series.
The Jerseyman’s incredible run culminated with a dramatic 4-3 win in the final, denying former world number 28 Andrew Norman a historic fourth title in succession.
It marked Canavan’s first crown of the season, after scintillating play throughout steered him to the win, from a field of 32 competitors from five different nations.
The sentiment around the table for the final was that Norman’s form of late was seemingly unstoppable.
Chasing four round wins in succession, The Bristolian had dropped just four frames in as many games en route to the match with Canavan, defeating Nigel Howe 4-1 in the semi-final.
The defending champion showed few signs of weakness early on, racing into a two-frame lead, courtesy of decent breaks of 56 and 72.
With the odds stacked against him, the former World Seniors champion dug deep to claw it back to 2-2 in the race to four frames.
With the wind in his sails, Canavan saved his very best, a tournament-high break of 111 to seize control from Norman.
The two finalists would not lie down and Norman would hit back to take the final to a tense deciding frame.
The defending champion looked to have Canavan’s number, before “probably the best clearance” the Islander has ever made secured victory by a lone point, 62-61.
With three reds nestled against the cushion and the black, pink and brown close to the cushions, Canavan somehow managed to pot them all for a remarkable win.
“It was probably the best clearance I’ve ever made,” said the Jerseyman.
“99 times out of 100, it will go wrong somewhere along the line, but there’s always that one chance it’ll go right and this was that time.
“When you are facing someone of Andrew’s quality, you’re not going to get any joy from playing negatively and safe.
“You have to go for your shots and execute, because that’s the only way to beat him, especially with the run of form he’s on.
“The opening two frames, I put him right on the top cushion, but both times he converted brilliant long reds and ultimately won both the frames.”
The two-day event saw Canavan beat Tam Mustafa (4-2) and former English Seniors winner Lee Stephens (4-3) to earn his spot in the final day.
The task did not get any easier, however, but he defeated Bill Ginn 4-1 before a 4-2 victory against the world number one in World Seniors Snooker, Wayne Townsend, in the semi-final, before ultimately outlasting Norman.
The overall goal for these elite players is to earn a spot in the highly coveted World Seniors Championship, with the top two on the official WSS ranking list, as well as the top two on the ‘Race to the Crucible’ list earning an automatic spot, to be joined by the winner of a “Top 16 Shootout” event – where players ranked between third and tenth on each list will compete for the final place.
Canavan currently sits in third on the WSS list and fourth on the Race to the Crucible list, with two more rounds remaining.
The Islander recently became one of 23 recipients of Jersey Sport’s inaugural Performance Sport Programme, which offers the snooker star valuable funding to put towards his travel and competitions.
“It’s been a huge weight off my shoulders being selected in the Performance Sport Programme,” added Canavan.
“In the past, I have had to work loads of overtime in order to afford to travel and play.
“Naturally that takes place during the times I should be practising and I was going to competitions less fresh than I should have been.
“With this additional funding, I am able to put in more work and be much more tournament ready.
“There was also a lot of pressure on performing before, knowing that, if I didn’t play well, I probably couldn’t afford to come back for the next round.
“It has offered me some comfort. Snooker is a sport where you need to be in the right headspace, and when you are desperate to earn money, you tighten up and don’t play your best stuff.
“There are two more rounds left and now it’s about keeping up the momentum and hard work to get myself back to the World Seniors Championship in May.”
