'I've been waiting for that match ever since I was a kid' - Jersey snooker player faces all-time great

Jersey snooker player Aaron Canavan says he realised a childhood dream by playing against Stephen Hendry at the Crucible Theatre.

The 45-year-old, who has never been a professional, got the chance to take on one of the all-time greats of the game at the World Seniors Championship in Sheffield.

"I've been waiting for that match ever since I was a kid", Canavan told ITV News.

"To walk out against the 'King of the Crucible' - seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry, that's something special", he said.

Having come through a tough match in the opening round, Canavan took the first frame in their quarter-final but had to watch on as Hendry rediscovered his form to win 4-1.

"It's been well documented of late how he's not been playing very well but he's teamed up with a new coach and the difference is clear", said the Jersey player.

"He's not back to his best, but he's extremely good".

"I was feeling confident, I was determined to take the game to him, I said I wasn't going to lay down and rollover for him - I don't think I did that at all".

"My pot success throughout the match was 93.48% and I still lost 4-1 and there's not many matches you'll lose with that pot success, but my safety let me down", he said.

Despite the defeat, Canavan - who was a surprise winner of the tournament in 2018 - said the occasion made his dedication to the sport worth it.

"Whenever you play snooker or any sport, you've got to have dreams or something to drive you on because if you don't there's nothing to play for as such".

"If it's not your main source of a living, and obviously I'm an amateur, you've got to have these dreams and aspirations and that's why you put all the practice in", he said.

Hendry went on to lose to eventual champion Jimmy White, who came back from four frames down to beat Ken Doherty 5-4 in an extraordinary final on Saturday.

Meanwhile it has been announced that a qualifying tournament for next year's World Seniors Tour will be held in Jersey in November.

The World Seniors Qualification School will see up to 96 players battling it out for eight places at four tour events, including the 2021 world championship.

It will be open to amateurs aged over 40 and, for the first time, tour professionals ranked between 65-128 at the start of the season.

The tournament will be played from 2-8 November, with a minimum prize pot of £1,000 for each of the eight qualifying players.