Mason enters World Seniors Darts Championship qualifier: "I'm in a much better place physically and mentally than when I played"

Chris Mason has officially entered the qualifiers for the World Seniors Darts Championship taking place on 13/14 November at the Crucible in Reading.

'Mace the Ace', a former World Championship and World Matchplay semi-finalist will dust off his darts to attempt to join the field at the Circus Tavern next year and speaking to Online Darts during their Live League, he explained his reasoning.

"I find it hard to understand why anybody who wasn't involved in the sport wouldn't support it in some way. It's something I've been a cheerleader for many years, I thought there was a place for it. I hoped the PDC maybe have done it at some point but Barry (Hearn) was never interested. He was never really interested in the Seniors Tour in snooker," said Mason to Online Darts.

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"The prize money's in place, we're in an iconic venue in the Circus Tavern. It's limited to 128 players, I don't know who's entered yet, mine's in, mine's done and I hope a lot of players support it. I think it's important we do support it to make sure it's something that continues."

Full committal only to qualifiers

As a pundit/commentator as well as a former darts player, Mason isn't expecting much but admitted that he won't be thinking anything about a comeback and is only committed at this stage to the qualifiers.

"Of course the plan is to have a tour after the World Championship which is something that I don't have the time to be dedicating any capacity of making any comeback. I did my bit, I tried my best, I wasn't good enough but maybe at that level, I'm going to have a bit of fun. No expectations at all, I just want to enjoy it."

"I'm going to be fully committed to the qualifiers. Historically I've always done well in qualifiers going back many years so I should be giving it everything."

"I'm in a much better place physically and mentally than I ever was when I played professional. Top 16 player in the PDC, number three in the BDO and on reflection, I'm relishing the opportunity."