Brazilian snooker legend practised with two world champions – and beat one to win dinner

 EXCLUSIVE: Brazilian snooker legend and World Seniors champion Igor Figueiredo on his friendship with Kyren Wilson and dream of growing the game.

gor Figueiredo has fond memories of practising with former world champions 

Igor Figueiredo still cherishes his victory over former world champion Kyren Wilson. Admittedly, it was only on the practice table to decide who paid for dinner, but it was still a moment the Brazilian snooker legend holds dear.

“I played him one time for dinner – and I beat him! I still talk about this, after all these years,” laughs Figueiredo from his snooker club in Sao Paulo. “I still joke to him, ‘Remember, we play for dinner, I beat you!” The pair used to practice together in Gloucester before both graduated to the World Snooker Tour in 2010. In a heartwarming piece of symmetry, they won their maiden world titles within a few days of each other last year. After Wilson won the main event, Figueiredo, 47, became the World Seniors champion, beating Ken Doherty at the Crucible.

“My friend Kyren and I became world champions in the same year,” he adds proudly. “I was very happy for him, and he sent me a very sweet message wishing me luck for the seniors.

“After I won the World Championship Seniors, I speak on TV and I say, ‘Kyren, thank you very much, you give me a lot of power’. He’s a very good guy. We played on PIOS [the Pontins International Open Series, which was for players not on the main tour] and turned professional on the same date in 2010.

“We practice together for a very long time in Gloucester. Kyren, Luca Brecel, we are very close friends. A very nice guy.”

While there is a 14-year age gap between the pair, Figueiredo was a latecomer to the top level, having played on 10ft tables until his 30s. Snooker is more popular in Brazil than you might imagine. A number of well-known footballers play the game while Pele was an advocate for it to be made an Olympic sport before his death.

Pele was a big snooker fan

“I started playing at five years old on very small tables, similar to an English pool tables,” explains Figueiredo. “Afterwards, I played on a 10ft table for 32 years. I started to play full-size in 2009. It was a bit different!”

He also had fond early memories of watching the sport on TV. He recalls: “I saw on a VHS video, Steve Davis making a 147. I’d never seen a full-size table. I was thinking, ‘What going on?’

“Steve Davis had the best technique, it was fantastic. It helped build my knowledge. I saw stars and dreams. I was also a fan of Hendry, Paul Hunter, John Higgins, Ronnie.”

After adjusting quickly to full-sized tables, Figueiredo was a regular on the tour for the best part of a decade. He was still in Europe when the pandemic hit in 2020. Feeling isolated and alone, his mental health understandably went downhill, and he returned to his homeland.

Figueiredo is about to begin his World Seniors title defence

But he makes regular trips back to the UK, and earlier this season he played Mark Allen at the Champions of Champions tournament, losing 4-2. Figueiredo is now back at the Crucible for the defence of his World Seniors crown, which begins against Wayne Townsend on Wednesday night. Two years younger than the ‘Class of 92’, he hasn’t given up hope of returning to main tour one day.

“I have dreams to come back,” he says. “I love staying in the UK. Like football in Brazil, people see snooker in the UK. I have dreams to play against Ronnie, John Higgins and Kyren.”

A registered coach, Figueiredo also wants to grow the game in the Americas, where he believes there is untapped potential, and has held talks with WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson. He says: “I want to push up snooker in the Americas and help young players. Snooker needs to improve the prize money for players if they lose in the first round because it’s expensive for players outside of the UK.”

However, he doesn’t believe the World Championship should leave the UK, adding: “I was the first South American to play in the Crucible. I love the atmosphere, it has big history. I think more people want to watch. Maybe they need to improve the space. But I don’t think snooker needs to move to another country.”