Stephen Hendry will be back on the baize this month alongside four other former world champions in a star-studded Snooker 900 event.
The seven-time world champion initially retired in 2012 and is not making another return to the professional circuit after his underwhelming 2020-24 spell.
However, the 56-year-old will be in competitive action at the Crucible Cup, which also features former world champs John Higgins, Mark Selby, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson.
Barry Hawkins, Gary Wilson and Xiao Guodong make up the eight-man field of the event which will be played at the Crucible Club in Reading.
The tournament will be shown live on Pluto TV and can be streamed on the Pluto TV app on November 24-25 and boasts a prize fund exceeding £70,000.
Hendry will take on Robertson in the second quarter-final match after Higgins has played Hawkins on Monday afternoon.
Selby then faces Xiao and Williams meets Wilson on Monday evening, with the semi-finals played on Tuesday afternoon and the final later the same night.
Posting the news on his Instagram page, Hendry wrote: ‘Looking forward to getting the cue out for this.’
It will be the first time the Scot has played competitively since January 2024, when he lost a Welsh Open qualifier to Ross Muir in his final pro game.
Taking on the world number three, it might be a short return to competitive action for the legendary cueist, but it will certainly attract some attention.
Tournament organiser Jason Francis confirmed on social media that fans can watch the action live in Reading for as little as £5, posting: ‘You can turn up, pay a £5 club guest fee and enjoy all day snooker!!!’
The 900 is a form of snooker played over 15-minute frames with a 20 second shot clock and the need to either pot a ball or hit a cushion on each shot.
A foul results in ball-in-hand and the games are played with a spotted cue ball, in the fast-paced spin on normal snooker matches.
Other 900 tournaments are played in one-frame shootout formats, but the Crucible Cup will be played over best-of-11 matches, with the final extending to best-of-13.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is not in the event, but has backed the new Pluto Snooker 900 channel and says he will be playing in a 900 tournament next year.
Ahead of Hendry’s announcement as the eighth player in the field, O’Sullivan posted on social media: ‘Great news to see 7 of the top 16 announced for the Crucible Cup on Pluto TV on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th. 7 great players. The 8th isn’t me this time but I’ll be playing in the 900 in 2026.’
There will also be a tournament the week before on November 17-19 on Pluto TV, which sees Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Stuart Bingham, Reanne Evans and Robert Milkins involved.
Professional players are now able to compete in televised events away from the World Snooker Tour, as long as they do not clash with pro tournaments they could play in.
The Crucible Cup takes place during UK Championship qualifying and as the pro players involved are all in the world’s top 16 they are not involved in the qualification process.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship begins on November 19, but as White, Doherty, Milkins, Evans and Bingham are not involved in the invitational event, they too can play in the 900 tournament that week.
Francis is also chairman of World Seniors Snooker and has confirmed the expansion of the Seniors World Championship to 24 players, shown on Channel 5 from May 6-10 at the Crucible.
Already confirmed to be competing are the likes of Bingham, Matthew Stevens, Evans, Anthony Hamilton, White, Doherty, defending champion Alfie Burden, Tony Drago, Joe Perry and Dominic Dale.
Francis said: ‘I am so pleased to announce our strongest ever field as we enter our new deal with Sheffield City Council, which will see the World Seniors Snooker Championship remain at the Crucible Theatre for at least the next two years.
‘By expanding our event we can give more players the ultimate dream of playing competitive snooker at the sport’s most famous venue. We have six more players to invite and are working on some securing some legends to complete our field. The 2026 World Seniors Snooker Championships promises to be the biggest and best yet – another Sheffield snooker event for Sheffield people.’