Jimmy White delighted his legion of fans by reaching the last 32 of the Northern Ireland Open on Monday in Belfast.
The 62 year-old prevailed in an epic 4-2 contest with Hossein Vafaei that featured a dramatic and incident-packed sixth frame that lasted more than an hour.
There were numerous talking points, but the most important transpired towards the end of the frame when Vafaei was adjudged to have fouled after placing the cue ball outside the D-zone in baulk.
The referee immediately called a foul upon the Iranian’s strike, insisting several times that he was “100% sure” of his decision.
In the end, White potted the final red and cleared to the blue to clinch a memorable victory at the Waterfront Hall.
“It was bizarre,” Jimmy White, who already won two matches in qualifying to reach the venue stages, told the World Snooker Tour.
“It was really weird. A few times I got control of the match, I go 3-1 up and I’m then clearing up to win the match but get awkward on the brown.”
“I put a quick one in there, but I potted a good black to win a frame. At the end there, that was a good brown off the cushion. At that stage, you can miss anything.
“I enjoy practicing, I enjoy doing exhibitions, I enjoy entertaining. I still make 147s. Now and then, I have a little buzz where I can beat anybody.
“It’s not as consistent as what it was, but I think that’ll come with a few wins. That’s a decent win for me today.
“I enjoy the competing. [Belfast] is an amazing place. I think the first or second ever tournament I won as a professional was in the King’s Hall.
“Obviously [you had] the late great Hurricane Higgins, Dennis Taylor, Joe Swail, and you’ve now got an incredible player in Mark Allen. So we’ve always had great support here.”
Jimmy White, who beat Steve Davis to win the Northern Ireland Classic 43 years ago, will bid for a spot in the last 16 when he next faces Martin O’Donnell.
O’Donnell sprung an upset of his own by overcoming top-16 member Zhang Anda with a 4-3 scoreline.
Elsewhere, there were contrasting triumphs for home favourite Mark Allen and recent English Open winner Neil Robertson.
Allen, champion in Belfast in 2021 and 2022, comfortably beat Liu Hongyu 4-0 but Robertson needed all seven frames to get past Graeme Dott in a repeat of the 2010 World Championship final.
John Higgins, Barry Hawkins, and Tom Ford were among the other higher-ranked players to safely make it through.
But Xiao Guodong and Si Jiahui, the Chinese pair who contested the recent Wuhan Open final, both crashed out following respective defeats to Jimmy Robertson and Tian Pengfei.
Jack Lisowski also bowed out in disappointing fashion after losing 4-3 to Wang Yuchen, while Stephen Maguire was beaten by fellow Scot Anthony McGill.
Elliot Slessor was the other player to reach the last 32 courtesy of his 4-2 win against Joe O’Connor, while Oliver Lines edged Ricky Walden in his held-over fixture from the qualifiers.
On Tuesday, the round of 64 will conclude with world champion Kyren Wilson and former Northern Ireland Open winner Mark Williams among those in action.
The next round will also begin with Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy back in the fray.
2024 Northern Ireland Open
Last 64 Results
Monday, October 21st
Elliot Slessor 4-2 Joe O’Connor
Tom Ford 4-2 Rory Thor
Tian Pengfei 4-2 Si Jiahui
Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson 4-3 Graeme Dott
Martin O’Donnell 4-3 Zhang Anda
Oliver Lines 4-2 Ricky Walden
Jimmy White 4-2 Hossein Vafaei
Anthony McGill 4-1 Stephen Maguire
Barry Hawkins 4-2 Matthew Stevens
Mark Allen 4-0 Liu Hongyu
Wang Yuchen 4-3 Jack Lisowski
John Higgins 4-2 Fan Zhengyi
Schedule for Tuesday, October 22nd
Last 64 (bo7)
10am UTC+1
Wu Yize vs Oliver Lines
Ali Carter vs Ma Hailong
1pm UTC+1
Kyren Wilson vs David Grace
Chris Wakelin vs Bulcsu Revesz
Following 1pm games
Mark Williams vs Jamie Clarke
Noppon Saengkham vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Last 32 (bo7)
7pm UTC+1
Judd Trump vs Matthew Selt
Louis Heathcote vs Jimmy Robertson
Tian Pengfei vs Robert Milkins
Following 7pm games
Stuart Bingham vs Mark Davis
Zhou Yuelong vs Shaun Murphy
Click here to view the full Northern Ireland Open draw
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
