Jimmy White proved that there is still live in the old dog yet by compiling a 147 break en route to capturing a pro-am title during the week in Couldson.
The Whirlwind, who still competes on the main tour albeit struggles to string many wins together, frequently reminds his fans that he’s playing well in practice.
The 62 year-old certainly underlined those sentiments with a 4-1 success against Peter Devlin to win a pro-am tournament at Frames Sports Bar on Tuesday.
White compiled breaks of 112, 80, and 76 in addition to the magnificent 147 maximum break that is available to watch at the Frames Couldson Facebook page.
It’s 33 years since the Londoner compiled his one and only 147 in a competitive match on the World Snooker Tour.
He became only the second player in World Championship history to complete the feat with his perfect knock at the Crucible Theatre in 1992.
White will hope to make a successful return to the sport’s spiritual home when he competes in the World Championship qualifiers next month in Sheffield.
The ten-time ranking event winner hasn’t participated at the venue stages of the blue-riband competition since making the last of his 25 appearances in 2006.
White is currently languishing down at number 93 on the official world rankings list and will need to qualify for the Crucible to secure a fresh tour card.
Of course, the former Masters champion will likely still avail of an invitational tour card even if he fails to safeguard tour survival through his own exploits on the baize.
A 2-1 winner over Marco Fu in an exhibition match this weekend that took place at the Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong during the ongoing World Grand Prix, White recently admitted that he would like to carry on for at least another three years.
“For me to still be able to play and compete now is like a godsend,” Jimmy White told Stephen Hendry on his old rival’s Cue Tips channel on YouTube.
“I’m going to play for another three years, and if I don’t win a tournament I’m going to stop. I’m 62. People think ‘why are you doing it? You’re nuts’.”
“I’m trying to work on the mental side. I get myself so at it because you play so well practicing, but all of a sudden you cannot pot a ball.
“You love the pressure, because that’s half the buzz.”
To reach the main stages of this year’s World Snooker Championship, White will have to win four matches in the qualifying competition.
This season on the main tour, he has won ten matches and lost 12, with his best performance coming at the Northern Ireland Open.
White beat Paul Deaville and Jackson Page in the preliminary phase of that ranking event before edging Hossein Vafaei in a dramatic tussle to reach the last 32 in Belfast.
Featured photo credit: WST
