Jimmy White – ‘that’s the game we love’

Jimmy White thanked his legion of fans for their support after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship qualifiers on Thursday.

The six-time runner-up lost 10-4 to Martin O’Donnell in the second qualifying round at the English Institute of Sport.

It was a disappointing climax to what had otherwise been a resurgent campaign for White, who qualified for the UK Championship in November and also made two last 16 appearances in ranking events.

“Firstly a massive thank you to everyone for their support over the last two days,” Jimmy White, who last featured at the Crucible Theatre in 2006, wrote on Twitter.

“After all these years, your support is not taken for granted. Disappointing end to the season, but that’s the game we love.”

“Looking forward to seeing the Eurosport team and having a run at the Seniors.”

While White will take no ranking points away from this World Championship, the 60 year-old remains in a relatively strong position to regain a tour card via the one-year rankings list.

The top four players who haven’t secured their tour survival by breaking into the top 64 in the world rankings will receive a fresh two-year card, albeit a new invitational tour card will likely be an available option if all else fails anyway.

O’Donnell, meanwhile, was one of two amateur players to reach the penultimate round of the preliminary competition on day four.

Iulian Boiko was the other, the Ukrainian ousting Stuart Carrington with a 10-5 scoreline in Sheffield.

Elsewhere, there were victories for the likes of two-time ranking event winner Dominic Dale and former World Championship semi-finalist Andy Hicks.

Two fixtures went all the way to a deciding frame, with David Lilley and Ian Burns edging Gerard Greene and Dylan Emery respectively.

Chinese trio Zhang Anda, Si Jiahui, and Wu Yize moved a step closer to reaching the venue stages in 2023.

Among the others to make it through were Alfie Burden, Mark Joyce, Ben Woollaston, John Astley, Jak Jones, and Aaron Hill – the latter with a terrific 10-3 triumph over Michael White.

On Friday, the second qualifying round continues with 1997 world champion Ken Doherty back in action, and Matthew Stevens, Mark Davis, and Jackson Page among the higher seeds entering the fray.

Thursday’s Results
Round 2
John Astley 10-8 Craig Steadman
Ben Woollaston 10-6 Daniel Wells
Martin O’Donnell 10-4 Jimmy White
Zhang Anda 10-3 Stan Moody
Andy Hicks 10-7 Jamie O’Neill
Peter Lines 10-6 Haydon Pinhey
Mark Joyce 10-3 Anton Kazakov
Ian Burns 10-9 Dylan Emery

Si Jiahui 10-7 Florian Nuessle
Dominic Dale 10-6 Asjad Iqbal
Aaron Hill 10-3 Michael White
Wu Yize 10-7 Allan Taylor
Iulian Boiko 10-5 Stuart Carrington
Alfie Burden 10-7 Alexander Ursenbacher
Jak Jones 10-6 Adam Duffy
David Lilley 10-9 Gerard Greene

Friday’s Schedule
10am and 7pm
Round 2
Duane Jones vs Andrew Pagett
Jackson Page vs Ross Muir
Louis Heathcote vs Andrew Higginson
David Grace vs Sean O’Sullivan
Mark Davis vs Michael Georgiou
Mitchell Mann vs Sanderson Lam
Matthew Stevens vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Fraser Patrick vs Barry Pinches

2:30pm
Round 2
Lukas Kleckers vs Ashley Hugill
Scott Donaldson vs Liam Davies
Xu Si vs Zak Surety
Hammad Miah vs Ken Doherty
Oliver Lines vs Michael Holt
Julien Leclercq vs Ben Mertens
Elliot Slessor vs Ian Martin
Lei Peifan vs James Cahill

Click here to view the full draw (snooker.org)

Featured photo credit: WST