In the early morning of November 10, Beijing time, the qualifying round of the Snooker British Championship took the lead in Sheffield to produce 8 players to participate in the main event, and to the cheers of old fans, Jimmy White, born in 1962, defeated Dominic Dale born in 1971 6-1, winning the veteran showdown with a total age of 111, becoming the first player to start from the first round of the qualification round and reach the main event four times in a row. A former snooker legend, a 60-year-old veteran who has left countless legends and classic scenes on the rivers and lakes, and the British Championship champion 30 years ago, he is still on the table to continue his career.
The last time Jimmy White qualified for the main event of the three major tournaments of snooker was at the 2010 Wembley Masters, and this time he was on the highest stage of snooker for the first time in 12 years. There are four qualifying rounds for the British Championship, and White, who has long passed his peak, is ranked low and has to start in the first round. After passing the first three rounds, White Sr. met Dale, who was 9 years his junior, in the final round leading to the main event. Both are no longer young, it is difficult to hit a single high score, not to mention a percentage, and even failed to hit a single 50+ in all 7 innings, and the two constantly sit down and get up, "rushing" between the seat and the table, making the audience look both admiring and a little sour. In the end, it was White Stunt who came out on top, winning the game 6-1 and advancing to the main event.
Jimmy White said after the game: "I'm not just going to York [Yorkshire, where the British Championship is held] as a denominator, when my game feels like I'm still there, I can still hit the ball like the top players, they're just more consistent than me. If I didn't think I could win, I wouldn't have played. Even at my age, if you have the enthusiasm to practice, you can keep playing. "This is the heart of a professional player who does not admit defeat and does not accept his age, and he is still full of ambition and awe-inspiring.
The older generation of Chinese snooker fans are familiar with Jimmy White, who is almost the same generation as the old king Steve Davis, 5 years younger than Davis and 7 years older than the "Billiards Emperor" Hendry, a legendary player between two generations of superstars, but also the most ruthless tragic figure who is "suppressed" by two great stars. Jimmy White has reached the World Championship finals six times in his career, finished second in all six times, and is the uncrowned king of snooker.
His closest to a world championship final was in 1994, when White and the then 25-year-old Hendry tied the tiebreaker at 17. It was also his fifth consecutive World Championship final defeat (1990–94, with another final loss in 1984), and White has not reached a World Championship final since. Despite this, Jimmy White, a 23-time winner of all competitions and known to fans as the "White Whirlwind", still has a place in the history of snooker and is loved by countless fans.
White's style of play is flowing and dashing, his "golden left hand" is much longer than the current Mark Williams nickname, he likes to play cool, show off his strokes, and has hit the ball many times, so he is also one of the most ornamental players in snooker. In the 1993 Super League, his super difficult solution to snooker was called snooker's "goal of the century".
White's opponent in that match was 18-year-old fledgling Ronnie O'Sullivan, who gave a big problem to a veteran 13 years older than himself and made a super snooker. To the surprise of all spectators, however, White went off the beaten path, sitting cross-legged on the table and using his tie technique to undo the ball. I saw that the white ball first moved up in the table, did not touch the edge of the library, and continued to move with a strong rotation midway, and finally touched the target ball successfully. The total distance of this stick up and down is more than two meters, and the speed is not reduced, and the strength of the stick is astounding, and the accuracy of finding the target is astounding. Since then, there has been no classic and wonderful solution in snooker.
White is also loved by many Chinese fans because he once participated in Stephen Chow's movie "Descendants of the Dragon", playing his real identity - a professional snooker player.
White is also a big fan of Premier League Chelsea. On the snooker court, White was called "the people's champion," "the plebeian emperor," and "the best player who hasn't won a world title." Jimmy White on the field is a model of fair play. On several occasions during matches, he voluntarily pointed out omissions to referees for his fouls.
At the age of 60, he can still reach the final of the three major snooker competitions, Jimmy White's life has long been integrated into snooker sports, and the legend continues.
Text / Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin