Jimmy White He is confident that he will return to the World Championships next month as he believes he has played too well to qualify.
White has not reached the final stages of the tournament since 2006, but is qualifying from April 3 in a bullish mood after a string of good performances, even after hopes of making it to the quarterfinals in a 60-year-old qualifying event were dashed. It was finished by Pang Junxu at the WST Classic in Leicester.
“I’m playing well, I just ran out of strength. Now I’m going to take a few days off and get back to practice on Friday,” White told wst.tv.
“I’m going to the basket, I’m playing very well.”
Expectations rose after White, who was the first player in his 60s to reach the last 16 since Eddie Charlton in 1992 at the last German Masters tournament, took his first professional win. Judd Trump earlier in the day in the previous round.
He took a 3-0 lead, then resisted a short comeback to complete a 4-2 win before an opening square win against Pang briefly increased his chances of making the last eight.
However, the Chinese responded by winning the next four to knock out the veteran, who, despite his disappointment, had his eye on an even bigger prize after being revived by his victory over Trump.
“I was really nervous, but it’s okay to be nervous because that means you’re living my age,” she added.
“If you’re not a fan of Judd Trump, you’re not a fan of snooker. He beat me the last five times we played, so that’s a big win for me.”
Two centuries for the Scots John Higgins A 4-2 win over Kyren Wilson took him to the quarterfinals, where he joined him. Stuart Bingham Beating Noppon Saengkham by the same score.
After defeating Robbie Williams 4-3, Higgins will now face fellow four-time world champion Mark Selby after taking over for Bingham. Ali CarterBeating James Cahill by the same score.