In the first WST Classic’s round of 32, Jimmy “Whirlwind” White defeated Masters champion Judd Trump 4-2 before falling to Pang Junxu 4-1 in the round of 16
The six-time global finalist advanced to the fourth round vs. Trump on Tuesday morning after defeating Graeme Dott, the 2006 world champion, 4-2 in the first round and Joe Perry, the past winner of the Welsh Open, 4-3, in the second round.
Trump had a chance to come back from being down 3-0 after putting together 73 in the fifth frame, but White stayed cool under pressure and finished another strong effort to advance to the round of 16 of a ranking tournament for the second time this season.
He fell 4-1 to Junxu Pang this time despite winning the first frame to increase his chances of staying till the ranking event’s last day on Wednesday. He lost 5-2 to Jack Lisowski at the German Masters in February.
Since losing to David Gray 10-5 in the first round of the 2006 World Championship, White has not competed on the sport’s premier stage at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
However, he believes his game is strong enough for him to get through at least three qualifying rounds and end his 17-year wait next month.
White, who advanced to the UK Championship’s round of 32 in November, stated, “I am playing okay, I just ran out of steam. I’ll take a few days break and resume practising on Friday. I’ll be arriving at the Crucible soon because I’m performing well.
I regret not having competed against Pang. After winning the first round, I should have been ahead 2-0.
The euphoria should get you through that, but I was mentally exhausted and I started cueing poorly after the second frame.”
Pang defeated fellow countryman Si Jiahui with a score of 4-0, assisted by breaks of 139 and 96 Later on, the London sporting legend was no match for Pang, who advanced to the last eight without ever rediscovering his best form thanks to a 52 run in the fourth frame.
Oliver Lines will be his opponent after defeating Scott Donaldson 4-1 with scores of 50, 69, 51, and 69
1994 was the year that White reached the last world snooker final he played, which was five years after Trump was born. White also won 10 of his last career ranking titles during the 2004 Players Championship, when his opponent Pang was 4 years old.
Most recent qualifiers for tour championship
(players in bold still competing at WST Classic)
- 1 Mark Allen £530,500
- 2 Shaun Murphy £240,000
- 3 Ali Carter £193,500
- 4 Kyren Wilson £179,000
- 5 Ryan Day £159,000
- 6 Robert Milkins £157,500
- 7 Mark Selby £143,000
- 8 Ding Junhui £140,500
- 9 Gary Wilson £133,500
- 10 Luca Brecel £131,000
- 11 Jack Lisowski £128,000
- 12 Judd Trump £120,000
