White - kept two-frame advantage (Getty Images).
WHITE PREPARES FOR CRUCIAL SESSION
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Jimmy White faces his most important session of snooker this season when he
returns to the Crucible Theatre on Saturday night for the concluding nine frames of his
Embassy World Championship second-round match with Stephen Lee.
White resumes with a 9-7 lead over the world number seven from
Trowbridge after protecting his overnight two-frame advantage.
It was not the most sparkling of sessions and both players are clearly feeling
the pressure.
That pressure has been intensified by the first-round defeat of Ronnie
O'Sullivan.
The winner of the game would have expected to play the Rocket for a
place in the semi-finals.
Instead, the first to 13 will line up against world number 15 Alan McManus or
Hong Kong qualifier Marco Fu.
White began the morning 5-3 in front and soon went three clear for the second
time at 6-3.
Lee made two centuries in Friday's first session that also contained two
re-racks and was the player making the bigger breaks.
A 64 got him back to 6-4 and he stole the 11th to reduce his arrears to just
one.
However, after a week of early concessions, topped off by Tony Drago's
decision to quit when 31-12 down to Peter Ebdon with seven reds remaining, Lee
joined the club.
He led 59-55 in frame 12 but threw in the towel before White could pot the
last black - albeit faced by the simplest of chances.
The six-times World Championship runner-up then cued his way into an 8-5 lead
with a break of 62.
White could now sense Lee was there for the taking and that only increased his
own anxiety levels.
He should have led 9-5 but despite a break of 53 it was insufficient to
prevent Lee clearing up with 30 to pinch a black ball frame.
White, who won seven successive frames to defeat James Wattana 10-6 in the
first round, regained his three-frames cushion at 9-6.
But in a copycat finish to the first session White did not pot a ball in the
last frame as Lee's 81 settled the outcome.
The former LG Cup and Scottish Open champion was well on course to make a
maximum break.
He potted 11 reds and 10 blacks but faced by a tricky cut on the 11th black,
the chance and a share of O'Sullivan's £169,000 147 prize went begging.
When the game resumes White needs four further frames to take his place in the
quarter-finals for a 16th time in 23 Crucible appearances.
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