World Ranking: 11
Provisional Ranking: 7
Date Of Birth: 02/05/62
World Championship best: Runner-up – 1984, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride - that's Jimmy White's World Championship CV in a nutshell.

The nearest he came to capturing the sport's greatest prize came back in 1994 when he left a run-of-the-mill black in the jaws in the final frame against Stephen Hendry and never got a second chance.

Although his best days appear to be behind him, White refuses to give up just yet and the charasmatic Londoner remains the most popular player on the tour among the fans.

Last season was his best for some time but White has struggled to follow that up.

However, he continues to climb the rankings and reached the semi-finals of his 'home' event - the Masters - back in February.

White also made headlines off the table at that event, when he controversially changed his name by deed poll to James Brown as part of a sponsorship deal.

Be it White or Brown, the fans will certainly be getting behind Jimmy in Sheffield in hope he can finally reach the holy grail that is the World Championship trophy.