Jimmy White is confident of making a return to the World Championship next month as he believes he is playing too well not to qualify.
The Whirlwind has not reached the final stages of the tournament since 2006 but heads into the qualifiers starting on April 3 in bullish mood after rolling back the years on numerous occasions this year, including qualification for his first UK Championship since 2010 and also becoming the first player aged 60 or older to reach the last 16 of a ranking event since Eddie Charlton in 1992.
That latter achievement occurred at the recent German Masters but he quickly emulated it at this week's WST Classic in Leicester, where he defeated Graeme Dott, Joe Perry and Judd Trump before running out of steam against Pang Junxu.
Expectations rose of a fairytale run to the quarter-finals and beyond in his seventh ranking event of the season when the 60-year-old claimed a first professional win over Judd Trump in the previous round earlier in the day. He coasted into a 3-0 lead then withstood a brief comeback to wrap up a 4-2 victory before an opening-frame win over Pang briefly boosted his chances of making the last eight.
However, the Chinese responded by winning the next four to knock out the veteran who, while disappointed, has his sights set on an even bigger prize after being buoyed by victory over Trump.
“I am playing ok, I just ran out of steam. I’ll take a couple of days off now and get back to practice on Friday,” White told wst.tv.
“I’ll be getting to the Crucible, I am playing too well. I was really nervous, but it’s ok to be nervous because it means you’re alive at my age.
“If you’re not a fan of Judd Trump you’re not a fan of snooker. The last five times we’ve played he’s beaten me, so this is a big win for me.”
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