Jimmy White swept the through the first qualifying round, announcing his presence in grand style. White took his opponent, Ivan Kakovskiy, to the cleaners in a 6-3 victory at the opening qualifying round of the World Championship.
The difference in the scoreline might not be wide as such, but it definitely isn’t a true representation of how it all went down. The 58-year-old took the game by the scruff of its neck after failing to gain a foothold of the game early on. But it was its experience that helped him past his Russian amateur champion.
Armored with so much experience in the tank, he gunned his opponent and left him for dead after a scrappy affair in the first four frames. Both players shared the spoils in the first four frames and did so respectfully. However, White soon turned the game on its head, winning four of the following five frames to come out tops.
It was a dream come true for the six-time World Championship finalist who hasn’t made way to the Crucible Theatre since he last did in 2006. Gaining three wins on the bounce can see him make a big return to the Crucible Theatre, which must give eidetic memories of his greatest and possibly worst career moments.
Micheal Georgiou is next on the menu for Jimmy White, or so he might think. The former’s biggest achievement is lifting the ultimate prize at a Snooker Shoot-Out Champion, a far cry from what White has achieved in times past. Michael might not have in the same league with Jimmy White, but he can sure match him for size.
It’s been fourteen years since White paid a visit to the Crucible Theatre for a game of this magnitude. But he will stop at nothing of seeing his dreams comes true. Michael shouldn’t be so disappointed losing to this veteran. Think about it; the 21-year-old was, in fact, yet to be born when Jimmy White bowed out by an 18-17 scoreline to Stephen Hendy in the last World final appearance that happened some twenty-six years ago.
Truth be told, White could fail woefully if he played like this against the likes of Judd Trump. His highest break of 58 was enough to get him past his 21-year-old but not be that potent when he faces the big-guns. Till then, the 58-year-old will prefer to take the games one after the other.
Written by: Roland Arum
