Snooker legend Jimmy White, 58, rolls back the years to beat former world champion Stuart Bingham at Gibraltar Open
GOLDEN OLDIE Jimmy White rolled back the years to beat former world champion Stuart Bingham.
In a scrappy contest at the Gibraltar Open, White achieved his best result of the season with a 4-2 victory over world No14 Bingham.
The Whirlwind, 58, saved his best until last and closed out the win with a fluent break of 74 to set up a clash with China’s Chen Zifan in the third round.
White, a 10-time ranking event winner in his 41st year on tour, said: “It was a strange game and to start with we both struggled and didn’t settle.
“But he missed an easy one at the end and left me a good chance. I have been taking those in practice and it was great to finish in one visit like that when it mattered in a match.
“I have been really struggling in the tournaments this season. The enthusiasm is there and I have been playing some good players, but I have not been producing.
“So I hope having won this and a couple of matches here I can relax a bit and produce some form from the start in the next game.
“Against Stuart I was a big second favourite… I am a big second favourite against most people these days. But if I play good, I know I can win.
“There are no easy games, the match against Chen will not be on a TV table like this one but sometimes that is better… you worry about missing on the TV, it can be embarrassing!”
Meanwhile Mark Allen needed a huge fluke on the final black to beat 15-year-old Iulian Boiko before describing his display as ’embarrassingly bad’.
Former Masters champion Allen scraped through to the third round 4-3 against tour rookie Boiko from the Ukraine.
Northern Ireland’s Allen, 35, trailed 3-1 but having somehow levelled at 3-3 enjoyed a massive slice of good fortune on the last ball of the decider.
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Allen said: “I mishit the safety on the black at the end by a mile and fluked it, it is one of those matches I want to forget as quickly as possible.
“I don’t think that has ever happened to me before, get a fluke like that on match ball.
“I was embarrassingly bad, and that was one of the worst since the very early days, from start to finish. A bit worrying, frankly.
“But I am still in so I need to get on the practice table and maybe the next round will be different.”