White out
Jimmy White missed out on a place in the final stages of the Welsh Open when Andrew Higginson beat him 5-2 in the last round of qualifying at Prestatyn today.
White, 45, has now failed to reach the televised phase of any of this season’s first six ranking tournaments with only the 888.com World Championship remaining.
He went 4-0 down before giving his army of fans something to cheer by winning the next two frames.
White could not complete the comeback as Higginson, the surprise runner-up in Wales last year, booked his place in Newport.
White’s fellow veteran John Parrott will be in the TV phase after outrageously fluking the final black to beat Mike Dunn 5-4.
Parrott, 43, missed the black using the rest but it bounced off two cushions before dropping into a corner pocket.
“I totally mis-hit it but when it came off the two cushions it looked online and once it got past the pink spot I knew it was in,” he said.
James Wattana, Thailand’s leading player for two decades, looks likely to be relegated from the professional circuit after losing 5-2 to Rod Lawler.
Wattana, once as high as third in the world rankings and the winner of three ranking titles, has endured a miserable season.
The 38-year-old is 62nd in the provisional rankings but is now certain to fall out of the top 64 and will therefore drop off the tour unless he is given a discretionary wildcard.
