White's Swansong & The End of Snooker's Greatest Rivalry
| 6
|
by user Alex Holowczak
Jimmy White will make a wildcard appearance in his home city and faces Matthew Stevens in the Wildcard Round. A win in that match could see him face his old rival Stephen Hendry - who beat him in four World Championship Finals in the 1990s - in Round One.
White was ranked in the top 16 at the end of the 2005 season, but a dip in form has seen the 43 year old drop out of the top 32 for the first time ever in his 24 year career. His form in the 2006/07 season has also been poor, and is ranked 56 provisionally, which is likely to result in his lowest ever ranking at the season's end.
White hasn't qualified for a single ranking event this season, and just last week he lost to up and coming Mark Allen 5-4 in the Final Round of Qualification for the Welsh Open later this season.
However, The Masters is the premier invitational event on the snooker calendar, and as such the most popular and well-supported player on the tour was invited to take part in his home town for one more time.
The tournament will be held in Wembley Arena, with the nearby Wembley Conference Centre being knocked down last year to be redeveloped for the London 2012 Olympics, and whilst the atmospheric 3,000 seater arena has been lost, the Wembley Arena dates back to 1934, when it was built for the 1934 Empire Games. It has become one of the top places for music concerts in London. It has hosted Ice Hockey, Boxing, Wrestling, and even comic performances. It once hosted Basketball, and originally had an Olympic-size swimming pool. It will boast another huge capacity - theoretically 12,300, but it is likely to reduce with the TV coverage.
White's game has already long been sold out, and with form waning, and major tournament appearances becoming ever more infrequent, it could be the last time that White ever has the chance of winning one of snooker's most coveted titles.
White won this event in 1984, and although a repeat in 2007 is unlikely, he may have what it takes to cause a few upsets along the way.
The match everyone will be gunning for is a rematch against Hendry, as snookers greatest rivalry could be played out for the last time. It would be great if White could beat him in their last competitive game. But first he has to overcome Matthew Stevens, one of snooker's biggest "chokers" for want of an American expression. He is also dipping in form, and should be a top 8 player, but keeps unfulfilling his potential. He has twice thrown away winning leads in the World Championship Final.
He could even play another rival from the 1980s should he get to the Quarter Finals, if Steve Davis can beat Shaun Murphy in their Quarter Final. 6 time World Champion Davis beat White in one World Championship Final, but he is unlikely to beat Murphy.
White will no doubt play on after this season, but the fact is he will probably never get up into the elite of the game again. So this event could be not dissimilar to the Detroit Red Wings v Edmonton Oilers matchup of last season, where everyone wondered if it would be the end of Steve Yzerman. Similarly, this could well be the end of White's career on the main stage, and he will want to go out on a high.
He has no form, and is unlikely to do well, but the 6 time World Championship Runner-up will always give 100%, and give his loyal fans one final go at the big one.
If White played Hendry, it would be the biggest match of the season so far. It would be great for snooker, so let's only hope it can happen - for one last time.
