Jimmy White’s wait for another appearance at the Crucible Theatre will stretch to two decades after he was beaten in World Championship qualifying.
The 62-year-old lost 10-5 to Ashley Carty in the second round of the qualifying tournament held at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
White, now ranked 93 in the world, has not appeared at the Crucible since a first-round defeat back in 2006 and has lost in qualifying every year since.
He famously reached the final of the tournament six times between 1984 and 1994 during his prime but lost on every occasion.
White had started his 45th World Championship campaign with a thrilling late-night victory over Ukraine’s Anton Kazakov earlier in the week.
On that occasion ‘the Whirlwind’ rolled back the years to win six frames on the bounce to seal victory, but there was to be no repeat against Carty.
Rotherham’s Carty raced into a 5-1 lead and although White took the next two frames – including a break of 107 – he could not swing the momentum his way in the evening session.
Breaks of 62 and 63 in the 14th and 15th frame were sufficient for Carty, 29, to close out the match.
The World Championship begins on 19 April.
