Jimmy White says ‘they couldn’t find me in the mornings’ as he jokes about boozy past
Jimmy White has once again had snooker fans laughing after reminiscing about his boozy past following an impressive 4-2 victory over Judd Trump in the WST Classic in Leicester.
White pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament, as he rolled back the years to secure a remarkable victory over the world No. 5. The veteran was on course to whitewash his modern day rival after bursting into a 3-0 lead in the early stages.
Trump then thought he was back into it by winning two games to leave the score at 3-2, but White went on to hold his nerve in the final frame to come away with the win.
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The pair were one of the early starting games at Morningside Arena, after getting underway at 10am. In his post-match chat, the interviewer joked to White that he was never an early-morning man in his heyday, no doubt down to his lavish, party lifestyle.
And White agreed, as he hilariously replied: “I love playing in the mornings now, it is mad. They probably couldn’t find me in the 80’s to play in the mornings, but yeah I love playing in the morning.”
(Image: Colin Poultney/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)
(Image: Allsport)
Despite being one of the greats for some time, and having been on the professional snooker circuit for other 40 years, White admitted he still had a whole bunch of nerves before heading out to the table on Tuesday.
He does believe though that at his age, nerves are a good sign. “[When] I started off, I was really nervous,” White said. And it’s okay to be nervous, because it means you’re alive! Do you know what I mean, at my age.
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“But even though I went 3-0 up [and] really played great stuff, he was struggling so I tried to keep him cold. . . and then the balls start to not forgive you, and I lost a bit of discipline. For me, if you’re not a fan of Judd Trump, you’re not a fan of snooker. It’s a big win for me.”
White has opened up on a number of wild incidents during his playing days, including flipping, capsizing and sinking a speedboat in Hong Kong, forcing him and fellow pro Steve Davis to swim to shore. He is also good friends with rock stars Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
The Whirlwing endured a number of challenges away from the table, including a battle against a drug addiction and a severe gambling habit.
Going further into his pre-match nerves, he said: “It is just excitement, trying to control it. I love being nervous, you have got to be nervous in sport, but you have to handle the nerves. Everyone is nervous, it is how you handle it.”