Snooker: White eyes consolation prize

Jimmy White has one last throw of the dice in a season that promised so much but is now in serious danger of fizzling out.

Having failed to qualify for the Embassy World Championship, he will be hoping to gain a measure of consolation by making his mark on the Regal Scottish Open in Aberdeen.

But the Whirlwind, who opened his campaign by reaching the final of the British Open and semi-finals of the Grand Prix, can draw little encouragement from his recent outings.

Apart from going down to Michael Judge in the final qualifying round of the Embassy, White was also beaten by Ken Doherty in the first round of the Thailand Masters and by Alan McManus at the same stage of the Irish Masters.

In addition, he faces a stern test against talented Scot Stephen Maguire, winner of the IBSF world amateur championship in China six months ago.

They have met on three occasions already this season, and although White has prevailed twice Maguire did bridge the huge gulf in experience by getting the better of the six-time world championship runner-up at November’s Benson and Hedges Championship.

After his flying start to the season, White is still ninth in the provisional world rankings but a top-16 place is not mathematically guaranteed, and victory over Maguire would therefore be a source of relief.

If White, without a ranking title since the 1992 UK championship, does progress he will have the opportunity to avenge his defeat by McManus in Dublin a fortnight ago.

Steve Davis, who in common with White found Embassy qualification failure a bitter pill to swallow, benefited from a timely win yesterday as he eased into the last 32 of the £441,000 tournament with something to spare.

A 5-0 whitewash of Peterborough left-hander Mark Gray, highlighted by an 86 break, was the first victory Davis has managed in a world ranking event since the UK Championship five months ago.

"After I lost in the Embassy my enthusiasm for the game waned. Not having the Crucible as the finale for the season was a downer. It felt very flat, but now I’ve come to terms with it," he said.

"I've missed most of the season messing up opportunities but today I controlled the pace of the table, and fortunately Mark didn’t do much. It was a good way to get your teeth into the tournament."

Former world and UK championship semi-finalist Darren Morgan was forced to pull out when his flight from Bristol to Aberdeen was cancelled because of a technical problem. The Welshman’s absence gave Londoner David Gray a walkover.