White calls the tone

James Brown would have been proud of Jimmy White’s opening win of the 2005 Riley’s Club Masters tonight – so too would Harry Houdini.

The Whirlwind thrilled his Wembley supporters club with one of the best wins of his chequered career.

From 4-1 and 5-2 down the 42-year-old 1984 Masters champion stormed back to beat Matthew Stevens 6-5.

His recovery included a dramatic ninth frame when he needed two snookers to prevent the Welshman reaching the last eight.

All the pre-match talk had been of his sponsorship deal with HP Foods and the changing of his name by deed poll to James Brown.

Snooker bosses and the BBC refused to acknowledge the re-branding and told him they only recognised Jimmy White. In the end all everyone was talking about was the snooker.

“It’s been a bit of a laugh and you all stood for it,” grinned White who will now play Mark Williams or Alan McManus for a semi-final berth.

“But we need sponsors for the game and hopefully HP Foods will get involved.

“It’s got to be one of my best wins, especially after needing two snookers. I knew when I got them I wasn’t going to lose.

“It’s frustrating because I’ve been playing well in practice and have been knocking in 147s in exhibitions.

“When it comes to tournaments I’ve only been making 30s.”

As expected, master of ceremonies Alan Hughes played it straight with his introduction ’please welcome the Whirlwind of London town’ as White entered the arena to rapturous applause from his fan club.

At least that was more accurate than one year when he was welcomed as ’Jimmy Young’.

Wearing a brown-backed waistcoat and a bowtie with the company logo, White did his best to maximise his sponsorship deal and thrill his 900 supporters.

However, the London left-hander was off colour for the opening five frames before finding his form.

In the sixth frame he knocked in 109 but then promptly fell 5-2 in arrears.

White has made several notable comebacks in recent years at Wembley including a 6-5 success over Peter Ebdon in 2003 from 5-1 down.

And optimism rose when he fired in to cut his arrears to 5-3. The cheers grew even louder when White showed plenty of bottle to snatch the ninth frame on the black.

Stevens let slip a winning position as White obtained two snookers and made a great under-pressure clearance to trail by one with two to play.

The roof then almost lifted off as White forced a deciding frame with his second ton. A sublime effort of 115 takes the lead for a £10,000 high break prize.

Stevens broke off in the sudden death shoot out and must have wondered where it had all gone wrong.

White, a Wembley ever present since 1982, edged out Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-5 in 2002 from 5-2 down.

And history was about to repeat itself. A break of 45 put White in prime position and eventually after 31 minutes the victory was his.

“I want to win the title more than the money,” insisted the Players Championship champion.

“But it’s going to be one red at a time. I lost a couple of frames I should have won but in the end it all came right.”