Golden oldie Jimmy White has been handed the lowest possible seed for his first-round opponent at the UK Championship.
The 60-year-old Whirlwind, who has already won four matches to earn his place at the Barbican in York, will play the 16th-ranked Ryan Day on Saturday night [Sat]. Wales's Day, though, has enjoyed a good start to the season - winning the British Open.
White , the oldest pro on tour, will also become the most senior pro to feature in the final stages of a ranking event since the 63-year-old Eddie Charlton in 1993 at the International Open.
And world No89 White, who won the UK title 30 years ago, is happy being the oldest potter in town, bullish about making an impact back on the big stage, and still seeking ways to gain a mental edge.
The People's Champion said: “Years ago, you thought it was a young man's game. At 30 you were on the way out - but Ray Reardon didn’t win his first world championship until he was 35.
“Ronnie O’Sullivan is almost 47 and he's playing as good as ever, still winning tournaments. He is still producing unbelievable snooker.
“Look at what he did against Judd Trump the other day in the Champion of Champions final. My game is in good condition, I'm working on the mental side.
“When you get to my age, I can be playing snooker and part of my brain says, ‘Did you water the plants before you left home?’ The other part says ‘That’s irrelevant’.
“You’re also having conversations with yourself because as you get older, you get a bit more conservative and you weigh up all the situations more.
“So staying focused on just executing the shot, that’s the hardest thing to do, but I've been working on that and it's coming along nicely as my last results have shown.
“It’s all about ‘staying in the now’. With snooker it’s the only sport in the world where you can’t do anything about what your opponent does.
“In golf you have a shot and then the other guy has a shot. In snooker, you sit there whilst the other guy pots all the balls. You have to focus. I’ve been working on techniques, which is too technical to explain, it’s been working!
“I'm very excited but I'm also experienced enough to realise that it's only another match,” White told Eurosport. “You’re only as good as your next match.
“I'm keeping my feet on the ground and I wouldn't play the game if I couldn’t win. I know I can win. When you get to my age, realistically, you're not that consistent.
“But I’m pretty positive because my game is in good shape. Your game has got to be sharp or else you look silly. I can do some damage. If I play my A-game, I can win the competition, no doubt about it.”
Other players that used to admire White growing up were quick to acknowledge his feat in making the line-up – with Australia’s world No2 Neil Robertson insisting it was one of the greatest achievements snooker has seen.
“It’s great Neil has said that, it’s really nice,” said White. “I get on really well with all of them [the players] and they have all watched me since they were young boys so they have seen me playing all their lives. It’s great to get a bit of accolade from them, I appreciate that.
“I just want to thank my fans for always giving me support, the texts and everything has been amazing so hopefully I can produce for them as well.”
In other eye-catching ties reigning and seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has also won this tournament on seven occasions, plays Matthew Stevens who lifted the UK trophy in 2003.
Tw-time UK winner Mark Selby takes on Iran’s Hossein Vafaei, while there are intriguing clashes between great tour friends in the Mark Allen v Jordan Brown, Robertson v Joe Perry, and Yan Bingtao matches,
China's Zhao Xintong, the defending champion, will get ball rolling on Saturday afternoon, while Shaun Murphy will have his hands full against Dave Gilbert, and Barry Hawkins got one of the worst draws for the seeds in three-time UK winner Ding Junhui.
[The draw for the Cazoo UK Championship with when they play – the four either/ors will be settled tonight]
Zhao Xintong vs Craigie/Burns - Sat pm
Ryan Day vs Jimmy White - Sat eve
Mark Allen vs Jordan Brown - Sat pm
Kyren Wilson vs Selt/Hamilton - Sat eve
Mark Selby vs Hossein Vafaei - Tue eve
Jack Lisowski vs Xu Si - Tue pm
Shaun Murphy vs David Gilbert - Tue eve
Judd Trump vs Guodong/Petrov - Tue pm
Neil Robertson vs Joe Perry - Sun pm
Stuart Bingham vs Carter/Highfield - Mon eve
Luca Brecel vs Lyu Haotian - Sun pm
John Higgins vs Tom Ford - Sun eve
Mark Williams vs Jamie Clarke - Mon eve
Barry Hawkins vs Ding Junhui - Sun eve
Yan Bingtao vs Zhou Yuelong - Mon pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Matthew Stevens - Mon pm
