World Championship qualifying 2021 – Stephen Hendry v Jimmy White LIVE coverage and latest score
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Updated 05/04/2021 at 22:49 GMT
On Monday April 5, Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry - who have contested four World Snooker Championship finals - battle it out for the privilege of playing Xu Si in the second round of qualifying. There are four rounds of qualifying running from April 5th to 14th. The match starts at 19:30 and is live on the Eurosport app and Eurosport.co.uk.
'Great opening pot!' - Hendry impresses with first shot
That's us for tonight
Thanks for your company and see you again soon.
Stephen Hendry beats Jimmy White 6-3!
Well! What a pleasure it was to enjoy one of snooker's great rivalries, even if the standard wasn't the best. Jimmy might drop off the tour now, depending on whether he gets a wild card, while Stephen moves on to meet Xu Si on Wednesday evening!
White 3-5 Hendry (0-53)
Surely this is it! A fantastic red from Stephen, near the black cushion with the white behind the baulk line, opens the table and he'll do the necessary from here.
White 3-5 Hendry (0-41)
But Jimmy sticks him straight back in ... but again he goes into the pack, connects nicely, and sticks to a red that means he's again on nowt.
White 3-5 Hendry (0-27)
Stephen eases in a starter and carefully makes his way down the table then manufactures an angle from which to go from black to pack. He plays it nicely but it doesn't go nicely and that's end of break.
White 3-5 Hendry
Jimmy pots the pink and we got ourselves a ball-game!
White 2-5 Hendry (59-41)
When you don't take your chances, this is what happens; Jimmy's break ends with Stephen needing one pink-ball snooker to win, so he pots the blue and tries to find that.
White 2-5 Hendry (50-36)
Another poor shot from Jimmy leaves a red to middle and surely Stephen will finally put this match out of its misery. Nah, he jawses a red down the rail and will now be relying on the red that's stuck on the black cushion to save him in this frame ... but Jimmy develops it and has a thin cut to send it down ... he plays it well. Yellow, green and brown required...
White 2-5 Hendry (23-22)
Jimmy really isn't enjoying this, and he clatters home red then brown, still looking extremely displeased with life. It is not, I'm afraid, any surprise at all to see him miss a mid-range pot into the top right; welcome to Shredsville, population you.
White 2-5 Hendry (14-22)
Oh, this game. Striking down for the pink already displeased with having to, Jimmy miscues; I can't lie, it's horrible, and it might be his final act in this year's world championship. Who knows, it might be his final act as a pro. But no! A careless shot from Stephen leaves him on nothing, and he has to play safe!
White 2-5 Hendry (8-1)
Jimmy strokes home a fine opener and lays a snooker, and Stephen, who must be rueing the red he missed at what looked like the start of a matchwinning clearance, goes in-off. But that brief passage of relative quality is well and truly over, a terrible shot from Jimmy followed by one from Stephen that gives Jimmy a really good chance to close the gap to two.
White 2-5 Hendry (1-1)
Another fluke, ruffling one in off the pack, gives Jimmy a go, but he can't do anything with it. After some safety, Stephen then clips in a really long one, but unwilling to take on a difficult blue given the state of the reds, he tries to play in behind it and completely botches the effort. The pack is now split but its balls are blocking each other.
White 2-5 Hendry
And he's shaking his head when he leaves it for Jimmy; that and a black leaves Stephen needing two snookers. He quickly gets one, then tries another and Jimmy flukes the yellow with the escape! He's still alive!
White 1-5 Hendry (58-33)
Another horrendous shot from Jimmy leaves Stephen one to middle,except when it goes down he can only play safe behind the black. He doesn't get close enough to deny the one-cushion escape, but continues to dictate the passage, only to miss the straightforward red he's eventually left; he was not expecting that, he was expecting the match.
White 1-5 Hendry (58-32)
This time, though, he can't punish ... but a dreadful shot from Jimmy, catching the pink and missing red on the way up and down the table, hands him another chance. Two reds are close to the side cushion so there's plenty of work to do, and shonuff when he needs to play for one he misses the green trying to force it. He leaves neither, but.
White 1-5 Hendry (58-12)
Go on Jimmy. He stretches his lead, but a big bounce off black and cushion leaves him a tricky red to middle ... but it's there! He made 58 in the last frame and still lost it so will mindful of that as we near that point in this ... and undercutting a red to middle means it's another 58, and with 64 left, Stephen will fancy this!
White 1-5 Hendry (24-12)
That last frame contained the best snooker we've seen this evening, and Stephen will have loved the way he filched it. If he can get in here I'd not be surprised to see him make something sizeable and he does earn first go at the table but it's a fairly complex one so he can't make much of it. He then misses a red which offers Jimmy a go; can he find something? He probably loses his tour card if he loses this - though Bazza might offer him a wild one - and he forces through some preliminary pots.
White 1-5 Hendry
A brilliant run of 66 from Hendry that's bang out of 1994 steals the frame - his second such move of the match - and makes it five in a row, putting him four up with five to play. That should've been set to Portishead's Dummy.
White 1-4 Hendry (62-48)
Great stuff from Stephen, removing the difficult balls to get to the colours, then wading through those with alacrity.
White 1-4 Hendry (62-29)
Oh James! He misses a red, overcutting it a fair old way, and young Stephen absolutely takes this chance off the set. There's nothing difficult on, then after a few easy knocks and with the choice of an easy red or a hard red, he clobbers home the latter for reasons of breakbuilding. Having made his highest contribution of the match, Jimmy will now be fearing for the frame. This is just like old times.
White 1-4 Hendry (49-0)
Come on Jimmy! TWOLT gets in first and really needs to make something here, cobbling 35 mainly by picking. A one-visit win would be exactly what he needs.
White 1-4 Hendry
It's hard to see how Jimmy gets out of this.
White 1-3 Hendry (33-60)
Jimmy, though, can't capitalise and soon cracks a red into the near middle knuckle; he does not enjoy the experience. But a foul from Stephen, catching the yellow that's well behind him with his cue on the way through, presents him with another chance to not take, and this time when he misses, Stephen rolls home the penultimate red. But he misses the difficult next one into the yellow pocket from close to the opposite side cushion ... only to soon get another go. After sinking the green, Jimmy needs a snooker, and as Neal notes, he's losing and Stephen isn't even playing well.
White 1-3 Hendry (3-36)
Stephen gets in next and forces down a few more points, then Jimmy dribbles the white back up the table and into the green pocket. Strangely, Stephen puts the white between blue and brown on the baulk line - he'll have to be careful not to clip one in the follow-through - but the red goes down. Only for him to miss the pink. Eeeeesh.
White 1-3 Hendry (3-18)
Jimmy snaffles a red but declines a difficult brown along the rail .. only to fluke one next visit. Stephen, already up, shows a glimpse of the old disgust as he sits - it's lovely to see - but Jimmy runs out of position and has to play safe off the yellow.
White 1-3 Hendry (0-18)
One feels, and I'm sure Stephen feels, that if he can win this frame he'll win the match. But he can't capitalise on his first two chances ... or his third. If their great matches were an arm wrestle, this is a thumb war.
Off we go again...
White 1-3 Hendry
Much better from Stephen, who won't have wanted the midsession; Jimmy needs it. We'll be back in 15 or so,
White 1-2 Hendry (11-88)
And the safety allows him to force it home, Jimmy putting him straight back in amongst it. Even in the qualifiers, Stephen looks to have his number in this competition.
White 1-2 Hendry (11-42)
The Whirlwind a Lahndan Tahn is getting frustrated out there, and he can't take his chance at the start of frame four while Stephen looks to be improving. Might that last frame be the crucial one? Jimmy misses a red and looks to blame a kick, then Stephen starts kicking him. He runs out of position, though, so has to play safe off the yellow. That's a decent contribution, in the context.
White 1-2 Hendry
Jimmy leaves it round about the blue spot; back in the day, Stephen robotically strokes this home and chuckles dismissively but he misses! Jimmy then leaves it again ... and this time that's exactly what happens! "Long night for you here Leo," he laughs to the ref. That will feel like a heel to solar plexus for Jimmy.
White 1-2 Hendry
Jimmy leaves it round about the blue spot; back in the day, Stephen robotically strokes this home and chuckles dismissively but he misses! Jimmy then leaves it again, and this time that's exactly what happens! "Long night for you here Leo," he laughs to the ref. That will feel like a heel to solar plexus for Jimmy.
White 1-1 Hendry (54-50)
And after a few near-misses, he gets it! But then he invites Jimmy to play again and finds himself behind the black with the pink down the other end over the yellow pocket! What a finish this is! Stephen pots it off the side cushion, and we've somehow got ourselves a black-ball frame!
White 1-1 Hendry (54-38)
We get down to the pink and black with Stephen still pursuing that snooker.
White 1-1 Hendry (54-26)
There we go! Jimmy cleanses the yellow into the green pocket, so Stephen needs a snooker.
White 1-1 Hendry (52-26)
They are chasing the yellow, but in slip-on shoes and tight jeans.
White 1-1 Hendry (52-26)
Jimmy gets in next and glides what he hopes is the decisive red towards the middle ... but there's no roll and the ball slides past the hole. At Neasden snooker club, that was in with the camber. So, can Stephen take advantage? He sees off red and pink so can win the frame by clearing up, but it might have to be one at a time because yellow, green and brown are all safe. Hope you've not got plans tomorrow.
White 1-1 Hendry (45-19)
Jimmy gets the next chance and chases it for a bit, a really good red with rest into top left keeping the break going, then another! But you can only chase for so long - eventually it catches up with him, right as my screen freezes so I don't see what missed, and Stephen returns to the table still in the frame.
White 1-1 Hendry (32-15)
Ah. Jimmy misses a simple green, then shortly afterwards Stephen misses a simple red. Jimmy finds a decent starter, but gets no position so it's in tight behind the green prior to further scrappiness.
White 1-1 Hendry (21-10)
Jimmy smashes in a long red followed by a difficult pink. There's work to do, but there're points to be had.
White 1-1 Hendry (0-10)
Oh, Jimmy! He goes in-off. Oh, Stephen! He catches an easy pink way too thick. More safety it is, as Phil Studd notes that Hendry's safety wasn't renowned back in the day because he didn't need it, he was pot a long pone and clear up. And to extrapolate from that, now the potting isn't quite there, is the safety a problem?
White 1-1 Hendry
Go on Stephen! He'll want to forget much of this frame - he should've settled it tiiiiime ago - but he'll take it. Thirty-four and the frame.
White 1-0 Hendry (9-50)
Eeek! Jimmy leaves Stephen in, but he misses a straightforward one to the middle, to his intense disgust. Jimmy, though, can only add a red, missing a blue to the green pocket having snookered himself on pink and black. Surely Stephen should secure the frame now.
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'What a shot that was!' - Hendry sinks pots along cushion
White 1-0 Hendry (8-41)
Gah, this is the opposite of good. Jimmy plays a nondescript safety, catches a red too thick, and goes in-off. We're watching an absolute scrap here, except both combatants have their eyes closed.
White 1-0 Hendry (8-37)
A little slip forces Stephen into using the spider, but he makes it work, just - he's chasing for a few further shots. A tricky red, clattered home when there was an easier one available, leaves him on the black and suggests growing confidence, but a cannon leaves him with only a difficult one on and he plays up the table, missing the pot with safety in mind. That's a missed opportunity.
White 1-0 Hendry (8-7)
Jimmy glides in a terrific opening red but then Jimmy misses one while opening the pack, and this is a tremendous opportunity for the K of the C. Jimmy looks well vexed.
White 1-0 Hendry (0-0)
Yup, there it is. We go again.
White 1-0 Hendry (26-9)
Goodness me, has there's been no inflation since the 90s? Jimmy misses a black off its spot and we're back playing safety. He then leaves a red over a black that's over a pocket, and we're looking at a re-rack I'd say.
White 1-0 Hendry (17-9)
Oh dear. A poor safety from Jimmy presents Stephen with a chance; he not only misses the red but sends the white down the intended pocket. That is going to cost him.
White 1-0 Hendry (12-9)
Jimmy cuts a long starter right into the heart of the pocket but can only capitalise to the tune of 12, missing a cut with the rest that develops the black ... for Stephen. Back in the day this would've meant the frame, and yerman sets about the table for as long as it takes for him to play a loose one, which is not very. He plays safe onto the top cushion and we may be here some time.
White 1-0 Hendry
I want both of these to win so I'm pleased that Jimmy is and disappointed that Stephen isn't. Hopefully the standard improves as both settle into the match.
White 0-0 Hendry (54-8)
Hello! Another poor shot from Jimmy leaves him needing to catch a red thin to get the white safe, but he absolutely smashes it. Partial redemption follows because a different red goes safe, and in any case Stephen can only punish with a red-blue; that will be the frame bu. This is not vintage.
White 0-0 Hendry (36-1)
But he looks nervous - both players do - and quickly runs out of position. He doesn't get a decent safety either, so Stephen plays a long red, bringing pink and black into play at the same time, only to miss the pot. You'd expect Jimmy to clear up from here.
White 0-0 Hendry (30-1)
Jimmy gets the next go and almost botches that too, screwing back off a red and fully expecting it to deposit in the middle pocket. But it's far knuckle and out, so he raises a hand in moving sorrow and sets about removing balls.
White 0-0 Hendry (6-1)
A poor shot from Stephen leaves Jimmy a starter, but after a brown and another red he drops the blue a fair way short when, even if he'd sunk it he was on nothing. "Very strange!" as Paul McCartney once said.
White 0-0 Hendry (0-1)
Stephen cuts in a long opener - that's a decent effort is that - but he can only play safe off it, then when faced with no obvious safety shot he plays a pot and misses it by a way. Jimmy, though, can only jaws his attempt to take advantage and we're back playing tactics.
Off we go!
There are some right good players in these qualifiers
Bingham, Carrington, Grace, Yuelong and Brecel are all there, and there are four rounds they need to play.
Our format
This match is a best of 11, and the winner plays Xu Si next.
A little essay on the King of the Cruce
Absolutely love this
Evening all!
Like every person of even partial sentience, I cannot wait for this one. Partly because nostalgia, despite being invented to sell hose, is an extremely potent thing, but mainly because I've not a clue what's going to happen. Jimmy has apparently been the better player in practice but I can't believe Stephen would turn up without bring sure he was ready. He looked pretty good in losing to Matt Selt recently, and what am I even talking about. It's Stephen Hendry v Jimmy White!
When is Jimmy White v Stephen Hendry 2021?
Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White will face off in the first round of World Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
Hendry came out of nine years in retirement earlier this year and said his aim for the remainder of the season was to qualify for the World Championship.
To do that he will have to beat old foe White. The pair, who have contested four world finals, were drawn against one another in the first round of qualifying. The match will be best of 11 frames.
Jimmy White v Stephen Hendry and the World Championship qualifiers are live and exclusive on the Eurosport app and eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app now for iOS and Android.
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'Why would I?' - Hendry has no regrets over finals wins ahead of White showdown
WHAT HAS WHITE SAID?
White has told Eurosport's The Break podcast he is fighting for his future on the Tour ahead of the match on Monday, but enters the clash full of confidence.
Ahead of their huge match on Monday, White admits his immediate ambition is to be on the Tour and is not out looking to avenge his World Championship final defeats to Hendry.
"I'm trying to fight for my Tour card," he said on episode one of season three of The Break podcast.
"I found a bit of form in Gibraltar and then the next tournament after. I've been playing well for quite some time, but unless you're doing it on the match table it's absolutely irrelevant. I've got a lot of confidence.
If I was to beat him ten times in a row I still wouldn't get revenge on all of the world finals. I'm just pleased Eurosport are showing it live so all the snooker fans can get to see it.
WHAT HAS HENDRY SAID?
Hendry believes White's failure to reach the Crucible since 2006 can help his own prospects of progress ahead of their much-anticipated encounter.
"It's a different situation, but I have to remember how I coped with being number one for all those years. Hopefully, I can enjoy the fact that people want to beat me," said Hendry, who spent a record 10 years as number one with nine straight seasons at the summit between 1990 and 1998.
"I will be a scalp for somebody. I've got to approach it and not put too much importance on it because I think you look at Jimmy all these years.
I think Jimmy has been dying to play at the Crucible again all these years and I think it has affected him in qualifying. He's almost trying too hard.
"I've got to guard against that. I've got to be mentally prepared to go there and experience it. I've got to guard against trying too hard and wanting it too much.
"I've got excitement to see how far my game will go, but no expectations."
RELATED CONTENT
WHEN DO THE QUALIFIERS RUN FROM?
The are four qualifying rounds and they begin on April 5 and end April 14. The tournament proper starts on April 19.
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