Jimmy White punches table and forfeits frame in World Championship qualifier

Snooker legend Jimmy White punched the table after forfeiting a frame in his World Championship qualifier against Anton Kazakov on Tuesday morning. White, 62, had to concede the third frame of the encounter, with the match level at 1-1 after failing to hit a red in three attempts.

Trying to lightly touch a red on the right cushion and get the cue ball back up the table, White missed twice and had a decision to make over whether to try the same attempt a third time.

The match referee reminded both White and Kazakov that a third miss would result in a forfeit, prompting White to then aim for another ball on the opposite cushion. Except he failed to hit it and conceded the frame, leading to White, furious with himself, punching the edge of the table.

The rules of snooker state: “Failure to hit a ball ‘on’ three times in a row, if the player has a clear sight of the ball. The referee will warn a player after a second such miss that a third miss will mean that the opponent will be awarded the frame. This rule does not apply if the player is snookered.”

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Neal Foulds on commentary was baffled by White’s decision-making, saying: “Surely that’s end of frame isn’t it? That’s end of frame. [The referee] must have administered the warning, Jimmy White has missed three times so the frame is over - what a way to lose a frame.”

Co-commentator Phil Yates then added: “It’s not unprecedented of course, it has happened, it has happened in big matches. It has happened in a ranking final in fact between Judd Trump and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh [World Open final 2019] but it is a rarity.

“White obviously expected to catch the thin edge of the red at the third attempt but no cigar and having missed a golden opportunity for 2-0, in the matter of a few moments thereafter he has found himself 2-1 behind.”

Foulds explained: “[The referee] must have given him the warning, right? I didn’t see or hear him do it so apologies to him for that, we knew that he had missed three times. The middle one was the miscue which there is nothing you can do about it, but it is still a miss.”

At the time of publishing White was trailing 5-3 in the best of 19 match.

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