Michael White (snooker player)

Michael White (born 5 July 1991) is a Welsh former professional snooker player from Neath. At the age of nine he became the youngest player to have made a century break in competitive play and he was the world amateur champion by 14. White won his first ranking event title at the 2015 Indian Open.

Michael White
Paul Hunter Classic 2016
Born (1991-07-05) 5 July 1991
Neath, Glamorgan
Sport country Wales
NicknameLightning
Professional2007/2008, 2009–2020
Highest ranking15 (April 2016)[1]
Current ranking 66 (as of 27 June 2020)
Career winnings£630,296
Highest break145:
2011 Shanghai Masters (qualifying)
Century breaks151
Tournament wins
Ranking2
Non-ranking1

Career

Early career

White first showed potential by becoming the youngest player to make a century break: a 105 in March 2001, when aged nine.[2] In 2001, he was invited to the Crucible, where John Parrott commented: 'I hope I've retired before I have to play him!' He won a number of junior and later amateur events, and in 2006 became the youngest ever winner of the IBSF World Grand Prix, winning it aged 14.[3][4] He also won the European under-19 Championship, beating Vincent Muldoon in the final.[5] He turned professional for the 2007–08 season, but he was not allowed to play in the first ranking event of the season, the 2007 Shanghai Masters as it fell short of his 16th birthday which allowed his opponent Lee Walker a walkover. Previously Shaun Murphy had been allowed to play aged 15.[6]

Turning professional

In his first professional match, the Masters qualifying, he shocked Leicester player Tom Ford 4–0, however he lost to eventual champion Barry Hawkins 5–2 in the following round. His first season on the Main Tour was relatively unsuccessful, winning only four matches in the seven ranking events. In his first ranking tournament, the Grand Prix, he finished last in his group, beating Tony Drago but losing his other 6 matches. His most successful run was beating Shailesh Jogia 10–4 in the first round of the World Championship qualifiers, but he lost 10–4 to Barry Pinches in the next. These results meant that he dropped off the Main Tour.

He regained a place on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 Season by finishing top of the Welsh rankings.

In the qualifiers for the 2009 Shanghai Masters he beat former world champion John Parrott 5–0 (who later joked "I hope I retire before I have to play him...again" in reference to his earlier comment) before losing 5–3 to Mark Davis. His best run during the season was to the last 48 of the UK Championship, with victories over Daniel Wells, Jin Long and Jamie Burnett before losing 9–4 to Liang Wenbo. This meant that by the end of the season he had done enough to retain his tour status.

2010/2011 season

He started the new season by winning three qualifying matches in the 2010 Shanghai Masters, including a 5–1 win over Dominic Dale, before losing to Peter Ebdon by the same scoreline. He won two matches, before losing in the third qualifying round on two further occasions during the season. At the minor-ranking Euro PTC Event 3 White beat the likes of Tom Ford and Marco Fu to reach the quarter-finals, where he lost 2–4 to Andrew Higginson.[7] He went on to finish 51st on the PTC Order of Merit and 71st in the world rankings.[8][9]

Michael White at the 2012 Paul Hunter Classic

2011/2012 season

White narrowly missed out on a place in the 2012 Players Tour Championship Finals as he finished 25th on the Order of Merit, with only 24 players qualifying for the event.[10] His placing was largely thanks to a semi-final run in Event 7, where his hopes of a first professional title were ended by Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won 4–2.[11] Even though he could not qualify for a ranking event throughout the season he ended it at a then career high world ranking of 54, meaning he had risen 12 places during the year.[12][13]

2012/2013 season

White began the 2012–13 season by winning three matches to qualify for the Wuxi Classic and two matches to qualify for the International Championship but lost in the wildcard once at the venues in China in both, to Zhou Yuelong 4–5 and Lü Haotian 5–6 respectively.[14] White beat Craig Steadman and Ken Doherty to qualify for the UK Championship, the first time he had made it into the first round of a ranking event.[14] In his first domestic televised match in a ranking event, White played world number two Mark Selby and recovered from 0–2 down to level at 3–3 before succumbing to a 3–6 defeat, with White stating afterwards that he would definitely be back for more.[15] He kept true to his word by beating Zhang Anda 10–5 and Andrew Higginson 10–4 (he trailed 1–3 but won nine of the next ten frames) to qualify for the first round of the biggest tournament in snooker, the World Championship.[16][17] He beat compatriot and two-time winner of the event Mark Williams in the opening round 10–6, with Williams admitting he had been outplayed in every department of the game.[18] He beat fellow qualifier Dechawat Poomjaeng 13–3 in the last 16 and faced Ricky Walden in his first ranking event quarter-final, losing 6–13.[19][20] White increased his ranking to world number 34, a climb of 20 spots during the season which was the most of any player on tour.[21]

2013/2014 season

White had an extremely consistent 2013–14 season as he played in the first round of 10 of the 12 ranking events.[22] In the inaugural Indian Open he beat Zhang Anda and Gary Wilson to reach his second career quarter-final.[23] He lost the last three frames against Stephen Maguire to be defeated 4–3.[24] White reached the second round in four more ranking events during the rest of the season but was beaten on each occasion.[22] At the World Championship, White was a qualifier and faced world number three (and eventual champion) Mark Selby in the first round. White recovered from 5–1, 8–4, and 9–8 behind to take the match to a deciding 19th frame, which he lost.[25] He finished inside the top 32 in the rankings for the first time in his career as the world number 27.[26]

2014/2015 season
Ever since I first played snooker at the age of seven, I have dreamed of winning tournaments. It means everything to me, I can't describe how I'm feeling. Since I was nine, people have been on my back to win titles, although the only pressure I feel is what I put on myself. I just want to keep improving now.

White on winning his first ranking title at the Indian Open.[27]

In the first round of the Shanghai Masters, White came from 3–0 down against Neil Robertson to win 5–4 and went on to defeat Ryan Day 5–2 to make the quarter-finals.[28] White made another comeback to force a deciding frame this time from 4–1 behind, but Mark Allen won it.[29] Another quarter-final followed at the International Championship where Allen was again the victor as he won 6–3, after White had been 3–1 up.[30]

In March 2015, White had a phenomenal run of form. He won his first professional title at the Shoot-Out, the tournament where each match is decided by one 10-minute frame, White won the title by taking the lead in the final against Xiao Guodong with six seconds remaining.[31] He then won the Indian Open after reaching the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time in his fifth attempt by beating Chris Wakelin 4–2.[32] White then defeated Mark Williams 4–2 and saved his best performance of the week for the final against Ricky Walden where he scored a total of 419 points to Walden's 27 in claiming his first ranking title with a 5–0 win. His prize money for winning back-to-back tournaments stood at £82,000.[27] White made his debut in the PTC Grand Final and lost 4–3 to Martin Gould in the first round.[33] A pair of deciding frame victories over Ken Doherty and Stuart Bingham helped him to the last 16 of the China Open, but he was eliminated 5–1 by Robert Milkins. White's season ended with a 10–5 defeat to Craig Steadman in the second round of the World Championship qualifying.[34] His year was reflected in the rankings as he rose 10 places to end it 17th in the world.[35]

2015/2016 season

White reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Goldfields Open, the first ranking event of the season and played former schoolmate Jamie Jones. The match went to a decider after White had been 4–2 up and he made a 56 in it, before Jones cleared with 66 to win 5–4.[36] His ranking title gave him entry into the Champion of Champions, where he lost 4–2 to Joe Perry in the first round and he suffered an opening round 6–5 loss to Sydney Wilson, a player ranked more than 100 places lower than White, at the UK Championship.[37] However, at the Gibraltar Open he whitewashed reigning world champion Stuart Bingham to reach his first European Tour final, but was defeated 4–1 by Marco Fu.[38] White played in his first Welsh Open quarter-final after knocking out John Higgins 4–1 and lost it 5–0 to Mark Allen.[39][40] After White lost 10–7 to Sam Baird in the first round of the World Championship he revealed that he suffers from depression and the stress of playing professional snooker can exacerbate it.[41]

2016/2017 season

White lost 4–2 in the fourth round of the Paul Hunter Classic to Jimmy White. A 5–4 re-spotted black win over Jimmy Robertson qualified him for the Shanghai Masters and he beat Ricky Walden 5–4 and Judd Trump 5–3, before losing 5–1 to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals.[42] A second quarter-final came at the Northern Ireland Open and White was ousted 5–2 by Barry Hawkins.[43] White lost 6–4 to compatriot Matthew Stevens in the second round of the UK Championship. He recorded a 4–3 win over John Higgins at the World Grand Prix, before being defeated 4–2 by Ryan Day in the second round.[44] White hit three centuries in his 5–3 first round win over Yu Delu at the China Open and then beat Ali Carter by the same scoreline, but lost 5–1 to Shaun Murphy in the third round. He was heavily defeated 10–3 by Gary Wilson in the final qualifying round for the World Championship.[45]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 2007/
08		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18		 2018/
19		 2019/
20
Ranking[46] [nb 1] [nb 1] 71 66 54 34 27 17 19 26 29 45
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters[nb 2] Tournament Not Held MR A 1R 2R LQ
International Championship Tournament Not Held WR 1R QF 3R 1R LQ LQ 1R
China Championship Tournament Not Held NR 2R 1R LQ
English Open Tournament Not Held 2R QF 1R 1R
World Open[nb 3] LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R Not Held 1R LQ LQ LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held QF 1R 2R 1R
UK Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R 3R 1R 4R
Scottish Open Tournament Not Held MR Not Held 2R 4R 2R 1R
European Masters[nb 4] NR Tournament Not Held LQ LQ LQ 1R
German Masters Not Held LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held NR 1R 2R QF DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 3R QF 3R 1R 1R 1R
Shoot-Out Not Held Non-ranking Event 2R 2R SF 1R
Players Championship[nb 5] Not Held DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 1R 2R DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open Tournament Not Held MR 3R 1R 1R 1R
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ QF 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Champion of Champions Tournament Not Held A A 1R A QF A A
The Masters LQ LQ A A A A A A A A A A
Championship League A A A A A A RR RR RR RR RR A
Variant format tournaments
Six-red World Championship[nb 6] NH A A NH A A 1R 2R 2R RR RR A
Former ranking tournaments
Northern Ireland Trophy LQ Tournament Not Held
Wuxi Classic[nb 7] NH Non-Ranking Event WR 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Australian Goldfields Open Not Held LQ LQ 1R A QF Tournament Not Held
Shanghai Masters A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ QF 1R QF 2R NR
Paul Hunter Classic Pro-am Minor-Ranking Event 4R W 3R NR
Indian Open Tournament Not Held QF W NH LQ WD 1R NH
China Open LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
World Grand Prix Tournament Not Held 1R Ranking Event
General Cup[nb 8] NH A NH A A A A SF Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Not Held A 1R 3R 2R W 2R Ranking Event
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
RV / Ranking & Variant Format Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking & variant format event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Eventmeans an event is/was a pro-am event.
VF / Variant Format Eventmeans an event is/was a variant format event.
  1. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  2. The event was called the Riga Open (2014/2015–2015/2016)
  3. The event was called the Grand Prix (2007/2008–2009/2010) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  4. The event was called the Malta Cup (2007/2008)
  5. The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013) and the Players Championship Grand Final (2013/2014–2015/2016)
  6. The event was called the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  7. The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)
  8. The event was called the General Cup International (2009/2010–2011/2012)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2015 Indian Open Ricky Walden 5–0
Winner 2. 2017 Paul Hunter Classic Shaun Murphy 4–2

Minor-ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2015 Gibraltar Open Marco Fu 1–4

Non-ranking finals: 1 (1 title)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2015 Snooker Shoot Out Xiao Guodong 1–0

Pro-am finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2009 Pontins Pro-am Event 2 Paul Davison 5–3
Winner 2. 2009 Pontins Pro-Am Event 4 Ken Doherty 5–4

Amateur finals: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2005 Welsh Amateur Championship Andrew Pagett 4–6
Winner 1. 2006 IBSF World Grand Prix Mark Boyle 11–5
Winner 2. 2007 European Under-19 Championships Vincent Muldoon 6–2
Runner-up 2. 2008 PIOS - Event 3 Shokat Ali 3–6
Winner 3. 2009 Welsh Amateur Championship Darren Morgan 8–2
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gollark: A/B testing at work, I guess...
gollark: But when I restarted Firefox for an update it stopped happening.
gollark: I had that for a bit.

References
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  2. "Kid potter heads for record books". BBC Sport. 28 March 2001. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  3. "Prodigy White claims world crown". BBC Sport. 3 March 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  4. "Chris Turner's Snooker Archive – Records". 2008. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  5. "Profile on World Snooker". World Snooker Association. 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  6. Everton, Clive (26 June 2006). "Rising star denied entry to Shanghai Masters". Guardian Unlimited. London. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  7. "Michael White 2010/2011". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. "Order of Merit 2010/2011". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  9. "World rankings after WO" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  10. "PTC Order of Merit after PTC12" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  11. "O'Sullivan Wins Second PTC Title". WPBSA. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  12. "Michael White 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  13. "Official World Ranking List for the 2012/2013 Season" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  14. "Michael White 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  15. "Snooker star White out of UK Championship". This Is South Wales. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  16. "Betfair World Championship". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  17. "Quartet of Debutants Through To Crucible". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  18. "Wonderful White Shocks Williams". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  19. "Poom mets Doom as White shines". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  20. "Wonderful Walden to face Hawkins". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  21. "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  22. "Michael White 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  23. "Indian Open 2013: Results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
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  28. "Neil Robertson goes down to Michael White in Shanghai Masters". Cambridge News. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  29. "Mark Allen edges Michael White in Shanghai Masters". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  30. "Mark Allen progresses to International Open semi-finals in China". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  31. "The White Stuff". World Snooker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  32. "White Makes Semi Breakthrough". World Snooker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  33. "Trump Eases To Brecel Win". World Snooker. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  34. "Michael White 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  35. "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  36. "Jones, Higgins, Gould, Maguire Into Semis". World Snooker. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  37. "Sydney Wilson stuns seeded Michael White at the UK Snooker Championships". Basildon Canvey Southend Echo. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  38. "Marco Fu beats Michael White in Gibraltar Open final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  39. "John Higgins' Welsh Open title defence ends but Ronnie O'Sullivan wins". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  40. "Neath snooker star Michael White disappointed by Welsh Open quarter-final whitewash". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  41. "World Snooker Championship: Michael White reveals depression". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  42. "Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump out of Shanghai Masters". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  43. "Kyren Wilson wins final-frame thriller against Mark Williams, Barry Hawkins downs Michael White". Eurosport. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  44. "John Higgins suffers defeat, Judd Trump progresses". Eurosport. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  45. "Michael White 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  46. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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