STEVE DAVIS reckons he knows Jimmy White’s motivation for still playing snooker at the age of 62 – his heating allowance.
At eight years from 70, White secured his Tour Card on his own merits last year and made it to the second round of the Northern Ireland Open in October.
Davis enjoyed plenty of memorable battles with White in the 1980s, including in the 1987 UK Championship final which he won 16-14.
The BBC star, who is only three years older than White and quit snooker in 2016, is running out of words to describe the Whirlwind’s exploits.
Davis the Mirror: “How amazing. What is he, 62 now? That is amazing.
“Fred Davis played in the worlds when he was 64, but that was a different time. He was more or less guaranteed to play at the Crucible!
“For Jimmy to be competing and beating some of the top players in the world on a weekly basis is just fantastic. Long may it continue.”
“He knows full well he can have a really good match and then the next time it might not quite work, and that’s the frustration.
“You know you can produce it every now and again, but consistency is the problem as you get older. When he manages to put it together it’s fantastic to watch.”
Asked about White’s motivation for still playing when others from the same era jacked it in a long time ago, Davis had a cheeky theory.
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He quipped: “I think what’s happened is that he’s spotted you don’t automatically get a heating allowance when you get to 65 so he’s decided to carry on.”
Davis, a six-time world snooker champ and former world No.1, finished eighth on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity before retiring.
On walking away from snooker, he said: “When I retired, I decided I didn’t want to practice again with a view to getting ready for a tournament.
“I haven’t got the motivation to try and get the ball in the hole these days, I’ve got other fish to fry.”
Meanwhile, Judd Trump edged out Barry Hawkins in the UK Championship final on Sunday.
The Juddernaut has been the sport’s standout performer this term but was forced to work hard for this latest triumph as he beat Hawkins 10-8 in front of 1,200 fans at the Barbican.
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
Most World Titles (modern era)
