WHIRLWIND STILL BLOWING STRONG

The racier elements of the snooker entourage hit the town big-style on Thursday night, ending up in top Berlin club The Pearl. Unsubstantiated rumour and wild speculation have it that ‘Whirlwind’ Jimmy White, 53 years young and taking brief time out from his Eurosport duties, ended up being shown how to drink a Jagerbomb by the graphics team. Or maybe it was the Matchroom events team (our source was hazy on this point). It was though by all accounts not an evening that finished early.

WHITE SPORTSMANSHIP LEAVES MARK ON MORRIS

You don’t have to go far in snooker without running into someone with a tale to tell about the exemplary sportsmanship so often shown by Jimmy White in his career.

And in Beijing Ireland’s David Morris admitted one such instance had made a huge impression on him at the China Open the previous year, and had remained a benchmark for his own future conduct.

Morris said: “I played Jimmy here last year, and I knew going in he was desperate for the money to stay on the tour. You knew that meant a lot for him, his status is something he is very proud of.

“He went 2-0 up and I managed to get the next with a good break, I think there was a difficult brown I got to help clinch the frame. And from his chair he just said to me straight away ‘Great break Davy’.

“With everything on it for him – and he went on to win anyway – he could still find time to do that, and he is always tapping the table in appreciation of other players’ shots.

“It is something I have remembered ever since, and the standard we should all try to match.”

WHITE TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS IN EPSOM

In more Jimmy White news, the Whirlwind found himself in the headlines of the Epsom local paper during Masters week.

Making the regular trip from one of his practice bases to Alexandra Palace, White took the opportunity to drop off some dry cleaning on Epsom High Street.

But next to a picture that appeared to show White’s car with its distinctive ‘CUE BOY’ registration plate parked on a double yellow line outside the shop was a story featuring quotes from irate pedestrian Simon Mayston who had contacted the publication.

Mr Mayston said: “Jimmy White was driving down the High Street through Epsom and then pulled over and mounted the pavement just after the traffic light crossroads at Waterloo Road.

“He proceeded slowly along that top bit of the High Street, and parked outside the dry cleaners on the double yellow.

“He got out to pick up some dry cleaning and then drove off - probably there for no more than five minutes.

“It just irritated me that he parked on the pavement, particularly as we - that is myself, my wife and my four-year-old son - were walking along that stretch of the pavement.

“My son was riding his scooter, and we had to make sure he got out of the way of the car. The number plate is recognisable. Jimmy White lives just up the road by the station. It would have irritated me whoever the driver was.”

White, characteristically, shrugged off what must have been an overwhelming temptation to brand his tormentor a busybody with a camera phone and opted instead to see the funny side of the incident. “I thought he was a fan!” he said in the media centre on Tuesday.

WHIRLWIND BREEZES INTO ALLY PALLY

Jimmy White usually drops in at the Masters at least once every year, but he was an even more regular face around the Alexandra Palace venue this year as an ambassador for tournament sponsors Dafabet.

In a large advert in the official programme the Whirlwind, who won the title 31 years ago at the Wembley Conference Centre with a 9-5 victory over Terry Griffiths, shared top billing with former Portugal, Barcelona and Real Madrid football legend Luis Figo – another of the company’s sporting figureheads.

It is not the first time Figo has cropped up in a snooker context. A couple of years ago at the Shanghai Masters a Real Madrid legends XI were staying at the same hotel as the snooker players the night Ding Junhui won in 2013. Ding, on his way to the celebration dinner, was keen to shake Figo by the hand and after some prompting from a lackey the player, realising the man in front of him was being as mobbed by fans as he was but none the wise as to his identity, happily obliged.

After this season’s inaugural Lisbon Open, perhaps a few more in Portugal are up to speed on their snooker stars.

WASLEY LEAVES WHITE SWEATING

The Michael Wasley win was a terrific story for just about everyone except Ding Junhui…and Jimmy White.

The Whirlwind’s place on tour looked all but safe just a fortnight ago before the qualifiers for the Dafabet World Championship. It required some extraordinary performances and an unlikely combination of results to deny him a place by right, even though there is controversial talk of a wild-card should he need one.

But Wasley and Kyren Wilson each won four times to reach the latter stages, and if either one of them were to reach the quarter-finals White would be the man to suffer.

Wilson, of course, trailed Ricky Walden 6-3 after Monday’s play but fellow debutant Wasley now faces a best-of-25 frame match against either Mark Davis or Dominic Dale to end White’s 34-year run on tour.