Snooker legend Jimmy White aiming to end twenty years of hurt with romantic Crucible return

Snooker legend White, who still plys his trade full-time on the professional circuit, starts out in the opening qualifying round where he faces Chinese youngster Gao Yang across morning and evening sessions (10:00BST and 19:00BST start times).

The 63-year-old must navigate all four rounds of qualifying in the 'Steel City' in order to reach the main draw, televised stages at the Crucible Theatre which break off on Saturday 18th April.

Former Masters and UK Champion White - six-times the World Championship runner-up between 1984 to 1994 - last played at the Crucible in snooker's blue riband event 20 years ago in 2006.

On that occasion, number nine seed White was defeated 10-5 in the opening round by qualifier David Gray.

The result not only pushed White out of the world's elite top 16 rankings bracket, but also the top 32, meaning he had to win multiple matches to qualify for the next World Championship - a situation he has been in ever since.

White has twice reached the final qualifying hurdle in that time. In 2008, he lost 10-3 to Mark King, and in 2013 he was denied 10-5 by Robert Milkins.

The odds are heavily stacked against one of British sport's most popular figures of all-time making a romantic return to the Crucible stage, but that won't deter White and his legions of fans that still follow him.

The Londoner's pull was apparent at last year's World Championship qualifiers when many stayed up to watch him online as he ousted Ukrainian youngster Anton Kazakov, 10-9, in the first qualifying round in a late-night thriller.

White's latest World Championship campaign breaks off with a very tricky assignment against 21-year-old Gao who is back on the top flight this season courtesy of winning last year's World Snooker Federation Championship staged in Morocco (essentially the world amateur title).

As an amateur wildcard invited to last year's world qualifiers - like eventual champion Zhao Xintong was - Gao was tantalisingly close to a Crucible debut.

He negotiated three qualifying rounds - defeating former world number two Stephen Maguire 10-3 in the penultimate round - before being pipped 10-9 by compatriot Lei Peifan.

Memorably, Lei went on to stun defending champion Kyren Wilson in round one at the Crucible.

Gao has had a quiet season on the World Snooker Tour, but will start as favourite to defeat White, an opponent he has never played before and who is 42 years his senior.

Should White upset the odds and get past Gao, he would then meet 53-year-old Mark Davis, who is battling to keep his professional status beyond this season.

Davis - who has 12 Crucible outings to his name - currently sits 64th in the world rankings. The top 64 at the end of the season will all retain their top tier ticket.

Whoever out of White, Gao or Davis wins that second qualifying round tie will then play Tom Ford in the penultimate round. A potential date with Hossein Vafaei then awaits in the final round.

White has struggled to find wins this season on the pro tour, although he did begin the term in encouraging fashion with a 5-2 victory over Anthony McGill to qualify for the Wuhan Open held in China.

Regardless of how he fares at the EIOS over the coming days, White can look forward to a guaranteed Crucible appearance next month as part of the expanded World Seniors Snooker Championship which runs between May 6-10.

‘The Whirlwind’ is the record four-time world seniors champion, with three of those triumphs coming at the hallowed Crucible arena in recent years.