White struggling to qualify for Crucible
Jimmy White, an ever-present at the Crucible since 1981, faces a battle to keep that proud record intact.
White encountered stiff opposition in the final qualifying round of the Embassy World Championship at Newport.
Entering the final session of his best of 19 frames contest with Michael Judge, White finds himself 5-4 adrift.
World number 46 Judge took the opener but White looked to have seized control of the contest when runs of 61 and 123 - the latter a vintage effort - enabled him to go into the mid-session interval enjoying a 3-1 advantage.
The 38-year-old Londoner could not sustain that pace as Judge reeled off four straight frames in quick time to surprisingly move 5-3 ahead.
Judge, who edged Welshman Anthony Davies 10-9 in the previous round, launched his fightback with a 95 break and drew level at 3-3 when White expensively missed the last red using the rest.
Things got even worse for White as Judge powered through the following two frames with contributions of 65 and 50 before one of the Crucible's great crowd favourites stopped the rot.
White accounted for the closing frame of a fast-flowing session in a single visit with a 93 break but was still left requiring six of the remaining 10 frames to book his 21st consecutive visit to the televised phase of snooker's top event.
