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Jimmy White recalls 1992 World Championship final collapse against Stephen Hendry - 'I was completely gone'
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Published 10/04/2025 at 13:48 GMT+1
Jimmy White is considered by some to be one of the greatest snooker players of all time, but the veteran has yet to win the World Snooker Championship. These days, he cuts a different figure at the table, but he recalled that he "was completely gone" when Stephen Hendry staged his famous comeback in their 1992 final showdown. White contrived to lose despite being 14-8 up at one point.
‘What guts’ - White keeps World Championship dream alive with ‘extraordinary’ comeback win
Video credit: TNT Sports
Jimmy White recalled feeling he "was done" after the pressure overwhelmed him against Stephen Hendry in their famous 1992 World Championship final.
White infamously was never able to get over the line at the Crucible despite reaching the final six times over the course of his career.
White was 14-8 up against Hendry in the 1992 final, four frames from victory, but speaking to TNT Sports, he discussed how the pressure was too much for him well before his winning position was under threat.
He said on TNT Sports' The Breakdown: "A few times I fell at the last hurdle, I was 14-8 up against Hendry in the World Championship final. It went 14-10. I was completely gone, I was done. Pockets were moving all over the place. Your brain just gets fuzzled."
Alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan, the pair were discussing the effects of pressure on snooker players in the modern game, and White gave insight into the experience faced by competitors.
He explained that players have now learned coping strategies to deal with the experience of watching your opposite number rack up points.
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'These three players could be the next O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams'
Video credit: TNT Sports
White added "Pressure is huge in snooker, because you’re just sat in your seat. It’s the only sport where you can’t do anything about it; you just have to sit there.
"Now players learn how to regroup and deal with that."
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White even hinted that he might have turned to alcohol to deal with some of the stresses and strains that came with the sport in years gone by.
He admitted: "Whereas I was like, 'Win or lose, I'll have a booze' – I didn’t have a f****** clue.
"Maybe if I’d won in the 80s, I’d be brown bread because I was up to no good. I wouldn’t have done anything different...
"But they never gave me a morning game at the World Championship in about 20 years because they were terrified I wouldn’t turn up!"
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Watch as White throws away frame via three-miss rule at World Championship qualifiers
Video credit: TNT Sports
White tips Chinese trio as potential 2025 world champions
While White struggled to make his own way in the competition himself, he picked out three Chinese players as potential winners.
There is yet to be a Chinese world champion, with Ding Junhui coming closest as a beaten finalist in 2016, but White thinks that could change with Wu Yize, Si Jiahui and Zhao Xintong all in the frame.
"I think this year you possibly could see the first Chinese player [to win it] because you have Wu Yize, Si Jiahui and [Zhao] Xintong," White said.
"These three players could be the next Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan, they're that good.
"One of them has been to the semi-finals of the World Championship, the other two haven't really been there or performed there yet. But this year, one of those three could surprise everyone."
Watch and stream the 2025 World Championship live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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