Jimmy White: the third time lucky.

September 2005

Matthew Stevens has more in common with Jimmy White than a rather questionable hairdo. They're both the perennial World Championship bridesmaid.

Genius White is the godfather of the current snooker generation. The 43-year-old is regarded as the best ever player not to lift the World crown, losing in a record six Crucible finals. Welsh potting wizard Stevens, however, is in serious danger of taking over veteran White's nearly-man mantle. He's thrown away leads in two World Championship finals and suffered a hat-trick of demoralising semi-final defeats.

But White last night insisted that Stevens has the mental toughness to blank out previous failures and to make it third time lucky the next time he reaches the final.

"I'm convinced that Matthew will win the World Championship at some stage, - said the Whirlwind. - He's definitely a World champion in the making. He's such a good all-round player. You've got to say that his potting, in particular, is superb. You don't get to the final without being a world-class player - and he's been to two. He played well both times but the other guy was just better on the night, which happens, believe me. He needs to keep performing and it will happen - perhaps he might need to concentrate more.

"I remember back in the 1992 final, against Stephen Hendry, I led 14-8. At the interval, I started to recite my winning address for the TV cameras, thinking who I'd thank for helping me achieve my ultimate goal. That was my concentration gone and I got beaten. I've been given the nearly-man tag my whole life and now Matthew has it. But he's won the UK Championship and the Masters and people seem to forget that getting to a World final is an amazing achievement in itself".

World No 4 Stevens has spent some time coming to terms with his 2005 World Championship final heartbreak. The Carmarthen cueman led rookie Shaun Murphy 10-6 before suffering the kind of reversal of fortunes known well to White, crashing to a 18-16 defeat. Sadly, it was all very familiar for Stevens. The 27-year-old had been in exactly the same lead against fellow Welshman Mark Williams in the 2000 Crucible finale. And yet he went on to lose it in the final sessions, with the final analysis amounting to an 18-16 defeat.

Understandably, Stevens is keen to have another crack at the final and put the nearly man tag, whether truly merited or not, to bed once and for all. And Stevens, who recently became a dad, has kicked off the new season as he means to go on. The 2000 Masters champion and 2003 UK champion lifted only his second ranking tournament victory at the start of his 11th year on the pro circuit. Stevens edged out former world No 1 Stephen Hendry in the final of the inaugural Northern Ireland Trophy.

And White believes Stevens' Belfast boost is just the cure for any World Championship hangover.

"Losing a World Championship is absolutely devastating, - said the two-time Masters champion. - I was so gutted to lose a World final once that it took me a whole season to recover. I went through the whole of a season without winning a match, such are the mental scars of losing in the World Championship finals. The World defeat played on my mind all summer. I then didn't prepare properly due to a lack of motivation, I drank too much - it was a combination of many aspects. The game got too difficult and I just couldn't win for love nor money. That doubt in your game - wrong shot selections and taking on one too many pots as you're trying too hard - isn't good. So winning that first tournament of the season is the best thing Matthew could have done. Winning that opening tournament will give you a huge injection of confidence and get rid of any mental doubts.

White added: "I've also bounced back from World final defeats by winning the first tournament of the following season. That blows away any psychological cobwebs and you're back in the race immediately. So I'm proud of Matthew, he's a good battler".

White has lost to Scotsman Hendry - snooker's most successful player - in a Crucible final four times, culminating in a heart-breaking 18-17 defeat in 1994. White has also succumbed to John Parrott.

White added: "I know Matthew has a young family and his priorities have changed. Now snooker isn't priority No 1 and I certainly don't blame him for that. But once he finds a balance he'll be okay. Perhaps he needs to be a little more dedicated but he has all the ability in the world. However, I'll always be the best player never to have a World Championship!"