White and Lilley to Contest World Seniors Final
Jimmy White will face David Lilley in the final of the 2021 ROKiT World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre on Sunday evening.
The duo both came through semi-final tests during an intriguing afternoon session in Sheffield.
The prospect of a third consecutive world seniors championship title is now just a win away for the evergreen White who ended the campaign of Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo.
A break of 60 helped White take the opener before a couple of small contributions allowed him to move 2-0 up.
Figueiredo – the first South American to play a competitive match at the Crucible – registered runs of 36 and 44 to get on the board, but White chalked up an important frame four and then finished with a 47 clearance in the fifth to record a 4-1 victory.
Since the championship moved here in 2019, the popular Londoner has not lost a match in it. Should he win the title match, it would be his fourth triumph in the event overall.
Lilley showed no ill effects from his dramatic late-night victory over Ken Doherty as he strung together four consecutive frames to defeat Patrick Wallace 4-1 in the other last four tie.
It was record eight-time Northern Irish national champion Wallace who opened his account first as he emerged from a scrappy opening frame, although Lilley levelled it with the help of runs of 65 and 34.
A pivotal moment in the contest came in the third frame. Wallace was on the cusp of retaking the lead but broke down on a break of 56. Lilley stayed in, and later pinched the frame on the final black.
The man from Washington near Newcastle didn’t look back, constructing breaks of 89 and 69 in the next two frames to seal a 4-1 success.
Lilley was a qualifier for this event having come through the first Q-School held in Reading at the start of the year. In total, he has won eight matches to reach the final where he will attempt to halt White, who himself is on an 11-match winning streak.
