 Parrott failed to get through qualifying for the third year in a row |
Former Crucible champion John Parrott is on the verge of quitting snooker after failing to qualify for next month's World Championship. The 45-year-old lost 10-6 to Chinese teenager Anda Zhang in qualifying and slips out of the top 64 because of Jimmy White's 10-8 win over Mark Boyle. Parrott, the 1991 world champion, told the Daily Mail: "If I'm off the tour, it's fairly certain that I'll retire. "I certainly won't play any lower down. If I lose my card, that's me gone." He led Zhang 6-5 before the 18-year-old reeled off five straight frames to win 10-6.  | 606: DEBATE |
"I've just lost in the World Championship and I'm not going to spit the dummy out," Parrott added. "But I don't enjoy the hours of practice any more." It is not all doom and gloom for Parrott as there are still opportunities for players to be offered wild card entries to ranking tournaments by World Snooker. But White's victory puts him through to the penultimate round of qualifying for the world championship and more importantly assures him of a place on the tour next season - at the expense of Parrott. The 47-year-old held a narrow 5-4 advantage over part-time Glasgow postman Mark Boyle after their opening session. Both players struggled to dominate their opponent when the match resumed and there was nothing to separate them until 8-8 when White edged in front before sealing victory in the eighteenth frame. A six-time losing finalist, White has not appeared at the Crucible since he lost to David Gray in the first round in 2006. | An early TV stint at The Crucible it is then for JP Mark Ashenden in Sheffield |
White, who began the year ranked 56th and in danger of dropping out of the Tour with defeats in the Welsh Open and China Open qualifiers, told BBC Sport: "I was under huge pressure. I had to win this to stay on the Tour. "I have lost a few times 5-4 this season and now I've got to play Ken (Doherty) but I'm not bothered. I'm just pleased to come through and win." Doherty, 1997 world champion and the only non-British player other than Cliff Thorburn to win at the Crucible, now faces White on Thursday for the right to play Joe Swail - with the winner of that match heading to the World Championships. The 40-year-old Doherty told BBC Sport: "It will be tough for both of us. We're both good pals off the table and he was one of the reasons why I took up snooker. "But there are no friends on the table. If I'm not playing him I always want him to win. But not in this match. It will be dog eat dog." White faces Doherty in a match starting at 1000 GMT on Thursday, with two-time Crucible semi-finalist Swail awaiting in the final qualifying round on Monday. The World Championship takes place between 17 April and 3 May at The Crucible.
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