Snooker icon Jimmy White makes 'rare' blunder in World Championship qualifier - 'What a way to lose a frame'

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Jimmy White fell behind in the first round of World Snooker Championship qualifying after making a bizarre and "rare" mistake. The 10-time ranking champion is among the star names competing in qualifying, alongside the likes of Ali Carter and Jack Lisowski. The 49th World Championship will kick off at the Crucible on April 19 - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Watch as White throws away frame via three-miss rule at World Championship qualifiers

Video credit: TNT Sports

Jimmy White fell behind in the first round of World Snooker Championship qualifying to Anton Kazakov after making a bizarre and "rare" mistake.

The World Snooker Championship qualifying kicked off this week, as some of the professional tour's big names battle it out for a place in the main event at the Crucible.

While the world’s top 16 automatically qualify for the main event, the rest of the tour is put through a nervy set of qualification matches.

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Indeed, the likes of Ali Carter, Jack Lisowski and six-time Crucible runner-up White are among the star names to be subjected to qualifying, with the latter under the cosh from the first round due to a bizarre error.

The Whirlwind began his qualifying campaign against 20-year-old Ukrainian Kazakov on Tuesday - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

And within no time, White went from being 1-0 ahead to being 2-1 down due to the three-miss rule.

The three-miss rule sees a player lose a frame if they fail to hit the intended ball on three consecutive occasions when they have a clear view of it and are not snookered.

The 10-time ranking event winner miscued his second shot, before making an ambitious and wild attempt at a third that, again, failed to hit its intended target.

It was an uncharacteristic rookie error for White, who is 42 years older than his opponent Kazakov.

TNT Sports commentator Neal Foulds said: "Jimmy White has missed three times, so the frame is over. What a way to lose a frame."

Philip Studd added: "Well, it's not unprecedented, of course. It has happened. It's happened in big matches. It's happened in a ranking final, in fact. But it is a rarity."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

All matches for the World Snooker Championship are the best of 19-frames, with qualifying running between April 7-16 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

The 49th World Championship will subsequently kick off at the Crucible on April 19, with the tournament live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+

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