Ahead of the UK Snooker Championship, the great has spoken out about their incredible meetings.
John Parrott and Jimmy White had an intense rivalry.
The UK Snooker Championship will begin on November 23, with John Parrott sitting front and centre to analyse the competition he won in 1991.
After defeating Jimmy White to win the world championships in the same year, the Liverpudlian faced up against the icon once more in a final to remember.
The two snooker greats staged a spectacular match in Preston’s Guild Hall, where Parrott had stood in the stands with his father 13 years before, watching the action unfold.
Aiming to accomplish a childhood ambition with the support of his father, who had been in the same seat all those years before, ‘The Entertainer’ did everything in his ability to pull off the triumph, eventually winning 16-13 in an all-time classic.
However, the following year, White shifted the scale in his favour by winning the UK Championship. Suffice it to say, those two bouts aren’t the only ones the duo has produced, with Parrott having faced the icon numerous times, winning and losing along the way.
As a result, it goes without saying that the Scouser understands the one error you cannot afford to make against the two-time major winner.
In an exclusive interview with Sporf, Parrott stated, “We always had excellent matches. Someone told me that we played so many matches that we were practically equal in matches and frames. It was unbelievable how near we were. It was always an intense rivalry. Any man who has reached six global finals is clearly a player, and given the number of tournaments he has won, he is an excellent competitor. However, you had to demonstrate that you were prepared to fight and play properly; if you fell behind early on, you may be bullied. So getting off to a strong start was crucial.”
Can Ronnie O’Sullivan Win the UK Snooker Championship? — John Parrott shares his take.
Since retiring from snooker, Parrott has become one of the game’s top analysts, often sharing his thoughts on the sport for which he left such an impressive legacy.
Ahead of the UK Snooker Championship, he discusses if Ronnie O’Sullivan has what it takes to win the competition for the ninth time.
The 60-year-old stated, “I don’t anticipate him to win it. I think he has a shot. I know he’s experimented with his cue action. I am not going to instruct Ronnie how to win a major title; he has won 23 of them. So he gets in there, and you never know. This is a man who took a 12-month break from snooker, returned to the Crucible, and won the World Championship in his first competition. Anything’s conceivable. He has questions to answer, but I wouldn’t rule him out.”