Jimmy White walks out of match at Northern Ireland Open at critical point leaving opponent and ref bemused

SNOOKER icon Jimmy White walked out of his Northern Ireland Open match leaving his opponent and the referee baffled.

The Whirlwind, 62, impressed in his first-round win over Hossein Vafaei.

Jimmy White walked out of the fifth frame against Martin O’DonnellGetty

Eurosport

He left when trailing by 44 points with 43 left on the table[/caption]

And he had led Martin O’Donnell twice in the early stages of their second-round tie on Wednesday.

But in the fifth frame, with White and O’Donnell locked together at two frames each, the six-time world championship runner-up had enough.

O’Donnell had moved 44 points clear with 43 remaining on the table after White missed a simple red.

And the snooker legend was in a hurry to leave the auditorium as soon as his opponent moved clear of the points left on the table.

Rather than waiting for a potential O’Donnell miss and returning to try and force a snooker, White got out of his seat and walked out without any comment.

This left O’Donnell and the referee bemused, while the crowd also seemed unsure what to do.

O’Donnell was awarded the frame and White did return to complete the match, losing 4-2 to crash out of the Northern Ireland Open.

Yet despite the bizarre conclusion to the fifth frame, O’Donnell chose not to focus on it during his post-match interview.

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He said: “Any win against Jimmy is a good win.

“He’s such a legend of the game and an inspiration for a lot of players.

“To still be doing what he’s doing at his age and still enjoying practising and competing, it’s very inspirational.”

White famously lost six world championship finals – five in a row between 1990 and 1994.

He won the Masters in 1984, UK Championship in 1992, and 10 ranking events.