White maintains unbeaten start to the season - 20/09/2007

Stephen Hendry 3-3 Jimmy White
Hendry's scores first
113-4 (Hendry 102), 59-48, 0-77 (White 38), 48-72 (White 39), 37-63 (Hendry 37, White 40), 64-61.

JIMMY White maintained his unbeaten start to the 2007 PartyBets.com Premier League Snooker season.

The Whirlwind, dismissed as a 100/1 outsider by the bookmakers to win the competition at the start of the tournament, now lies in third place with two points from two tricky encounters.

He gained a fine 3-3 draw against Ding Junhui in week one and now followed this up with a 3-3 result against seven-time World Champion Stephen Hendry.

The Scot went into this match high on confidence after he ended Ronnie O'Sullivan's 24-match unbeaten Premier League Snooker run with a surprise victory last week.

He was up against White, who was playing in his second tournament of the day after competing unsuccessfully in a qualifying event in Wales.

A defeat against unknown Jimmy Robinson meant White failed to advance into the televised stages of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix.

But he quickly had the opportunity to put that heartbreak behind him with another match in the Premier League Snooker.

The Londoner spent most of the opening frame in his chair as Hendry rattled up a 102 frame to storm into a 1-0 lead and gain a £1,000 bonus for the century break at the same time.

A missed yellow from White let Hendry off the hook in the second after the Scot had underhit a shot at the black to give the Whirlwind a chance. Hendry was in no mood to hand out any more presents and did enough for a 2-0 advantage.

Hendry had been in fine form during the opening two frames but did not pot a ball in the third as a break of 38 helped White claim his first frame, by a score of 77-0.

It should have moved to 3-1 in Hendry's favour but he amazingly failed to take advantage of five successive fouls from White, before a break of 39 saw The Whirwind steal the frame and make it 2-2.

This match had seen a remarkable turnaround as White claimed his third frame in a row to earn at least a point when he looked to be heading towards a defeat.

White should have sealed the victory and both points but missed a shot at the blue when he led by 15 points to gift Hendry the final frame as the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

"It was a miracle I even got to three," said a disappointed White who will hope to play better next week at Plymouth against veteran Steve Davis.