Jimmy White's hopes of ending his 16-year wait for a return to the World Championship went up in smoke as he was beaten 6-2 by Andrew Pagett on the first day of qualifying.
Pagett took a tight opening frame with a break of 52, but 76 from White in the second dragged him right back into the contest.
However, that was as good as it got for the 59-year-old six-time Crucible runner-up, who last appeared on the big stage in 2006.
Pagett compiled breaks of 59, 95 and 55 on his way to a commanding 5-1 lead and although the Whirlwind stopped the rot in the seventh frame, back-to-back half-centuries could not rescue him as the Welshman edged his way across the finishing line.
