24th September

Jimmy White, the oldest player on the World Snooker Tour, produced one of the stories of the season so far, beating old rival Matthew Stevens 6-5 in a match with a combined age of 113 to qualify for the International Championship in Nanjing. White established a 5-2 lead with the help of a break of 104, only for Stevens to respond with runs of 121 and 72 to force a decider, which "the Whirlwind" held his nerve to win.

White wasn't finished there. Just days later he reeled off back-to-back wins at the Scottish Open qualifiers, including a superb comeback victory over Leone Crowley, to move within one match of a first appearance at the Edinburgh venue stages in three years. It's the ten-time ranking event winner's third win of the campaign and third century break of the season.

Mark Allen has withdrawn from the upcoming Shenzhen Open, extending his absence from competitive snooker to eight consecutive events. The Northern Irishman hasn't played since his dramatic World Championship semi-final defeat to Wu Yize back in May, having since pulled out of the Championship League, Shanghai Masters, China Open, Wuhan Open, British Open, English Open, and now Shenzhen, each time citing personal reasons.

The World Snooker Tour has confirmed it remains in contact with the 40-year-old, and WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson has spoken publicly about the situation this week. Allen's next scheduled opportunity to return is the Northern Ireland Open in mid-October, a tournament he has won twice before.