Legends visit Matchroom
WORLD snooker stars Jimmy White and Cliff Thorburn have visited Llanelli as part of their U.K. Legends tour.
The 'Whirlwind' and the 'Grinder' took part in a special exhibition match at the Terry Griffiths Matchroom.
They arrived in the town last week fresh from a special challenge with Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins at the Crucible in Sheffield.
Competition winners and club members lined up for the chance to out-pot the snooker stars.
The event, which was a sell out, has been hailed a great success.
Thorburn, who was the only overseas player ever to have won the modern world championships until Neil Robertson managed the feat only last month, cued up for the first four frames against 6 times world finalist and people's champion Jimmy White. White looked by far the sharper of the two and came out a convincing winner in this mini session.
After the interval, both players took turns to line up against some local talent.
First up was Rhydian Stringer and he took Cliff Thorburn very close in a scrappy affair. Next to try his luck was Matchroom team player Mark Hughes. Jimmy White was too hot to handle though and fell just short of a century break.
Other members to try their luck against the Legends without a success were Matchroom Club Captain, John Pellew and John Banks. The only local success on the night came from 11 year old Tyler Rees. He paired up with Jimmy White to secure a comfortable victory over Cliff Thorburn and his partner Wayne John.
Jimmy said: "This is my fourth visit to Terry's Matchroom club and it is always a pleasure to return to such an excellent snooker facility.
"The Matchroom is known throughout the U.K. and the rest of the world as a first class snooker venue and the members gave myself and Cliff a great Welsh welcome."
Cliff Thorburn was also impressed with his visit to the famous Terry Griffiths Matchroom.
"I had many epic battles with Terry on the table, so it was nice to be able to sit down and share some memories in a relaxed atmosphere.
"I was fascinated to see what Terry and Wayne had achieved with their Academy set up and the launch of their new interactive coaching website and I only wish Canada had such a facility to boast of.
"My form unfortunately was not the best on the night, but I'd like to think that my dry Canadian wit helped to add something to a great evening of snooker" he said.
Matchroom owner Terry Griffiths said he was delighted to welcome both players to the Matchroom.
He said: "I never tire of seeing the greatest names in snooker visiting my home town and my club and Jimmy and Cliff, while very different in style, were the two of the greatest players from my era.
"All members and guests seemed to enjoy the night and we hope to start up regular professional visits over the coming year".
Jimmy White and Cliff Thorburn are the latest big name to play at the Matchroom in recent years.
Some of the game's biggest stars including Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Mark Williams, Stephen Hendry, Matthew Stevens and Willie Thorne have all taken part in exhibition nights at the Matchroom.
