BBC Sport pundit Ken Doherty has picked out who he thinks is the best player to never win the World Snooker Championship.
Winning the World Championship trophy is the pinnacle for any snooker player who is fortunate enough to win the title – but many never get the chance.
Doherty has etched his name onto the famous piece of silverware. He won the crown in 1997 by beating Stephen Hendry in the final.
He actually reached the final 12 months later but lost out to John Higgins, whilst he lost to Mark Williams in the 2003 final.
Now, Doherty has been discussing who he thinks the greatest player is to ever play the game without getting their hands on a world crown.
Ken Doherty picks best player to never win World Snooker Championship
Well, there are a few contenders for this title – and it’s not really one that anyone would like to lay claim to.
Nobody wants to go through their career as being a top player without being champion of the world – but that is the harsh reality for some.
For Jimmy White, the world crown has been within his grasp on six occasions but ultimately he never managed to get himself over the line.
Doherty has picked out his fellow snooker pundit as the best player to never win the title when quizzed earlier today.
He told BBC Sport: “It will have to be Jimmy White. He was one of my heroes and he’s one of my friends now.
“To watch him lost six finals was devastating. He came so close but just came up against Steve Davis, John Parrott and four-time winner Stephen Hendry, who were so hard to beat the Crucible.
“Jimmy was a bit unlucky, he had his chance and six finals is hard to take, but like a man and the person he is he took it on the chin and is still going.”
Jimmy will be gutted that he won’t claim World Snooker Championship
It’s a real sickener that someone as talented and as gifted as White will never earn the title of world champion.
White just caught players in the form of their lives and that meant that he was unable to get over the line in any of the six finals he contested.
At 61-years-old, White is still playing on the World Snooker Tour and he once again tried to qualify for the Crucible this year.
He lost out in qualifying to Liu Hongyu who beat one of the best left-handed players of all time 10-3.
| Year | Opponent | Score |
| 1984 | Steve Davis | 18-16 |
| 1990 | Stephen Hendry | 18-12 |
| 1991 | John Parrott | 18-11 |
| 1992 | Stephen Hendry | 18-14 |
| 1993 | Stephen Hendry | 18-5 |
| 1994 | Stephen Hendry | 18-17 |
White will know that his chances of claiming the title are long gone now and he’s not actually qualified for the World Snooker Championship since 2006.
On that occasion, he lost in the first round to David Gray who beat him 10-5 – and it was perhaps at that point that he knew the dream wouldn’t become a reality.
It won’t be any consolation that Doherty has named White as the greatest to never be a world champion.
However, White can look back on a decent career that saw him win 10 ranking titles and the other two majors; the UK Championship and the Masters.