How Jimmy White could end golden career ahead of fellow 1980s great Steve Davis - 'He was the hardest player to beat'
Updated 18/06/2026 at 12:22 GMT+1
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Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White has often described six-time world champion Steve Davis as the "hardest" player he came across in his golden 46-year snooker career when both men were at the peak of their powers during the 1980s.
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While 'People's Champion' White finished runner-up six times in the world final between 1984 and 1994, Davis cemented his legacy in the sport by lifting the sport's biggest prize six times between 1981 and 1989.
This included an 18-16 win over White in the 1984 final, which saw the Tooting icon recover from 12-4 behind to trail 17-16 only for Davis to finalise his third Crucible crown by winning the penultimate frame.
White also lost four finals to Stephen Hendry and once to John Parrott in Sheffield, but felt trying to compete with peak Davis was akin to "going to war" on the table.
"Anybody playing in the 80s, Steve Davis was the hardest player I have ever played against," White told TNT Sports. "He had such a great cue action, such great temperament and his scoring ability, he was so consistent, made so few mistakes.
"I had a style similar to [Alex] Higgins, probably even more attacking then Higgins, I went for my shots, so then the newspapers set up this new rivalry, because Steve Davis kept on winning.
"I quite liked it, me and Steve Davis, I was sort of wasting me time partying and he was practising, so I never had any problems with Steve Davis.
"But you knew, if you were playing Steve Davis, you were going to be in a war. I had a rivalry with him that lasted for five or six years, and I think it was quite healthy for the game."
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Despite coming off second best to Davis in the 1980s golden days, the former UK and Masters winner could end his career with more centuries than his old rival, who retired a decade ago.
White has opened the season with two century breaks to move within nine of Davis, who ended up on 338 career tons and occupies 25th spot on the all-time list.
'The Whirlwind' is on 329, one spot behind Davis, but has more tournaments to chase down the total after losing at the qualifying stages of the China Open and Wuhan Open in Leicester.
Whether or not White compiles more centuries than Davis, he feels the Romford great should be rated the third greatest of all time, behind only Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry.
”Steve Davis, six-time world champion,” said White. ”For me, the hardest player in my career to beat. Fantastic player, fantastic long potter, fantastic temperament, great under pressure.
”I will put Steve Davis high up, as he is one of the greatest of all time.”
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