White enjoyed something of a revival in form during the 2008/09 season, qualifying for three venues and rising nine places up the rankings to No 56.
He started his qualifying campaign in style winning his first eight matches at Prestatyn, including a 5-1 defeat of former World Champion Ken Doherty en route to the venue stage of the Roewe Shanghas Masters.
That fine run was finally halted in the third qualifying round of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix by Michael Holt.
White beat Doherty later in the season, this time 5-0, en route to qualifying for the Welsh Open.
His appearance at the opening event, the Northern Ireland Trophy, was his first match at the televised stages of a ranking event for seventeen months.
The low point came with a 10-8 reverse to Andy Hicks in the qualifiers for the Crucible.
However, White has regained his enthusiasm for practice, with close friend Tony Drago back on the Tour to give him a regular sparring partner.
The Londoner’s last major success came at the 2004 Daily Record Players Championship at the SECC in Glasgow.
To the delight of his millions of supporters around the world, White overturned Paul Hunter 9-7 to score his first ranking event title in 12 years. "I had to keep believing that I had it in my heart to win," he said. "It hasn’t sunk in yet because I’m used to getting beaten in finals!" he said.
White also reached the semi-finals of the Travis Perkins UK Championship and the Masters that season as well as the final of the European Open.
Father-of-five White has been a runner-up at the Crucible six times, including a heart-breaking 18-17 defeat to Stephen Hendry in his last appearance in the final in 1994.
Hendry, in fact, has beaten him four times in the final and came from 14-8 behind to triumph 18-14 in 1992. Steve Davis (1984) and John Parrott (1991) are the other two players to have denied White the crowning glory at Sheffield.
But his career boasts many highlights, including victory in the 1984 Masters and the 1992 UK Championship as well as a 147 break at the Crucible in 1992.
One of the most popular figures in the history of British Sport, White has brought joy to millions with his attacking brand of snooker and capacity to play astonishing shots using screw and side spin.
The Chelsea fan is confident that after their FA Cup success they can wrestle the Premier League title away from holders Manchester United. He is a close friend of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.