Snooker legend Jimmy White bizarrely walked out of the arena midway through his match at the 2024 Northern Ireland Open.

White faced Martin O’Donnell for a place in the last 16 but despite a closely fought contest, White decided he had enough midway through one frame.

GettyJimmy White became embroiled in a bizarre incident during his match against Martin O’Donnell[/caption]

Both O’Donnell and the referee were left confused by his actions in the fifth frame, with the score at 2-2 in a race to four.

White missed his shot on red which was left hanging over the bottom-left corner, handing O’Donnell the initiative and the chance to move ahead in the match.

The 62-year-old’s error was pounced upon by O’Donnell who moved to 44 points ahead with 43 still on the table.

A visibly frustrated White then made his way out of the arena, preferring not to finish the frame.

After a brief moment of confusion, the referee was left with little alternative but to award the fifth frame to O’Donnell, before White made his grand return for the sixth frame.

O’Donnell continued his momentum and went on to win the final frame to take the victory.

After the match, O’Donnell opted not to speak about the incident and instead heaped praise on the evergreen snooker legend.

“Any win against Jimmy is a good win, he’s such a legend of the game and an inspiration for a lot of players,” O’Donnell told Eurosport.

“To still be doing what he’s doing at his age and still enjoying practising and competing, it’s very inspirational.”

White seemingly offered no explanation before walking out mid-frameEurosport

His opponent and the referee were momentarily confused before assuming the frame had been concededEurosport

O’Donnell takes on world No. 27 Pang Junxu in the last 16 on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, White revealed that his place in snooker’s biggest events is safe thanks to Barry Hearn.

Hearn, who is the former chairman of the World Snooker Tour, has vowed to keep White in the mix in the event he falls down the rankings.

“I got mine on merit the last couple of years,” White said on keeping hold of his tour card.

“Barry Hearn did say to me, what I’ve done for the game, as long as I keep playing in all of the events then I’ll keep getting the wildcard.

“I enjoy practising, enjoy doing exhibitions, enjoy entertaining.

“I still make 147s and now and again I have a little buzz where I can beat anybody.

“It’s not as consistent as it was, but I think that will come with a few wins.”