Ronnie O'Sullivan lived up to his pre-match billing as the greatest natural talent in the game at Echo Newspapers' Snooker Classic '99 at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre.

A 1000-plus audience at the event, jointly presented by Embassy Classic Snooker, saw "Rocket" Ronnie show glimpses of the form which thrilled millions of TV viewers at the World Championship to successfully launch a winning performance against "Whirlwind" White.

White's record of having got to the final of six world championships and lost every one has endeared him to the British sporting public and the sport will be the loser if he sticks to his plan to retire at the age of 40 in three years' time.

O'Sullivan is very much snooker's man of the moment. In his Crucible semi-final with Stephen Hendry, the 23-year-old produced levels of snooker rarely before seen in the game...or likely to be in the future.

The fact that the super Scot went on to beat him and eventually earn a record seventh crown seems largely forgotten by many now as lovers of the game back Ronnie to eventually top the world for many years.

It would be wrong to suggest that the two players produced faultless snooker packed with giant breaks on this occasion, but they did enough to give large majorities of those present, who had previously only seen their heroes on the small screen, a taste of wanting to catch more live action.

White, struggling for form recently since his first round world championship demise, took the first frame 65-34 thanks to a fluked yellow and was off to a flier with an opening break of 40 in the second.

However, O'Sullivan responded with 41 and eventually won it 82-66, pocketing a final pink and black with a nonchalance mere mortals would normally reserve for shelling peas.

O'Sullivan opened with a 33 in the third, but London favourite White responded well. On a break of 39 and leading 61-40, he fouled on the white when about to despatch an easy black and could have been made to pay dearly.

However, he eventually won 72-56 to give half a suggestion that he might be about to knock Essex man Ronnie out of his stride - a notion which O'Sullivan quickly dispelled from our minds with a break of 81 to take the fourth frame and make it 2-2 at the interval.

The Rocket was smouldering if not fizzing now and put together a rapid 61 to take the fifth 74-1, but White is nothing if not a battler and himself kept it nip and tuck by taking the sixth 77-1, thanks to a 61 break.

That, however, was to be White's last taste of success. Coming back from a 30-0 deficit, O'Sullivan put together a majestic 76 break to take the seventh frame 76-30.

Then a 55 effort saw him to certain victory at 5-3 after eight 71-24. The ninth frame, "dead" as far as the match result was concerned, appeared to be Jimmy's when a break of 43 saw him 56-34 ahead.

However, O'Sullivan proceeded to collect the last 25 points on the table and sneak this one 59-58 to make it 6-3 overall.

Said O'Sullivan: "Sure everyone wants to keep talking about that semi-final with Hendry - particularly that Saturday morning session.

"I've been playing some useful snooker since then and it's always nice to be in a match with Jimmy. He's done such a tremendous amount for the game for a long time now."

White himself was full of praise for his opponent. "Ronnie is a tremendous talent and all of us in the game feel sure he's a world champ of the future."

Frame scores (O'Sullivan first): 34-65; 82-66; 56-72; 81-1; 74-1; 1-77; 76-30; 71-24; 59-58.

Talent unlimited - rising star Ronnie O'Sullivan, rated by many as the most naturally gifted snooker player ever, shows the form that upstaged one of the game's enduring heroes, Jimmy White, at the Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre

(Right) Cool experience - Junior Echo winner Michael Frost gets a prize from John Virgo

Pictures: STEVE O'CONNELL 'A wonderul sight'

The man responsible for bringing three snooker superstars to Southend surveyed the scene a good half-hour after the on-table action had finished and pronounced: "That's a wonderful sight."

Ken Upperton, boss of the Ku Media outfit who presented Echo Newspapers' Snooker Classic '99, was watching as huge queues formed to meet their green baize heroes.

The lines of bodies stretching round a huge hall at the Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre was so orderly they could have been waiting to pay homage at the lying in state of a world leader.

Instead, they were armed with their special Echo snooker supplements, books, tee-shirts and scraps of paper to collect the autographs, and hopefully snatch a picture for the family album, with the three men who had entertained them so well.

Age, not sex, was no barrier to being a self-confessed snooker addict on the night as grannies queued with Ronnie O'Sullivan wannabies and Dads chatted with offspring too young to hold, let alone perform with, a cue.

Said Upperton: "For the fans this is just as important a part of the night as the snooker action itself. When every person in that queue gets up to the table and meets the players and collects their signatures, and takes their photographs, it's a special moment in their lives.

"Providing everything is done in an orderly and courteous manner, the players will always go along with it. Sure we do have nights when the crowd get a bit aggressive, have had a few drinks too many, and then it's a case of signing a few autographs and getting away.

"However, that's certainly not the case tonight. The people here at Southend have been tremendous and we'd love to come back to this area in the future if the chance presents itself.

"That's the great thing about nights such as these. A good majority of the people who came out tonight have only previously seen their snooker heroes on TV and it's always been our aim to offer live action in areas that don't get it on the normal tournament circuit.

"It wasn't easy for the players tonight. The humid and damp conditions meant that the balls were a little damp and that doesn't make for big-break building. However, Jimmy, Ronnie and John have provided tremendous entertainment and these people have really appreciated it. I'm delighted."

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