JUST NOW: World Snooker Title qualifiers: 2024 draw.
The Whirlwind, six times a runner-up in the sport’s blue-riband tournament, hasn’t made an appearance at the Crucible Theatre since 2006.
White enters the preliminary tournament at the English Institute of Sport at the first hurdle.
That means four victories will be required if the 61 year-old is to thrill his legion of supporters and reach the venue stages again.
For Gould, the Pinner Potter has had a tough season in which he has pulled out of a lot of events, meaning the former German Masters champion’s tour survival is in jeopardy.
Elsewhere, newly crowned women’s world champion Bai Yulu faces Jenson Kendrick and three-time ranking event winner Marco Fu entertains Baipat Siripaporn.
In what promises to be his last World Championship before retirement, affable Irishman Fergal O’Brien’s initial tie is against Mostafa Dorgham.
O’Brien’s fellow Dubliner, 1997 world champion Ken Doherty, enters in the second qualifying round and could face Hong Kong’s Fu.
