Jimmy White avoided a bad start to his UK Championship campaign with a revenge victory over Jon Birch in Bournemouth last night. White won 9-3 to make amends for his defeat in the final qualifying round of the China International by the kitchen salesman from Middlesbrough earlier this season.

White finished the first session 62 up and only required 51 minutes last night to get the final three frames needed to set up a meeting with Peter Ebdon or Paul Davies tomorrow. White then confirmed that reports of his father's death in Pot Black, the snooker magazine recently bought by the game's governing body, had been greatly exaggerated. Writing in his ghosted column, John Parrott said: "You rarely saw Tom (White), sadly departed now, without a copy of the Sporting Life in his pocket."

"He wasn't best pleased, but John phoned him to apologise," said White, who was joined in the last 32 by Welshman Mark Williams and Ulster left-hander Terry Murphy.

World number five Williams defeated Jimmy Michie 9-3 and Murphy put out former world number three Neal Foulds by the same score.