White and Fu awarded invitational tour cards

Six-time World Championship finalist Jimmy White and three-time ranking event winner Marco Fu have been awarded invitational tour cards to play on the World Snooker Tour for the next two seasons.

Englishman White, 62, and Hong Kong's Fu, 47, were involved in qualifying for this year's World Championship but failed to reach the main draw in Sheffield.

One of the most popular players in snooker's history, White won the 1984 Masters and the 1992 UK Championship but never lifted the sport's biggest prize.

He was a runner-up in six Crucible finals in the space of 11 years, including five in a row between 1990 and 1994.

Fu has reached finals at both the Masters and the UK Championship, while he twice got to the last four of the World Championship.

In a joint statement, World Snooker Tour chairman Steve Dawson and WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: "Jimmy and Marco have both been incredible ambassadors for snooker and they both continue to bring so much to our sport.

"They both remain very competitive as players. Marco only just missed out on a top 64 ranking this season and Jimmy enjoyed some fine wins, notably beating Jackson Page and Hossein Vafaei at the Northern Ireland Open.

"They both have a huge passion for snooker and many millions of fans worldwide."