Jimmy White suffers Masters defeat to Mark King

The 'Whirlwind' was given a wildcard for the event but failed to fire despite backing from a crowd which included Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.

World number 16 King potted solidly against the former champion with breaks of 56, 64 and 85 and will face Stephen Maguire in the second round on Monday.

Earlier, there were victories for Mark Selby and Peter Ebdon.

Players at Wembley Arena are now accompanied by music as they enter the auditorium, as part of new World Snooker boss Barry Hearn's attempts to revitalise the sport with White using the Dire Straits classic Money for Nothing.

But the six-time world championship runner-up was soon in dire straits himself, as he struggled to keep control of the cue ball, looking a shadow of the player who became such a favourite with the London crowd.

He handed the first frame to King with numerous errors but was on course to level at 1-1 until he overran position on the final black, but King gave him another chance which he took to the relief of the crowd.

King took the next with a break of 64 before going into the break 3-1 ahead and although White clawed one back after the interval with a run of 48, from there on it was all King.

He claimed the next three frames, the highlight a break of 85 in frame seven, with White unable to find fluency among the balls.

White, was given an entry following some decent displays on the baize and his exploits on reality television show I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!

He was supported by jungle contestants Gino D'Acampo, Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister.

But the 47-year-old, who won the Masters in 1984, was candid when assessing how he performed.

"It was woeful. It was sickening to play like that," White told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It's not like I didn't have any chances - I had loads of chances, I had chances every game.

"But it was a great atmosphere, I think Barry Hearn will do great for the game.

"It's just a bit frustrating to play like that with the way I'm playing in practice."