NEWPORT'S Ian Preece will be missing from his home tournament next month after falling at the final fence in qualification for the Welsh Open.

And one of the game's most colourful characters will not be around Newport Centre either as Whirlwind' Jimmy White also crashed out of the tournament before reaching the venue stages.

Preece, 25 from St Julian's, managed to reach the Welsh Open televised stages last year before going out to Leicester's Mark Selby by 5-0.

That was the win which inspired Selby onto greater glory, culminating in him reaching the 888.com World Championships final against eventually winner John Higgins.

Last night in Prestatyn, Preece only managed to win one frame of his match with Derbyshire's Dave Gilbert to bow out with a 5-1 scoreline.

It added to a miserable start to the season which saw him go out early in China Open qualification on January 23, and lose his fourth round match at the World Championships preliminaries to Telford's Adrian Gunnell by 10-9 when 7-1 ahead.

Meanwhile, White went the same way as the Gwent left-hander as last year's surprise Welsh Open runner-up, Andrew Higginson, got to the final stages again.

Higginson lost a thrilling final 12 months ago to Australian Neil Robertson by 9-8 after starting the tournament as a 500-1 outsider but had the consolation of hitting a 147 maximum against Ali Carter in a 5-1 quarter-final victory.

Now the man from Widnes is back, having sunk White comprehensively by 5-2. But former world champion John Parrott was wiping his brow after making it through to Newport Centre by the skin of his teeth following a dramatic final frame against Cleveland's Mike Dunn which went down to literally the final roll of the last black.

Parrott, who took the world title in 1991, was level at 4-4 but hit a 55 break to hold a healthy lead. Dunn, though, was on his way to a match-winning clearance when he got to the last black and missed.

Liverpudlian Parrott played the black but also missed the pot. However, he watched the ball roll towards and then into a middle pocket for one of the most bizarre and timely flukes ever: "I totally mis-hit it but, when the ball came off the two cushions, it looked online, and once it got past the pink spot, I knew it was in."