BILLY Castle could hardly have picked a bigger scalp for his first victory on the professional snooker circuit.

The 25-year-old from Marchwood had lost his first three qualifying matches before edging six-time World Championship finalist Jimmy White 4-3 in the European Masters.

It means he travels to Lommel, Belgium, in October, to face world number 17 Martin Gould in the last-64. The loser of that match pockets £2,000 prize money.

“I’m really happy to get my first win as a pro, especially against Jimmy White,” said Castle.

“He’s a legend. He’s a house-hold name. To get my first win against him is even more satisfying.

“I felt like I outplayed him in every department.”

Southampton’s former Town Champion revealed he was up against a partisan crowd at Preston Guild Hall.

Castle, who needed a snooker to square the match at 2-2, added: “They all love Jimmy White. He’s got a big fan base.

“After every shot, they were clapping and saying ‘come on Jimmy’.

“It wasn’t just playing him, it was playing the crowd as well.”

Two days previously, the former Chandlers Ford Snooker Club junior was beaten 4-1 by Daniel Wells in the qualifying round of the Indian Open and amassed only 15 points in the four frames he lost.

“I didn’t do a lot wrong,” he said. “I felt as if I was cueing good even though I didn’t get a lot of chances.

“I was thinking, am I ever going to win a match. The longer it takes, the harder it gets.”

And he rounded off a busy week of qualifying with a 5-1 defeat by world number 24 Michael Holt in the World Open, despite pulling the fifth frame back with a 95 break.