It's 11 years since Jimmy White captured a world ranking tournament - in which time Ronnie O'Sullivan has won almost everything there is to win in snooker.
But while O'Sullivan again talked last night of taking an extended break from the sport, White has no intention of quitting a game that has dealt him many cruel blows.
The duo do have one thing in common though - a place in the quarter-finals of the £615,000 Travis Perkins UK Championship.
And with Stephen Hendry coming from 6-4 and 8-6 down to beat his bogeyman Ali Carter 9-8, it's a tasty last-eight line-up at York's Barbican Centre.
Carter's performance against the seven-times world champion showed again how the gap has narrowed between the so-called top players and supposedly lesser lights.
Last night O'Sullivan suggested he might seek special dispensation from the game's governing body to protect his elevated world ranking should he take time out from snooker in the New Year.
"There's a lot of pain and anger going on in my life that I'm trying to deal with but I'm really struggling," he said.
"A lot of it has to do with my dad; a lot of it has to do with my mum. I feel I am carrying it about like a rucksack and it's weighing me down.
"The reason why Mark Williams has done so well is because he is a great player but also he's mentally tough.
"That's why Stephen Hendry has been a success over the years. I'd like to come back to snooker when I have sorted this all out.
"If the Board don't want to do a deal then I've got a bigger decision to make."
For White, however, retirement isn't an option. The 41-year-old meets 37-year-old Nigel Bond for a place in the semi-finals today.
"It's hard to walk away from the game," he said after beating Irishman Fergal O'Brien 9-7 last night.
"I love this game and I love competing. If I didn't think I could play well and win I wouldn't do it. But I do."
Today's other quarter-final features good mates Paul Hunter and Matthew Stevens. The Welshman, who is set to become a dad for the first time next month, has even been staying with Hunter and his girlfriend during the tournament.