Former world champion Stuart Bingham says he wants to make up for lost time ahead of his return to the snooker spotlight following a three-month ban from the sport.

Stuart Bingham. Picture by Monique Limbos

Bingham will take on snooker legend Jimmy White tonight (Sunday) in the China Open qualifiers – his first match back after being banned for betting on snooker matches including some of his own.

The 2015 world champion has not played a competitive match since the middle of October when he played in the English Open. His six month ban, which three months were suspended, has seen him miss many big tournaments in the process including the International Championship, Shanghai Masters, UK Championship and the Masters to name just a few.

And in a news article posted on his new website, Bingham said he was eager to get back to winning ways and earning big prize money once again for the remainder of the season.

“What I did was stupid but it was my own fault and I now have to move forward,” he said.

“Now all I can do is get back on the table and work hard to rebuild.

“I think I have always been in the top 15 percent of players who work hard on the tour so now I need to stay mentally strong and get back to going deep into as many tournaments as I can.”

Bingham, who is now the world number 12, takes on six-times World Championship finalist White at 7.30pm at the Barnsley Metrodome.

He added: “He (White) is someone I have always looked up to but my focus needs to be on me because the biggest battle will be how I play after my time out.”

Saturday night saw world number 3 Judd Trump suffer a shock defeat in the China Open qualifiers – losing 6-5 to Jak Jones.