PITY Alan Hughes, snooker’s long-established master of ceremonies. On Monday, he will ask the traditionally boisterous crowd at Wembley Conference Centre to welcome a certain Jimmy Brown into the arena. A cocktail of cheers, derision and laughter will surely follow.

Out will walk a 42-year-old who has been an ever-present at the Masters since 1981 and was champion in 1984. It will be a left-handed player with a face familiar to millions but an altered identity. Jimmy Brown will, in fact, be the potter formerly known as Jimmy White, who has changed his name by deed poll for the duration of the tournament.

With the full backing of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the sport’s governing body, White has officially become James Brown because of a deal with HP Sauce, which has also become the sponsor of the brown ball at the Masters and other events this season.

As part of the partnership, he will replace his usual black tuxedo and shirt with an all-brown outfit, topped off with a light blue bow-tie. The idea is for him to resemble a bottle of the sponsor’s product. “I think it’s up to the players to help liven up the game’s image and raise its profile and I feel good to do my bit,” White said.

No details of the financial arrangement have been released, although White — sorry, Brown — has confirmed that, should he remain unshaken, bring home the bacon and have the rest of the field for breakfast, “Jimmy Brown” will be engraved on the trophy and his new surname retained until the Embassy World Championship in April.

It will not be the first time that White has been introduced at Wembley by another name. Norman de Mesquita, as MC, once asked the audience to welcome Jimmy Young.

“We are in discussions with World Snooker to ensure that nothing contravenes BBC editorial and sponsorship guidelines,” a spokesperson for the BBC, which will broadcast the event from Sunday, said.