Former Canadian snooker star Bill Werbeniuk has died of heart failure at the age of 56. Along with Cliff Thorburn and Kirk Stevens, 'Big Bill' as he was often known formed a powerful trio of Canadian players who challenged for every tournament in the early 1980s.
Werbeniuk, who was 56 last week, was famous for consuming huge quantities of lager during his matches and claimed smoking and drinking helped steady his nerves at the table.
The vast amounts of lager he consumed were not just for pleasure – Werbeniuk claimed he suffered from a rare disease which caused his hand to shake and lager seemed to be the only way of controlling it.
Werbeniuk, who topped 20stone, turned professional in 1973, won the North American and Canadian championships in his first season. In 1979 he reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship and the semis of the UK event, moving to England and setting up home in a converted bus in which he travelled from tournament to tournament.
He was in the top 16 in the very first ranking list and over the following eight seasons only once dropped out of that elite group. His best position was eighth for the 1984-85 season.
His best achievements on the green baize came in the 1980s. In 1982 he helped Canada win the World Team Cup and his first major final came two years later in the 1984 Lada Classic - when Steve Davis beat him.
Werbeniuk quit the circuit in 1989 having already received fines from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association for taking a banned substance.
Filed by Johnny Proby
