11 months ago
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JIMMY White has revealed it’s a “miracle” he won any titles because he was “stoned for 20 years”.
The 61-year-old snooker legend previously told how he would have “drink after drink and line after line” on benders.
PA:Press Association
Chris Eades - The SunHe also struggled with an addiction to crack when he was a young star and explained how he “drained” his bank account during his struggles.
Jimmy’s hell-raising years with pal and fellow snooker legend Alex “Hurricane” Higgins formed a key part of Gods Of Snooker, producer Louis Theroux‘s retelling of the game’s 1980s glory days.
It relives how stars such as Jimmy helped take the sport from working men’s clubs to box-office gold, giving them rock’n’roll lifestyles complete with the sex and drugs.
But fame took a dark turn as Jimmy became hooked on booze and cocaine while partying with Higgins, who died in 2010, and fellow wildman, snooker pro Kirk Stevens.
Jimmy, who reached six World Championship finals but lost them all, told of the 1980s crack-cocaine binges he hid from long-suffering wife Maureen, whom he split from 20 years ago.
He made sure he only took the class-A drug between tournaments so he did not get caught by drug testers.
He said in Theroux’s documentary: “Cocaine was absolutely everywhere.
“It was like the devil’s dandruff, but crack – it’s evil. I tried smoking it and got completely addicted.
“I remember I had £35,000 in an account and I drained that on crack.”
He has now revealed that he has “unfinished business” in the game.
“I’m only just starting! What you’ve got to remember is that I was stoned for 20 years,” he told Metro.co.uk.
“To win the titles what I did, and to get to all those finals, it’s a miracle!
“I’ve still got unfinished business with the game. I can still play.”
White was a formidable snooker player at his peak and claimed the Masters in 1984 and the UK Championship in 1992.
He has struggled to emulate that same success in recent years.
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