I’m a world snooker champion – I once had a GUN drawn on me at a match and was forced to lose

SNOOKER icon Cliff Thorburn had a gun drawn on him during a match in the United States and was told to lose or he’d be robbed.

The 75-year-old former world champion only retired from the game in 2022 after competing in the Seniors tournaments.

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Cliff Thorburn has revealed he had a gun drawn on him during a game[/caption]

Known as “The Grinder” for his slow, never-say-die style of play, Thorburn won the 1980 World Championship and was the top-ranked player in the world in 1981 and 1982.

But the Canadian’s story of how he got to the top during his glittering career was certainly not a boring one.

During one of his matches in Oakland Thorburn said he was almost robbed at gun-point.

He said: “There were certainly some moments.

“I played at a place once in Oakland where I was winning and the backer of the other guy opened up his jacket and showed a gun.

“He said, ‘Ain’t nobody leaves here with my player’s money’.

“My friends told me to lose all the money we had won, which I wasn’t happy about.

“But eventually I saw we had to lose at least some of it – or get robbed.

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“I didn’t play down in the States much after that. In one place two guys were smashing cues over each other’s backs then started throwing the balls at each other.

“Everyone hit the floor and ducked behind tables.

“After winning money against a guy called Cornbread Red in Detroit, backed by a nasty piece of work, we had to be escorted to our car.”

Thornburn began playing when he left school at 16 while travelling around Canada.

He would earn money from any job and enter snooker tournaments.

And his life was pretty much rock n’ roll from there.

He faced rival Alex Higgins in the 1983 Irish Open – just three years after beating the Northern Irish star to secure a World Championship victory.

The pair clashed as Thorburn punched Higgins before the star retaliated and kicked him back, saying, “You’re a Canadian c*** who is s*** at snooker,”

In the late 80’s Thorburn was found with traces of cocaine in his urine sample, leading him to being banned from tournaments for two years, fined £10,000 and deducted world ranking points.

The last World Championship he qualified for was in 1994 but he was beaten by Nigel Bond in the first round.

He ended his professional career shortly after in 1996 after accumulating over £1million in prize money.

He remained in the game until 2022, competing in senior competitions, with his last win in the 2018 Seniors Masters at the Crucible.