Snooker legend Jimmy White has opened up about his past love of drugs, admitting it could have killed him if he had beaten Alex Higgins to win the 1982 World Championship.
White, 56, has had a turbulent life, which has seen him overcome cancer, an addiction to crack and a gambling habit that cost him over a million pounds.
The fan favourite, known as the Whirlwind for his all-action playing style, has also had the heartache of losing six World Championship finals.
But White, who failed to qualify for this year’s event at Sheffield’s Crucible theatre, admitted winning the big one would have been fatal.
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He said: “I would’ve died if I’d beaten Higgins and won the World Championship in 1982, because I’d just found cocaine and I liked to drink.
"I always liked cocaine – whether drunk or sober. It was no one’s fault but my own.
“I’d just become famous, because we only had four channels in them days and, instead of queuing round the block to get into a West End nightclub, I was getting the treatment. I had such fun, even though I can’t remember much.”
The ever-popular South Londoner, said that his years of cocaine use led to him spiralling into crack addiction.
He told the Guardian: “I’d knock about with Kirk Stevens [the Canadian former snooker pro] and he’d be on crack.
“One day I tried it. It’s the most addictive thing ever. So I became hooked on crack for a few months. It’s like being an alcoholic.
“The first hit is the best – like your first drink. When you’re smoking crack it’s pure but you never hold on to that first hit.”
White, who managed to win 10 ranking tournaments despite his years of hell-raising, is now drug-free and does his best to steer clear of drug users.
He added: “I would be a great cocaine policeman. I can spot people on it from miles away.
“So I stayed away from them because I sh*t myself. I’d let a lot of people down.”
Now a grandad, White is dating glamorous Jade Slusarczyk, 32, who used to be a walk-on girl at darts tournaments – and he is strictly teetotal.
He said: “I don’t drink. Don’t smoke. If we have a bottle of wine I want to start dancing in the restaurant.
“I’ve got five grandkids. And I’ve got Jade. I keep her away from Specsavers.”
