- Bill Werbeniuk
Infobox Snooker player
Name = Bill Werbeniuk
Caption =
Born = birth date|1947|1|14|mf=y
Birthplace =
Died = death date and age|2003|1|20|1947|1|14|mf=y
Deathplace =
Nationality = flagicon|Canada Canadian
Nickname = Big Bill
Professional = 1973–1990
High ranking = #8 (1983/84)
Prize money =
High break = 147
Best finish = "Quarter final": World Championship (4 times)William Alexander `Bill` Werbeniuk (
January 14 ,1947 -January 20 ,2003 ) was a Canadian professionalsnooker player. Instantly recognised for his girth, he was known as "Big Bill".Werbeniuk was noted for the copious amounts of
alcohol he consumed before and during matches. He said that he generally drank around six pints oflager before a match and then one pint for each frame. He said he did this to counteract familial benignessential tremor . Later in his career he also tookpropranolol , abeta blocker ; some sources claim he took it for the tremor, while others say he took it to cope with the effects of his enormous alcohol consumption on his heart.A memorable incident occurred during a televised World Championship Match against David Taylor at the Crucible. Werbeniuk attempted to stretch across the table, but due to his size was having some difficulty. Eventually, the inevitable happened and he split his trousers. The ripping noise it made caused many in the audience, including opponent David Taylor, to laugh out loud. Bill took it in good humour, asking the audience "who did that?" as if insinuating that the noise was attributed to flatulence.
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