´óÏó´«Ã½

By the mid-80s, snooker was the biggest sport in the country, but two distinct camps had emerged amongst the players. On one side were Barry Hearn’s ‘Matchroom Mob’, including Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis: clean-living, utterly professional and family friendly. In sharp contrast was a group that included Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Kirk Stevens, who all embraced a more rock-and-roll lifestyle.

With Higgins’s career quickly spiralling out of control, Jimmy White was next in line to take the crown of ‘people’s champion’. But Jimmy also had an insatiable appetite for the highlife and a string of vices – including cocaine and crack - that threatened to overshadow his raw talent and enormous potential.

Twelve years younger than Alex, Jimmy soon realised that Alex’s popularity and ability was at odds with his success in the game, having won only two world championship trophies in a sport many thought he should dominate. Indeed, Steve Davis had quickly become the world number one through practice and discipline and had suddenly become the man to beat. Desperate for success and tempted by the lucrative rewards brought by towing the line, Jimmy joined Barry Hearn in the hope he could be turned into a champion like his new stablemate, Steve Davis.

Jimmy began the 90s clean and well-prepared and got his best opportunity yet to win his first world championship, coming up against a young emerging Scotsman called Stephen Hendry. With White as the hot favourite and with the crowd urging him on, the 1990 final turned out to be a pivotal moment in British snooker and paved the way for what was to come in the next decade.