Mr Maximum. Snooker Loopy. The Great Willie Thorne.
During the 1980s, Willie Thorne was also struggling with his gambling addiction. Willie Thorne had started gambling from the age of 16 when he used to visit a Billiards club in Leicester. One of Willie Throne’s infamous gambling losses came when he bet £38,000 on a match involving John Parrott. Willie Thorne declared bankrupt after borrowing millions to fund gambling addiction FORMER professional snooker star Willie Thorne has been declared bankrupt after admitting borrowing a million.
He was all of these. One of snooker's most popular players, a respected television commentator and a much-loved figure, although he had a gambling addiction which left him heavily in debt.
Thorne, who has died aged 66, was perhaps recognised for his premature bald head and manicured moustache as much as his break-building prowess.
His soothing tones endeared him to a generation of TV viewers, and he was a popular contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
In a career that spanned snooker's boom in the 1980s, he was part of the Matchroom Mob that featured in the surprise 1986 chart hit Snooker Loopy.
Thorne went from top of the pots to Top of the Pops as he played up to Chas and Dave's line of 'Old Willie Thorne, his hair's all gorn' with the reply: 'Perhaps I ought to chalk it!'
Born in Leicester, where he later formed a close friendship with football star and snooker fan Gary Lineker, he was a talented player who reached number seven in the world, although a major title eluded him.
Thorne was haunted by his error in the 1985 UK Championship final against Steve Davis, when 13-8 ahead and on the verge of extending his lead to within two of victory, he missed the simplest of blues off its spot.
He later admitted: 'I went back to my seat and the doubts kicked in straight away. I was still 13-9 in front, but all I could think about was the way I'd failed in big games in the past.'
His rise through the snooker ranks was rapid. Having only started playing the game aged 14, within two years he was crowned national under-16 champion.
Swiftly turning professional, he came to be regarded as one of the sport's finest break builders, earning the nickname Mr Maximum, and also becoming only the third player to secure 100 competitive centuries.
Thorne reached his first of two World Championship quarter-finals in 1982, where he pushed the eventual champion Alex Higgins.
Three years later, just three months before his painful loss to Davis, he won his first and only world ranking title, beating Canadian Cliff Thorburn to lift the Mercantile Credit Classic.
But Thorne was already struggling with a gambling addiction, and journey to the UK semi-finals in 1987 - where he was beaten 9-2 by Davis - represented the last big tournament run.
Thorne revealed the extent of his gambling issues in an interview with the Guardian in 2004, recalling an incident in which he placed a bet of £38,000 on John Parrott losing a game, because he had lost his cue.
He was commentating on the game for the BBC, and said: 'I put £38,000 on Parrott to lose because he didn't have his cue, but he ended up winning the bloody game.
'I'm having to close the commentary by saying it's unbelievable, spewing up as I say it.'
Thorne, who worked as a BBC commentator for 30 years, later revealed he lost £1m to gambling in his career. He was declared bankrupt in 2016.
He remained a familiar figure within the sport and competed in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 with partner Erin Boag, being voted out in 12th place.
He was married to ex-Miss Great Britain winner Jill Saxby, but they split up after 24 years as his gambling troubles escalated.
Thorne announced he was beginning treatment for leukaemia in March 2020.
He died on Wednesday at the age of 66, having being placed into an induced coma in hospital in Spain after suffering respiratory failure.
The tributes tell their own story - former world heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno and darts legend Phil Taylor demonstrating how his popularity transcended snooker.
'Willie was one of my favourite people in snooker,' said seven-time world snooker champion Stephen Hendry.
'I know he had faults and weaknesses (we all do) but he was one of the game's greatest ever characters.'
Dennis Taylor, who famously beat Davis to win the world title in 1985, said: 'Devastating news about Willie Thorne. We laughed our way around the world for 45 years.
'RIP Great One. That was my name for him. The Great WT.'
There are many different types of addiction, and all have an adverse impact on the person affected as well as those closest to him or her. While most people think of alcohol and drugs when they hear the term “addiction”, one of the most destructive forms of addiction is gambling addiction. This illness can result in devastation and chaos, and it leaves many affected individuals facing hardship and financial ruin.
Former snooker player Willie Thorne knows more than most of the devastation that a gambling addiction can cause. He has been struggling with addiction for a number of years and in that time has borrowed almost one million pounds to fund his habit.
Bankrupt
He has now been declared bankrupt and been given a six-year restriction. After borrowing money over a two-year period, he filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with debts totalling £601,000. It was said that he borrowed the money even though he had no reasonable way to repay it.
Thorne has suffered from a gambling addiction for the past twenty-five years, and at one stage it saw him come close to ending his life. He estimates that he has borrowed around £1 million in the previous two years from friends, and all was used to fund his addiction. However, he told those he was borrowing from that the money was required for cash-flow problems and that he would be able to repay it within a couple of months.
As with most gambling addicts, Thorne was most likely under the impression that he would be able to win back the money through gambling and then repay his friends. Sadly, that never happened, and nobody was repaid. And the fact that he has no assets means that it is unlikely they will ever get their money back.
A condition of the bankruptcy order is that Thorne must tell any creditor about the bankruptcy if he is to borrow over £500, and he is unable to become a company director from now until 2022.
Consequences of a Gambling Addiction
A gambling addiction is often referred to as a secret addiction because most outsiders are unaware that a person has a problem until his or her financial situation becomes apparent. Even those closest to the addict may not realise that their loved one is suffering this addiction as there are no outward physical signs.
Willie Thorne Gambling Scandal
Nevertheless, a gambling addiction can cause immense heartache to those closest to the affected person. Individuals suffering from this illness have no control over their urge to gamble. Even when they know that to do so will cause negative consequences, they will continue to gamble, and often until there is no money left to gamble with.
Since gambling addiction requires constant access to cash, it is not uncommon for addicts to have debts. Some gambling addicts will end up losing everything they have because they cannot stop gambling. They will continue to borrow from friends and family members as well as banks and other financial institutions.
Willie Thorne Gambling Videos
After a while, they will have exhausted all their sources of funding, and when they are unable to pay back the money they have borrowed, the real problems will start. Many gambling addicts will become desperate when creditors constantly hound them but will still be convinced that their problems will be solved if they can just get that “big win”. They fail to see that the gambling is the cause of their problems.
Financial ruin is common among gambling addicts, with many family members only discovering the extent of the issue when it is too late. Sadly, many families are torn apart by one member’s gambling addiction. It is a destructive illness that can be treated, but most people do not reach out for help until they are in serious financial trouble.
Source:
Willie Thorne Gambling Addiction
- Willie Thorne declared bankrupt after borrowing millions to fund gambling addiction (Express)