Bill Werbeniuk - Use of Propranolol

Use of Propranolol

Werbeniuk was ranked as high as 8th in the world in 1983 and reached the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship four times before propranolol was banned in snooker competition, as it was classified as a performance-enhancing drug by the International Olympic Committee, the anti-doping rules of which were adopted by World Snooker because snooker is expected to become an Olympic sport. Werbeniuk insisted that his use was medicinal only and under doctor's orders, but was fined and sanctioned anyway. He played his last professional snooker match in 1990. A bankruptcy order was made against him in 1991. Towards the end of his life, he played professional pool, as propranolol is not forbidden by the World Pool-Billiard Association and other pool governing bodies.