“Every time I come to Britain people always ask me about Bill. He was a larger than life character. When Bill was at his peak, Canada had three players ranked in the top eight in the world and I always thought we were the only real team competing in the World Cup.”
- Cliff Thorburn referring to Bill Werbeniuk, Kirk Stevens and himself.

“We were great friends off the table. When everyone else was running around arguing, we were a unit.”
-Bill Werbeniuk on his teammates Cliff Thorburn and Kirk Stevens with whom he won the 1992 World Team Cup.

Bill Werbeniuk was a former four-time North American Snooker Champion, a Canadian Amateur Snooker Champion, 1983 New Zealand Masters champion and a member of the first Canadian team to win the World Team Championship in 1982. Werbeniuk, nicknamed “Big Bill” was renowned for his large physique and his even larger personality.

Werbeniuk was born in Winnipeg. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Ukraine to Canada, and his father operated Pop's Billiards in Winnipeg where Werbeniuk began playing snooker at a young age. He traveled North America with fellow Canadian player Cliff Thorburn in their youths earning money playing challenge matches.

Werbeniuk won the Canadian Amateur Snooker Championship in 1973 defeating Robert Paquette 16-15 after trailing in the match 15-12. Following this success Werbeniuk turned professional and played on the professional tour from 1973 until 1990. He spent 11 of those years in the top-24 in the World Rankings and four of those years ranked in the top-10. His career-high World Ranking was 8th which he achieved during the 1983-84 season.

In his formative years he consistently performed well in major professional tournaments, with quarter-final appearances in the World Professional Championships in 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1983. In 1983, he won the New Zealand Masters. He also reached the finals of the 1983 Lada Classic and the 1983 Australian Masters, losing to Steve Davis and Cliff Thorburn respectively.

In 1982 he won the World Team Cup as a member of the Canadian side with teammates Cliff Thorburn and Kirk Stevens by defeating England 4-2 in the final. The triumvirate were also finalists in 1980, 1986 and 1987.

Werbeniuk achieved significant success in the North American Championship, winning it four times – 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 – and in three of these championships he defeated Cliff Thorburn in the final.

At his peak he was a fierce opponent and revered for his remarkable trick shots, often playing such shots in a competitive match. In a match against Joe Johnson, he made what famed commentator Ted Lowe termed the “pot of the century” when he potted a long red by jumping the cue ball so that it bounced in front of and over an interposing red to knock the object red in the pocket to rousing applause in the arena.

His career effectively ended in 1990 when World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the governing body of the sport, adopted the International Olympic Committee anti-doping rules. Werbeniuk had long taken the drug Inderal under doctor’s orders for his heart, and even though it was not performance enhancing and snooker editorialists spoke out in his defence, the mere fact that it was on the list as a banned substance left Werbeniuk with no choice. He needed the drug to live and he retired from competitive professional snooker.

He beat almost all the top players of his day at one time or another and when snooker was emerging as a major television attraction, his light spirited self-deprecating sense of humour combined with his natrual charisma made him one of the game’s best loved characters.

Webeniuk was inducted into the Canadian Snooker Hall of Fame in 2002 and died in 2003. His passing was deeply felt by fans worldwide, who mourned the loss of not just a popular and captivating figure but also a skilled player from snooker's golden age. His achievements left a lasting impact on Canadian sport and the snooker world.