A former snooker star who racked up over £700,000 in prize money was forced to sell his matchplay table after declaring himself bankrupt. Steve James earned himself a fortune after ditching his job as a postman and turning professional in 1986. He made history on his debut at the World Snooker Championship two years later, enjoying an impressive run to the last eight.

James was involved in a frightening car crash just days before playing at the Crucible, with his car flipping over and ending up in a field. He escaped with only minor cuts, bruises and a black eye and became the first debutant to score two centuries in his opening match against Rex Williams. Two years later, James became the first player to produce a 16-red total clearance in competitive play.

The man from Staffordshire reached his peak in 1990, when he won his only ranking title at the Mercantile Credit Classic. The following year, he beat Stephen Hendry to reach the World Championship semi-finals where his run was ended by Jimmy White.

Things went downhill for James towards the end of that decade, when he declared himself bankrupt after blowing his fortune on 'fast living'. He ended up having to sell his snooker table, his motorbike and other possessions all while going through a divorce.

James told the Birmingham Post in 1999: "My money problems were down to a loss of form. I had to sell my house, because I couldn't afford the mortgage, and my matchplay snooker table.

"I'm now living in rented accommodation in Stafford and I have to use a local snooker centre to practice. The whole business affected me at the start of this season and I had a disastrous run."

James also battled with booze and suffered with health problems due to being a diabetic. In 2004, he was forced to withdraw from the British Open after being diagnosed with a kidney infection.

He is far from the only snooker player to have dealt with financial problems over the years. Mark Allen is among those to have found himself in a similar boat, declaring himself bankrupt in 2021 before eventually making a recovery.

Allen has openly admitted that he was unable to keep up with the lavish lifestyle he had been living. He also went through an expensive divorce, splitting from his former wife Kyla McGuigan in 2020 after seven years of marriage.

Speaking in 2022, the Northern Irishman said: "I just overspent in every aspect of my life. Bankruptcy was the only choice. It's easy to read that I made £3.5million on the table, but I spent it as fast as it was coming in.

"It was sad saying that given what I've made in the game and how well I've done. It's embarrassing, but the priority now is to get my life in order."

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