Snooker champ Higgins dies at 61

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, July 25 (UPI) -- Alex Higgins, two-time winner of the World Snooker Championship, died at home in Northern Ireland after a long bout with cancer, former rivals said. He was 61,

Also know as "Hurricane" Higgins, he wore an open-necked shirt, sported long hair, and held a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other as he smashing the public image of a snooker player as an old man in a bow tie, The Guardian reported.

He was found dead at his Belfast home Saturday after neighbors broke down the door when he didn't answer the phone, the report said.

Six-time snooker champion Steve Davis told The Guardian: "To people in the game he was a constant source of argument, he was a rebel. But to the wider public he was a breath of fresh air that drew them into the game. He was an inspiration to my generation."

He added, "It was a love-hate relationship with Alex Higgins."

Another former snooker champion, commentator Dennis Taylor, told the BBC: "He was a very, very exciting player to watch. He just was totally unique."

Higgins won the world championship at 22, his first attempt, the newspaper said, then won it again 10 years later.

A heavy smoker, he also struggled with drug addiction, The Guardian said, and recently said he had considered suicide.

The report said Higgins was living in poverty and his only income was accepting challenges from amateur players in the pubs and clubs of Belfast.

Higgins was divorced by two wives, Cara and Lynn, and was stopped from seeing his two children, Lauren and Jordan.