List of snooker players investigated for match-fixing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liang Wenbo (left) and Li Hang (right) received lifetime bans for match-fixing
Snooker has seen corruption allegations since its inception as a professional sport. Professional player and commentator Willie Thorne considered match-fixing endemic to snooker, noting that he himself was offered a bribe to throw a match.[1] The earliest known case of corruption in the game involved Joe Davis, pioneer of the professional sport and winner of the first 15 world championships, who is believed to have "carried" weaker opponents in multi-session matches to maximise gate revenue.[2] In 1968, The Sunday Times published an article titled "Great TV Snooker Frame-up", which exposed the fixing of non-tournament televised matches for "the artificial production of climaxes". Players Ray Edmonds, John Spencer, Gary Owen and Fred Davis recounted how there had been an understanding that if they were playing a televised match, end with a deciding frame, and that they would play in a way to ensure dramatic tension. Davis said that he regarded these matches as "five frames of comedy: I hate taking part in something that's not genuine".[3]
Players have sometimes been coerced into fixing results. Thai players in particular have been targeted by cartels. James Wattana once received a death threat as part of a match-fixing attempt,[4] while Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon was the victim of a firebomb attack on his Rotherham home after the governing body opened an investigation into him and fellow Thai player Passakorn Suwannawat.[5]
Match-fixing is difficult to prove. Only four arrests have taken place in the sport's history—Silvino Francisco, Stephen Lee and Scottish practice partners Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett—but no criminal prosecution has ever been brought. In 2022, the sport was rocked by the biggest scandal in its history when a match-fixing ring was unmasked, which led to ten Chinese players—Liang Wenbo, Li Hang, Lu Ning, Yan Bingtao, Zhao Xintong, Zhao Jianbo, Chang Bingyu, Bai Langning, Chen Zifan and Zhang Jiankang—being banned for match-fixing offences. Ringleaders Liang and Li both received lifetime bans—the first ever handed out—from the sport. The only other players the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) have successfully prosecuted for match-fixing are Stephen Lee, Leo Fernandez, Yu Delu, Cao Yupeng, David John, Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon, Mark King and amateur players John Sutton and Simon Blackwell. Four other players—Quinten Hann, John Higgins, Joe Jogia, and Jamie Jones—have served bans on match-fixing related charges.
| Name | Match | Outcome | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Date | Opponent | Score | |||
| Silvino Francisco | Masters Last 16 |
29 January 1986 | Tony Knowles | 1–5 | Arrested, but later released without charge. | [6][7][8][9] |
| Masters Last 16 |
23 January 1989 | Terry Griffiths | 1–5 | |||
| Peter Francisco | World Championship Last 32 |
15–16 April 1995 | Jimmy White | 2–10 | Found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, and was banned for five years. Cleared of match-fixing. | [10][11] |
| Quinten Hann | China Open Last 32 |
31 March 2005 | Ken Doherty | 2–5 | Hann was found in breach of rule 2.8, which states "a member shall not directly or indirectly solicit, attempt to solicit or accept any payment or any form of remuneration of benefit in exchange for influencing the outcome of any game of snooker or billiards." He was banned for eight years in 2006 and fined £10,000. | [12][13][14][15] |
| Stephen Lee | Malta Cup League stage |
8 February 2008 | Joe Swail | 5–1 | WPBSA concluded that the match was not fixed. | [16][17][18][nb 1] |
| 4 February 2008 | Neil Robertson | 1–5 | Lee was found guilty of breaching Rule 2.9 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations by accepting payment to influence the outcome of a match. The case was heard by Sports Resolutions UK from 9–11 September 2013. Lee received a twelve-year ban, which was back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 12 October 2012 and ran until 12 October 2024. Lee also incurred £125,000 in costs awarded against him after an unsuccessful appeal. | |||
| 5 February 2008 | Ken Doherty | 2–4 | ||||
| 7 February 2008 | Marco Fu | 1–5 | ||||
| UK Championship | 13–14 December 2008 Round 1 |
Stephen Hendry | 9–7 | |||
| 15–16 December 2008 Round 2 |
Mark King | 9–5 | ||||
| China Open Last 32 |
1 April 2009 | Mark Selby | 1–5 | |||
| World Championship Last 32 |
22 April 2009 | Ryan Day | 4–10 | |||
| Peter Ebdon | Northern Ireland Trophy Last 32 |
26 August 2008 | Liang Wenbo | 0–5 | Investigated by the Gambling Commission over suspicious betting patterns. | [22] |
| Jamie Burnett | UK Championship Last 32 |
15 December 2008 | Stephen Maguire | 3–9 | Arrested, but later released without charge. | [23] |
| Stephen Maguire | UK Championship Last 32 |
15 December 2008 | Jamie Burnett | 9–3 | Arrested, but later released without charge. | [23] |
| Stephen Lee | UK Championship | 5–8 December 2009 | Unknown | Arrested and charged. Charges later dropped. | [24][25][26] | |
| John Higgins | World Series of Snooker | 2010 | Matches did not go ahead | Found guilty of 'giving the impression' he would breach betting rules, and of failing to report the approach. Higgins was banned for six months, fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs. | [27] | |
| Jimmy Michie | Shoot-Out Round 1 |
28 January 2011 | Marcus Campbell | 21–32 (points) |
Investigated by the WPBSA over suspicious betting patterns, but no charges were brought. | [28] |
| Marcus Campbell | Shoot-Out Round 1 |
28 January 2011 | Jimmy Michie | 32–21 (points) |
Investigated by the WPBSA over suspicious betting patterns, but no charges were brought. | [28] |
| Joe Jogia | Shoot-Out Round 1 |
28 January 2012 | Matthew Selt | Jogia withdrew | Following an investigation into suspicious betting patterns Jogia was found guilty of breaching Rule 2.1.4.1, which states "It shall be a breach of these rules for a member to engage in any other conduct that is corrupt or fraudulent, or creates an actual or apparent conflict of interest for the member, or otherwise risks impairing public confidence in the integrity and/or the honest and orderly conduct of the Tour and/or any Tournament or Match." Jogia was banned for two years (spanning the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons) and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs. | [29] |
| Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | PTC – Event 3 Last 128 |
8 September 2012 | Steve Davis | 0–4 | Investigated by the WPBSA over unusual betting patterns, but no charges were brought. | [30][31] |
| Stephen Lee | Premier League League stage |
11 October 2012 | John Higgins | 2–4 | Lee was suspended and investigated by the WPBSA and the Gambling Commission over suspicious betting patterns, but no charges were brought. | [25][32] |
| Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon | Australian Open Qualifying round 2 |
1 June 2013 | Noppon Saengkham | 1–5 | The tie between Thanawat and Ross Muir at the Shanghai Masters in 2013 was investigated by the WPBSA and the Gambling Commission over unusual betting patterns, but in January 2014 the WPBSA closed the investigation after they found no evidence to link either player to the suspicious betting activity. The investigation into Thanawat was reopened in August 2015, following suspicious betting patterns regarding his match against Martin O'Donnell at the Paul Hunter Classic. Following a third investigation in 2022, Thanawat pleaded guilty to breaching Rule 2.1.2.1 by fixing the outcomes of six matches between 2013 and 2015. Thanawat was banned for nine years, reduced to six for his "guilty" plea. Of that period, he served two years and nine months of his ban unconditionally, with the remaining three years and three months suspended, provided he assisted the WPBSA in its anti-corruption work. His ban ran from 15th June 2022 until 14th March 2025, provided he complied with the terms of his sentence. He was ordered to pay £1,925 towards the WPBSA costs. | [33][34][35] |
| Shanghai Masters Qualifying round 1 |
7 August 2013 | Ross Muir | 0–5 | |||
| China Open Qualifying round 1 |
16 February 2014 | Ding Junhui | 0–5 | |||
| Welsh Open Last 128 |
19 February 2014 | Martin Gould | 0–4 | |||
| UK Championship Last 128 |
25 November 2014 | Stuart Bingham | 0–6 | |||
| Paul Hunter Classic Last 128 |
28 August 2015 | Martin O'Donnell | 2–4 | |||
| Passakorn Suwannawat | Shanghai Masters Qualifying round 1 |
7 August 2013 | Mohamed Khairy | 4–5 | Investigated by the WPBSA and the Gambling Commission over unusual betting patterns but no charges were brought. | [34][36] |
| John Sutton | International Championship Qualifying round |
24 September 2014 | Jamie Burnett | 0–6 | Sutton was found guilty by the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee of violating sections 2.1.2.1 and 2.1.3.1 of its Members Rules, in relation to match-fixing and misuse of inside information for betting purposes. Sutton received a six-year ban, which was back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 9 February 2015, and was ordered to pay £5,000 in costs. | [37][38] |
| Lu Ning | European Tour – Event 5 Last 128 |
13 December 2014 | Oliver Lines | 2–4 | Along with two other unknown matches in the 2014–15 snooker season, an independent tribunal found Lu guilty of fixing the results of four matches in total, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. He was also found guilty of betting on matches. Lu was sentenced to a ban of five years and four months, reduced from eight years for his guilty plea, which will run until 6 April 2028. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. His matches in the 2014–15 season are the earliest recorded matches to be fixed by a member of the Chinese match-fixing ring. | [39][40][41] |
| European Masters Qualifying |
23 July 2022 | Robert Milkins | 0–5 | |||
| Yu Delu | Indian Open Qualifying round |
12 February 2015 | Martin McCrudden | 4–3 | Yu Delu was found guilty of breaching Rule 2.1.2.1 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations by accepting payment to fix the outcome of a match. Yu admitted breaches of WPBSA Members Rules before a three-person independent tribunal chaired by David Casement QC held on 2 November 2018, following an investigation by the WPBSA Integrity Unit working with Sportradar Integrity Services and the UK Gambling Commission. Yu was sentenced to a twelve-year ban reduced to ten years and nine months, which is back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 25 May 2018 and will run until 24 February 2029. Yu was also ordered to pay £20,823.80 in costs. | [42][43] |
| Paul Hunter Classic Last 128 |
29 August 2015 | Dominic Dale | 1–4 | |||
| Welsh Open Last 128 |
15 February 2016 | Ian Glover | 4–3 | |||
| European Masters Qualifying round |
4 August 2017 | Michael Georgiou | 1–4 | |||
| Shanghai Masters Last 32 |
15 November 2017 | Kurt Maflin | 3–5 | |||
| Cao Yupeng | Welsh Open Last 128 |
15 February 2016 | Ali Carter | 1–4 | Cao Yupeng was found guilty of breaching Rule 2.1.2.1 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations by accepting payment to fix the outcome of a match. Cao admitted breaches of WPBSA Members Rules before a three-person independent tribunal chaired by David Casement QC held on 21 September 2018, following an investigation by the WPBSA Integrity Unit working with Sportradar Integrity Services and the UK Gambling Commission. Cao was sentenced to an eight-year ban reduced to six, which was back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 25 May 2018 and ran until 24 November 2020. The remaining period of the ban was suspended provided Cao assisted the WPBSA in its anti-corruption work. He was also ordered to pay £15,558 in costs. Cao returned to the main tour in the 2021–22 season. | [42][43] |
| Indian Open Qualifying round |
30 May 2016[44] | Stuart Bingham | 0–4 | |||
| UK Championship Last 128 |
24 November 2016 | Stephen Maguire | 1–6 | |||
| Leo Fernandez | World Championship Qualifying round 1 |
6 April 2016 | Gary Wilson | 4–10 | Fernandez was found guilty by the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee of violating section 2.1.2.1 of its Members Rules, which prohibits its members "to fix or contrive, or to be a party to any effort to fix or contrive, the result, score, progress, conduct or any other aspect of the Tour and/or any Tournament or Match", in relation to suspicious betting on who would commit the first foul in the first frame of the match. Fernandez admitted his involvement in delivering the foul shot in the first frame of the match in question for other persons to make money through betting. He was banned from the sport for 15 months, which ran from 27 May 2016—when the interim suspension pending the investigation too effect—until 27 August 2017, and was ordered to pay £2,000 in costs. As a condition of his sentence Fernandez had to assist the WPBSA in its anti-corruption education work. | [45][46] |
| Yan Bingtao | Paul Hunter Classic Last 16 |
28 August 2016 | Dominic Dale | 1–4 | An independent tribunal found Yan guilty of fixing the results of four matches in total, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. He was also found guilty of betting on matches. Yan was sentenced to a ban of five years, reduced from seven and a half years for his guilty plea, which will run until 11 December 2027. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Welsh Open Last 32 |
3 March 2022 | Ricky Walden | 2–4 | |||
| Turkish Masters Last 16 |
11 March 2022 | Oliver Lines | 4–5 | |||
| British Open Last 32 |
29 September 2022 | Jordan Brown | 3–4 | |||
| Zhao Xintong | — | — | — | — | An independent tribunal found Zhao in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. Zhao was a party to fixing the results of two matches in which Yan Bingtao played on 3 March and 11 March 2022 at the Welsh Open and Turkish Masters respectively (see above). He was also found guilty of betting on matches. The tribunal noted that Zhao "did not himself fix any match" and that his involvement was "limited to placing bets for Yan". Zhao was sentenced to a ban of one year and eight months, reduced from two and a half years for his guilty plea, which ran until 1 September 2024. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. He returned to competition on the Q Tour on 20 September 2024, but was unable to compete in Chinese events until July 2025 due to the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association imposing a longer ban. | [39][40][41][47] |
| David John | International Championship Qualifying round |
29 September 2016 | Graeme Dott | 1–6 | David John was found guilty of breaching Rule 2.1.2.1 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations by accepting payment to fix the outcome of a match. John admitted breaches of WPBSA Members Rules following an investigation by the WPBSA Integrity Unit supported by Sportradar and the UK Gambling Commission SBIU. The case against John was heard on 11 January 2019 by the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee. John was sentenced to a seven-year ban reduced to five years and seven months, which was back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 22 May 2018 and ran until 21 December 2023. John was also ordered to pay £17,000 in costs. | [48][49] |
| China Open Qualifying round |
24 January 2017 | Joe Perry | 0–5 | |||
| Jamie Jones | International Championship Qualifying round |
29 September 2016 | David John | 1 | Jamie Jones was found guilty of breaching Rule 4.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations by failing to report the approach to David John in the manipulation of the outcome of the match between John and Graeme Dott at the International Championship Qualifiers in 2016. Jones admitted breaches of WPBSA Members Rules following an investigation by the WPBSA Integrity Unit supported by Sportradar and the UK Gambling Commission SBIU. The case against Jones was heard on 11 January 2019 by the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee. Jones was sentenced to a sixteen-month ban reduced to twelve months, which was back-dated to the beginning of his suspension on 11 October 2018 and ran until 10 October 2019. Jones was also ordered to pay £9,000 in costs. He returned to the snooker main tour in the 2020–21 season. | [48][49] |
| Graeme Dott | 6 | |||||
| Simon Blackwell | Open Series Event 13 (EPSB) |
27 March 2022 | Unknown | A WPBSA disciplinary committee found Blackwell guilty of offering to pay an opponent £200 to ensure that he would win two the four frames he needed to finish in the four of the series, facilitating free entry to Q School. He was found in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 (seeking to fix a result), 2.1.2.2 (accepting/offering financial inducement to fix a result), and 2.1.2.4 (inducing another WSA member to fix a match). Blackwell was banned for eighteen months, which was back-dated from the date of his suspension on 14 April 2022 and ran until 15 October 2023. He was also ordered to pay £1,400 in costs. | [50][51][52] | |
| Zhang Jiankang | European Masters Qualifying |
22 July 2022 | Jack Lisowski | 1–5 | An independent tribunal found Zhang guilty of fixing the result of his match against Jack Lisowski at the European Masters, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. He was also found guilty of betting on matches. Zhang was sentenced to a ban of two years and eleven months, reduced from four years and five months for his guilty plea, which ran until 1 December 2025. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Chen Zifan | European Masters Qualifying |
24 July 2022 | Aaron Hill | 1–5 | Despite plans to fix the results of three matches being abandoned in two cases, an independent tribunal found Chen guilty of fixing or conspiring to fix the results of three matches in total, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. Chen was sentenced to a ban of five years, reduced from seven and a half years for his guilty plea, which will run until 20 December 2027. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| British Open Last 32 |
9 August 2022 | Mink Nutcharut | 4–2 | |||
| Northern Ireland Open Qualifying |
23 August 2022 | Ng On-yee | 4–1 | |||
| Zhao Jianbo | Northern Ireland Open Qualifying |
26 August 2022 | Aaron Hill | 0–4 | An independent tribunal found Zhao guilty of fixing the result of his match against Aaron Hill at the Northern Ireland Open, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. He was also found guilty of betting on matches. Zhao was sentenced to a ban of two years and four months, reduced from three years and six months for his guilty plea, which ran until 7 April 2025. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Bai Langning | British Open Qualifying |
26 September 2022 | Zhao Xintong | 1–4 | Even though Bai backed out of the plan to fix the result of his match at the British Open against Zhao Xintong, an independent tribunal found Chen guilty of conspiring to fix the result of one match, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. Bai was sentenced to a ban of two years and eight months, reduced from four years for his guilty plea, which ran until 6 August 2025. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 | [39][40][41] |
| Chang Bingyu | British Open Last 32 |
28 September 2022 | Jamie Jones | 1–4 | An independent tribunal found Chang guilty of fixing the result of his match against Jamie Jones at the British Open, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations. He was also found guilty of betting on matches. Chang was sentenced to a ban of two years, reduced from three for his guilty plea, which will run until 7 December 2024. He was also ordered to pay £7,500 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Liang Wenbo | — | — | — | — | An independent tribunal found Liang guilty of fixing or conspiring to fix the results of five matches in total, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations, and of inducing players to fix the results of nine matches, in violation of Rule 2.1.2.4. He was also found guilty of betting on matches, threatening Chang Bingyu, destroying evidence, and not cooperating with the investigation. Liang received a lifetime ban and was ordered to pay £43,000 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Li Hang | — | — | — | — | An independent tribunal found Li guilty of fixing or conspiring to fix the results of seven[nb 2] matches in total, in breach of Rules 2.1.2.1 and 2.2 of the WPBSA Members Rule and Regulations, and of inducing players to fix the results of seven matches, in violation of Rule 2.1.2.4. He was also found guilty of betting on matches, destroying evidence, and not cooperating with the investigation. Li received a lifetime ban and was ordered to pay £43,000 towards costs. | [39][40][41] |
| Mark King | English Open Last 64 |
13 December 2022 | John Higgins | 1–4 | Charges were dismissed | [53][54] |
| Welsh Open Qualifying round |
13 February 2023 | Joe Perry | 0–4 | King was suspended with immediate effect on 18 March 2023, following irregular betting patterns reported to the WPBSA. King was found to be guilty of being in breach of Rule 2.1.2.1 and Rule 2.2 of the WPBSA Regulations, by an independent hearing convened by Sports Resolutions, chaired by Graeme McPherson KC between 7–9 May 2024. In addition, he was also found guilty of providing inside information for betting purposes. King was banned for five years, back-dated to the beginning of his suspension, and ordered to pay the WPBSA costs of £68,299.50 | ||
