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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Hector Nunns

Snooker match-fixing probe throws World Championship into chaos as 10 players banned

Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong will miss the World Championships – along with eight other Chinese players suspended pending a ‘fixing’ hearing.

Former Masters champion Yan is charged with fixing matches and betting on snooker, while 2021 UK Championship winner Zhao is charged with being concerned in fixing, and betting on the sport. The high-profile pair may have harboured outside hopes of taking part in the blue-riband tournament at the Crucible, for which the entry deadline is March 20.

But with the latest provisional hearing date reportedly delayed until late April it is now impossible for any of the 10 to take part in the main draw or qualifying. No player can enter while suspended. The absence of such a block will have a significant effect on both the top-16 seedings for Sheffield, and the qualifying draw.

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