This year’s World Snooker Championship at the Crucible could be overshadowed as 10 players face an independent disciplinary hearing after charges related to match fixing.
The players, which include former UK champion Zhao Xintong and ex-Masters champion Yan Bingtao, are currently suspended from the World Snooker Tour.
The WPBSA confirmed in a statement: “The players will remain suspended until the outcome of the Independent Disciplinary Hearing is published.
“They will therefore not participate in any remaining World Snooker Tour events during the 2022/23 season, including the 2023 World Snooker Championship.”
But what have the players been accused of, and what will happen at the hearing?
Who are the players charged?
The 10 players facing charges are: Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, Liang Wenbo, Li Hang, Lu Ning, Zhang Jiankang, Chen Zifan, Chang Bingyu, Zhao Jianbo and Bai Langning.
Zhao, currently ranked ninth in the world, is the only one of the 10 who would have earned an automatic invitation into the first round proper of the 2023 World Championship, although Yan was also in the top 16 in the world before his suspension began and he dropped down the world rankings.
What have they been charged with?
Six players have been charged with fixing a match or matches, including Yan, the 2021 Masters champion. Lu Ning, Zhang Jiankang, Chen Zifan, Chang Bingyu and Zhao Jianbo are the others to have been charged with fixing.
Liang Wenbo, the 2015 UK Championship runner-up, was the first player suspended last October. Zhao, meanwhile, has been charged with “being concerned in fixing a match on the World Snooker Tour”, along with Bai Langning.
- Liang Wenbo has been charged with being concerned in fixing matches and approaching players to fix matches on the World Snooker Tour, seeking to obstruct the investigation and failing to cooperate with the WPBSA investigation.
- Li Hang has been charged with being concerned in fixing matches and approaching players to fix matches on the World Snooker Tour, seeking to obstruct the investigation and betting on snooker matches.
- Lu Ning has been charged with fixing a match and being concerned in fixing matches and approaching a player to fix a match on the World Snooker Tour, seeking to obstruct the investigation and betting on snooker matches.
- Yan Bingtao has been charged with fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour and betting on snooker.
- Zhao Xintong has been charged with being concerned in fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour and betting on snooker.
- Zhang Jiankang has been charged with fixing a match on the World Snooker Tour, failing to report approaches for him to fix matches and betting on snooker matches.
- Chen Zifan has been charged with fixing matches on the World Snooker Tour.
- Chang Bingyu and Zhao Jianbo have each been charged with fixing a match on the World Snooker Tour.
- Bai Langning has been charged with being concerned in fixing a match on the World Snooker Tour.
When is the disciplinary hearing?
The independent disciplinary hearing is set to begin on Monday 24 April at the start of the second week of the 2023 World Snooker Championship. It will be chaired by Ian Mill KC.
Have there been any recent breaches of snooker’s betting rules?
According to the WPBSA website, the following players have breached betting rules since 2012.
Additionally, the WPBSA announced in March that veteran player Mark King, previously ranked as high as 11th in the world and the winner of the 2016 Northern Ireland Open, had been suspended while the body investigated reports of irregular betting patterns. The reports related to King’s 4-0 defeat to Joe Perry during the Welsh Open earlier this year.
