Snooker star given five-year ban for match-fixing makes feelings clear on return to the sport
The player was found guilty of match-fixing and ordered to pay more than £113,000 in costs in 2024.
A snooker player who was handed a five-year ban for match-fixing back in 2024 has opened up about a potential return to the sport.
Sunderland’s Mark King was initially suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 2023 due to suspicious betting patterns being reported on a 4-0 loss to Joe Perry that year, although Perry was not accused of any wrongdoing.
King, 51, has consistently denied the charge but lost an appeal in May 2025 and was forced to pay more than £113,000 in costs.
As reported by BBC Sport in 2024, an independent disciplinary committee found King guilty of one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information on a match.
The panel also heard accusations that King fixed a match against John Higgins in December 2022, but the claims were dismissed.
“I have known Mark since he was young, he is a very experienced player who has enjoyed great success, and I am deeply saddened to read the finding in this case,” said WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson in 2024.
“However, the integrity of this sport will always be our number one priority.
“This case is testament to the fact that no stone will ever be left unturned in ensuring that the hundreds of millions of snooker fans worldwide, and our many global partners, can have full confidence in this incredible sport.”
So, King will not be permitted to return to action until March 2028.
In a recent interview with BBC Sport, King opened up about life since the ruling and stressed how the situation has put a strain on his family.
“I think the hardest person affected is my wife. She had a pacemaker fitted not long after the investigation started,” King said.
“It’s really took a toll on her.”
He also explained how he is struggling to cope with the financial demands put on him due to the costs associated with the ban.
“Well, I obviously haven’t got £113,000 in my back pocket for a start,” he added.
“I’m out of work because obviously I’m a 51-year-old man. I did a little bit of a labouring job, but that was a bit too much for me.”
When pressed on a potential return to snooker, King explained: “I honestly don’t know at this time.
“I love playing and I love the life of it and travelling all around the world and playing, but at the same time I still feel hurt and angry.”
Snooker player banned after involvement in match-fixing scandal makes return to sport in amateur tournament
A Chinese snooker player who was banned for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal last year has officially returned to the sport.
Ten Chinese players were given bans by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) last year after a lengthy investigation.
Two of those players, Liang Wenbo and Li Hang, were banned from the sport for life.
Liang, the 2016 English Open champion, was found guilty of a range of offences, including fixing or conspiring to fix the results of five matches, inducing players to fix the results of nine matches, threatening players, betting on matches and destroying evidence.
The other players were given bans ranging from one year and eight months to five years and four months, though the Chinese Snooker and Billiards Association (CSBA) subsequently decided to extend several of those bans further.
Seven of the eight players were found guilty of charges of fixing or conspiring to fix at least one snooker match.
The other player involved was two-time ranking event winner Zhao Xintong, who was not charged with fixing matches himself. He accepted lesser charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches (being aware of a match being fixed) and betting on matches.
As a result, the 27-year-old was handed the lightest sentence of the 10 players, which expired on September 2. However, he cannot play in Chinese events until July 2025 after the CSBA gave him a longer ban.
The length of the WPBSA ban, which was handed out in June 2023 but backdated to his initial suspension in January, means Zhao no longer features on the two-year Order of Merit and therefore must qualify for the main tour again.
He therefore returned to action this month at the second event of the season in the Q Tour, which is open to amateurs and ex-professionals who have dropped off the main tour.
The Q Tour spans over seven events, with the overall leader earning an automatic tour card for the following season.
The next 16 players will enter a play-off for the chance to win a second main tour card.
Zhao kicked off his return to snooker at Q Tour 2 in Sofia, Bulgaria, winning two qualifying matches to reach the last 64 stage.
But he was then beaten 4-3 by former Snooker Shootout winner Craig Steadman.
Earlier this month, snooker icon John Higgins backed Zhao to return to the top level, having previously been described by Ronnie O’Sullivan as one of the sport’s biggest talents prior to his suspension.
Higgins said: “He’s served his time now. He’s a great young talent for the game. He looked as if he was going to be one of the top players in the world.
“I’ve heard he’s still been practicing really hard, and I’m sure he will fit back in seamlessly. He’s too talented not to get back on the tour.”
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