Snooker finds itself in a terrible fix

SNOOKER will attempt to emerge from the shadow of a match-fixing crisis currently engulfing the game with the start of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

In a dispiriting series of events, the governing body - the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) - suspended 10 Chinese players between October and January for a range of offences related to match-fixing.

These players included the 2021 UK Championship winner Zhao Xintong, who would have otherwise been ranked in the top 16, and the 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao.

Also suspended were Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Chang Bingyu, Zhang Jiankang, Chen Zifan, and Liang Wenbo.

Liang was never a particularly popular player on tour and is a convicted domestic abuser off the table - and, at the age of 36, the former UK Championship finalist is by far the most experienced of the cohort.

The much younger Chang posted a lengthy, now-deleted message on Chinese microblogging website Weibo, in which he accused Liang of making threatening telephone calls on the morning of a match ordering him to lose 4-1.

Chang duly lost by that exact scoreline to Jamie Jones at the Last 32 stage of the British Open in September.

Of course, there is the distinct possibility that some or all of the suspended players have acted under duress from a much wider mafia-led betting syndicate in the Far East.

After all, these young Chinese players are a long way from home on a tour which has not been able to return to their homeland since before the COVID-19 pandemic first erupted there three years ago.

As such, they can be considered particularly vulnerable to becoming victims of exploitation, perhaps even to extent that their lives or the lives of their family members back in China have been threatened.

Certainly, it is noticeable that top Chinese player Ding Junhui is not involved - and it is possible that his big reputation and career earnings have insulated him from the external pressures faced by his compatriots.

In the opinion of world number one, Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker is in “the worst place it has ever been” with discontent on the tour on a range of issues beyond the match-fixing crisis, including the reduced calendar and prize money available since the pandemic.

O'Sullivan said: “We are playing for the winner gets £80,000 most weeks and the runner-up gets £35,000. It’s bang in trouble.

“Mark Allen has done well this year, Judd Trump did well a couple of years before that. A few others do alright. But for the rest, there is nothing there."

For their part, a World Snooker spokesperson provided the following response: "Post-COVID, we are committed to returning to China in 2023 and optimistic about that prospect."

However, it is unclear the extent to which the suspension of the 10 Chinese players has affected the dynamic of any negotiations with tournament organisers in China.

For the record, it is important to note that, at the time of writing, the players concerned have not been found to have broken any rules and remain suspended pending the result of an independent disciplinary tribunal.

Nevertheless, WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson has stated explicitly that the governing body has moved away from being merely in an investigatory position to acting now in the role of prosecution, and that each player has some sort of case to answer.

Last month, there was another bombshell as tour veteran Mark King was suspended amid allegations of irregular betting patterns during his 4-0 defeat to Joe Perry in the first round of the Welsh Open in February.

King has previously spoken publicly about his attendance at Gamblers Anonymous meetings to cope with his gambling addiction - but it is always possible that he has fallen into the trap of old habits.

Onto the draw - and defending champion O'Sullivan begins the tournament as favourite, as usual.

However, the seven-time winner had to withdraw from the World Snooker Tour Classic last month with a recurring elbow injury which needed hospital treatment - and he has played just 14 matches in 2023.

Indeed, it may be that O'Sullivan will have to wait another year for a record eighth world title - that is, if it comes at all.

Trump is another player scratching around for form - the Masters champion has featured in only one final in ranking events this season, losing a decider in the World Grand Prix to Allen.

Notably, the 33-year-old Bristolian also received a difficult draw against 2020 semi finalist Anthony McGill.

Instead, the in-form players during the 2022-23 campaign have been Allen, who also won the UK Championship and the Northern Irish Open, and 2005 winner Shaun Murphy.

The Magician warmed up for the big event by reaching the final of the Welsh Open before winning the Players Championship and the Tour Championship, all in the last couple of months.

But victory at the Crucible has never gone to the winner of the Tour Championship since that event was introduced to the calendar in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Pistol has only ever played a single semi final at the World Championship - and that was all the way back in 2009.

Experience counts for a lot at the Crucible with multi-session matches played over a marathon period of 17 days.

Therefore, it is difficult to look past the likes of four-time winners John Higgins and Mark Selby, both of whom are in the same quarter, and three-time champion Mark Williams.

Higgins's last world title was back in 2011 - but the Scot was runner-up three years in a row between 2017 and 2019, and he was in bullish mood ahead of this year's competition.

"People might think I'm a little bit deluded but I do think I've got one big one left in me," Higgins said.

At the other end of the scale, this year's World Championship features five debutants: Welshman Jak Jones, who faces Ali Carter, as well as a quartet of fresh Chinese faces - Pang Junxu, Fan Zhengyi, Wu Yize, and Si Jiahui.

Interestingly, Si already has history with his opponent Murphy after defeating the fourth seed in the first round of the 2021 UK Championship as a teenage amateur.

Following that match, Murphy stormed: "Amateur players should not be permitted to compete in professional tournaments" - even though he had entered the qualifiers of the Open golf as an amateur in 2019.

Elsewhere, among the players making their bow, Pang has drawn what promises to be a memorable encounter for him against O'Sullivan, while Fan and teenager Wu take on Allen and Australian left-hander Neil Robertson respectively.

Finally, Geordie snooker fans can feast upon a Tyneside derby between Wallsend-born 15th seed Gary Wilson and Elliot Slessor of Gateshead.

Wilson, who had a surprise run to the semi finals in 2019, had never previously been seeded for the Crucible - while Slessor will be making only his second appearance.

So this could be a cagey encounter then, especially as it will be played between two close friends - although hopefully it will prove to be a better match than that.

After all, it would be fair to say that snooker desperately needs some classic contests over the next two-and-a-bit weeks following the news of the last few months.

WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP

CRUCIBLE THEATRE, SHEFFIELD

15 April-1 May

		FIRST ROUND		Best of 19 frames
	[1]	Ronnie O'Sullivan	10-7	Pang Junxu
	[16]	Ding Junhui	6-10	Hossein Vafaei
	[9]	Luca Brecel	10-9	Ricky Walden
	[8]	Mark Williams	10-5	Jimmy Robertson
	[5]	Judd Trump	6-10	Anthony McGill
	[12]	Jack Lisowski	10-7	Noppon Saengkham
	[13]	Robert Milkins	10-9	Joe Perry
	[4]	Shaun Murphy	9-10	Si Jiahui
	[3]	Mark Allen	10-5	Fan Zhengyi
	[14]	Stuart Bingham	10-4	David Gilbert
	[11]	Ali Carter	6-10	Jak Jones
	[6]	Neil Robertson	10-3	Wu Yize
	[7]	Kyren Wilson	10-5	Ryan Day
	[10]	John Higgins	10-3	David Grace
	[15]	Gary Wilson	10-8	Elliot Slessor
	[2]	Mark Selby	10-8	Matthew Selt
		LAST 16		Best of 25 frames
	[1]	Ronnie O'Sullivan	13-2	Hossein Vafaei
	[9]	Luca Brecel	13-11	Mark Williams	[8]
		Anthony McGill	13-8	Jack Lisowski	[12]
	[13]	Robert Milkins	7-13	Si Jiahui
	[3]	Mark Allen	13-4	Stuart Bingham	[14]
		Jak Jones	13-7	Neil Robertson	[6]
	[7]	Kyren Wilson	2-13	John Higgins	[10]
	[15]	Gary Wilson	7-13	Mark Selby	[2]
		QUARTER FINALS		Best of 25 frames
	[1]	Ronnie O'Sullivan	10-13	Luca Brecel	[9]
		Anthony McGill	12-13	Si Jiahui
	[3]	Mark Allen	13-10	Jak Jones
	[10]	John Higgins	7-13	Mark Selby	[2]
		SEMI FINALS		Best of 33 frames
	[9]	Luca Brecel	17-15	Si Jiahui
	[3]	Mark Allen	15-17	Mark Selby	[2]