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.

Getty

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."