Mark King, an English snooker pro, has been banned from competing professionally for five years. The player, who insists on his innocence, has been found guilty of match-fixing and forced to pay a fine.
The King Has Been Banned
The 50-year-old Brit has competed professionally since 1991 and, between 1996 and 2015, ranked within the world’s top 32 players. In 2016, King won his first ranking event title after defeating Barry Hawkings in the final of the Northern Ireland Open.
King’s impressive track record has seen him reach the last 16 of the World Championship seven times, although he’s been unable to progress further. In any case, the player will now have to take a five-year break because of his violation.
For context, King was found guilty of one count of match-fixing and one count of providing inside information on a match. The offenses relate to his game match against Joe Perry in February 2023. King was also accused of misconduct during the match with John Higgins in December 2022 but those charges were dismissed.
WPBSA Vows to Protect the Integrity of the Sport
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association suspended King in March 2023, launching an investigation into his games. Now that he has been deemed guilty, he has been ordered to pay £68,299.50 in costs and has been suspended from competing professionally for 5 years. The ban will run from the date of his suspension, March 18, 2023, to March 17, 2028.
King has insisted on his innocence. He now has until November 28 to appeal the penalty.
In the meantime, Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, vowed to uphold the integrity of the sport. He admitted that, as someone who has known King since his youth, he has been “deeply saddened” by the findings in this case.
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.
Jason Ferguson, chair, WPBSA
Speaking of snooker, Wynn Macau recently named snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan as its official brand ambassador.
