Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 6th, title: Black and White Snooker: "Aristocratic Movement" under the Shadow of Gambling
Reporter Xing Rui
At the beginning of 2023, amidst the joy of the New Year, Chinese snooker encountered a collective "landslide".
The Chinese Billiards Association issued a large number of suspension announcements in a short period of time
On January 3, the World Taiwan Federation issued an announcement stating that due to suspicion of manipulating the results of the game, Chinese players Zhao Xintong and Zhang Jiankang were suspended from participating in the World Snooker Tournament.
Subsequently, the Chinese Billiards Association followed up and suspended Zhao Xintong and Zhang Jianjian's qualifications for all domestic billiards competitions.
In addition to Yan Bingtao, Lu Ning, Li Xing, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Chang Bingyu, Liang Wenbo, and Chen Zifan who were notified before, in just one month, 10 Chinese snooker players were suspected of gambling. The Federation and the Chinese Billiards Association are banned.
Among these 10 players, there are not only Zhao Xintong, who is currently ranked ninth in the world, but also the "post-00s" young player Yan Bingtao, who is regarded as Ding Junhui's successor, and Liang Wenbo, the backbone of the game for many years.
Although the incident is still under further investigation and the final punishment result has not yet been released, this pile of fines against Chinese players will have an incalculable impact on the development of snooker in China.
I still remember that 20 years ago, people's views on billiards were still at the stage of playing with things.
In the dimly lit and smoky billiard hall, the "spiritual guys" with parted hair, tight pants and pointed leather shoes were once the main audience of the sport.
With the birth of Ding Junhui, billiards gradually got rid of the labels of "low taste" and "unhealthy" in China.
In this context, more and more children are embarking on the path of professional snooker.
On the table, the black ball has the highest score among the 21 object balls.
In pursuit of victory, players racked their brains to pocket the black ball.
On the ball table, in the collision that started from white and ended in black, countless records came into being, and countless famous players stood out.
However, under the table, the temptation of money makes this gentlemen's sport unable to escape the fate of being manipulated.
When the sound of turmoil is endless, can snooker, which was once all the rage, regain its former glory?
Data map: Yan Bingtao celebrated with the championship trophy.
(Photo by Benjamin Moore issued by Xinhua News Agency: Xinhua Net)
Aristocratic sports "kidnapped" by match-fixing
Snooker, tennis, golf, and bowling are known as the four noble sports.
Turning over the history of the origin and development of snooker, the overlapping and intertwined figures of the British nobles of all ages are vividly displayed on the paper.
However, it is such a sport known for its elegance and dignity, but it still cannot get rid of the shadow of gambling.
Since the establishment of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association ("World Billiards Federation") in 1968, a large number of snooker players have been investigated and even banned for alleged match-fixing.
One of the most staggering, is undoubtedly the Scottish "wizard" John - Higgins gambling incident.
In 2010, the British media released a video of Higgins and his agent Patmony, which showed that Higgins was involved in a shady and dirty deal.
For around £300,000 in cash, Higgins cheekily promised to lose four matches "very naturally".
Immediately after the video was exposed, it caused a "big earthquake" in the Taiwan arena.
However, what is intriguing is that after investigation, Higgins was not found to be involved in gambling, and he was only suspended for 6 months after escaping heavy fines.
Data map: Higgins in the game.
Coincidentally, in 2013, the World Taiwan Federation announced that Stephen Lee, a talented golfer, was fined 40,000 pounds and banned for 12 years for participating in at least 7 match-fixing matches.
In addition to these two well-known players, Quentin Hahn, Leo Fernandez, Jamie Jones and others all bear the stain of gambling.
Even Joe Davis, known as the "father of modern snooker", has rumors of his "cooperation" with gaming companies.
Of course, it is difficult to verify the fakery of the Joe Davis era now.
But this shows from the side that in the world of snooker, gambling seems to be commonplace.
"Rocket" O'Sullivan once said: "There are many people involved in match-fixing in snooker, and Stephen Lee is just one who was unfortunately caught."
Screenshot of Sean Murphy's social media.
Former World Championship champion Sean Murphy also revealed in a recent interview that one of the reasons for his resignation from the board of directors of the World Taiwan Federation many years ago was because he had learned too much information that the media and the public did not know: "I am very concerned about some disciplined The players surveyed know too much. For me, the world is black and white. But over the years, the world has become gray and we've gone from an old-fashioned black and white worldview to a rather opaque worldview."
On the one hand, Murphy has a deep understanding of gambling. He believes that once a player's suspected game-fixing behavior is proven, the player involved in gambling should be punished with a lifetime ban.
But on the other hand, Murphy did not choose to make the "insider news" he had mastered public.
current world rankings.
Image source: Screenshot of the World Taiwan Federation website
The landlord's house has no food left.
If one must explain the "gambling tradition" in the snooker world, economic factors are undoubtedly the Pandora's box that has led a large number of players astray.
In the 1990s, snooker also had the glory of "not bad money".
However, since the EU did not allow tobacco companies to sponsor sports events in the 2002/2003 season, snooker began to decline.
The most direct manifestation is money. The bonus of snooker has not risen with the economic development.
As the most influential and well-known event in the snooker world, the prize money for the champion of the World Championship last season was only 500,000 pounds.
This is in sharp contrast to the tens of millions of prize money in tennis, golf and other events.
If it is a fledgling teenager, or a player with a lower ranking in the tour, the income from participating in the competition cannot support their daily training and going out for competitions.
Snooker is not a career with a high rate of return, and this view has become a consensus in the industry.
O'Sullivan has said frankly many times that playing snooker does not make money, and he does not want his children to follow in his footsteps: "It is a waste of life to be trapped indoors and hit the ball for a living."
When the investment is not directly proportional to the gain, some players will go to the abyss of destruction for the sake of profit.
Data map: Liang Wenbo in the 2017 World Snooker Shanghai Masters
To be or not to be?
As a sport as famous as tennis and golf, snooker, which was once all the rage, is hard to hide the dilemma of decline under the background of various sports competing in the world sports world.
Former World Taiwan Federation Chairman Barry Hearn once said: "The market has changed and the way of entertainment has also changed, but snooker has not changed, and it is still so 'dignified and decent'." further and further.
In order to change the declining trend, the World Taiwan Federation has also made various efforts.
Such as trying to join the Olympic family, and to develop the Chinese market.
In recent years, Chinese snooker stars have emerged frequently, and a large number of snooker events have been held in China. The development of this sport in China has entered the fast lane.
However, this time a number of Chinese players were deeply involved in the gambling turmoil, which seemed to extinguish the "spark" that could start a prairie fire.
Serious illness still needs fierce medicine.
Ferguson, chairman of the World Taiwan Federation, said in an interview: "We will not be afraid of the bad influence of the number of suspensions on snooker. No matter who is involved, as long as he participates in it, we will investigate it to the end, and he will definitely be punished. punishment."
However, the suspension is just a means not an end.
In order to save snooker, the World Taiwan Federation may need to show greater sincerity, such as improving the ranking mechanism and finding ways to improve player treatment.
In the face of the pressure of life, it is difficult to last only by persisting in love.
Only by allowing athletes to see a brighter future can people who truly love snooker be retained.
(use up)