Mark King: Snooker Ban Upheld – Match-Fixing Appeal Fails
- The upholding of King's ban underscores the sport's commitment to integrity and combating corruption, ensuring fair play and maintaining public trust in snooker.
- Mark King, the 51-year-old snooker player, has lost his appeal against a five-year ban for match-fixing and providing inside information, officials said.
- The World Professional Billiards and Snooker association (WPBSA) initially suspended King on March 18, 2023, following reports of suspicious betting patterns during his Feb.
Mark King’s Match-Fixing Appeal Fails, Snooker Ban Upheld
Mark King, the 51-year-old snooker player, has lost his appeal against a five-year ban for match-fixing and providing inside information, officials said. The independent appeals committee heard the appeal on April 8-9, 2025, upholding the original decision made in November 2024 by a disciplinary committee.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker association (WPBSA) initially suspended King on March 18, 2023, following reports of suspicious betting patterns during his Feb. 13, 2023, match against Joe Perry at the Welsh Open. King lost the match 4-0.Perry was not accused of any wrongdoing.
King, a former Northern Ireland Open champion, was also ordered to pay more than £68,000 in costs. He presented four arguments in his appeal, abandoning one at the start. He contended that bets placed on scores of 4-1 and 4-2, along with the actual 4-0 result, weakened the claim that he intentionally lost 4-0. King also questioned his relationship with an individual connected to the betting activity and challenged the disciplinary committee’s conclusions regarding his form and an injury he had.
“In our view the committee reached reasonable, rational, logical, clear and reasoned conclusions based on all of the evidence which they clearly considered carefully and we find no reason to interfere with the conclusions it reached,” the appeals committee stated in its report.
What’s next
King will be eligible to return to professional snooker in March 2028.