Snooker star at centre of match-fixing storm will compete in UK Championship qualifying after ban expired

A CHINESE snooker subordinate who was progressive successful past year’s match-fixing tempest volition vie successful UK Championship qualifying this month.

Zhao Xintong has the accidental to scoop the £250,000 apical prize aft being announced arsenic 1 of 16 elite amateurs to instrumentality portion successful the aboriginal rounds of the second-biggest lawsuit connected the nonrecreational snooker calendar.

Qualifying rounds instrumentality spot successful Leicester betwixt November 16-21 and past the apical 16 advancement to the York Barbican wherever they could look the likes of reigning satellite champion Kyren Wilson, satellite No.1 Judd Trump and the sport’s top player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Should Xintong – victor of the UK Championship crown successful 2021 – advancement done 4 rounds of qualifiers astatine the Mattioli Arena, helium volition look successful the second stages connected BBC TV aboriginal this month.

Yet adjacent though helium has earned his spot by merit – helium was triumphant successful lawsuit 3 connected the WPBSA Q Tour Europe – his involvement successful specified a prestigious tourney is simply a arguable one.

In June 2023, Xintong was 1 of 10 Chinese players charged with match-fixing offences by an autarkic World Professional Billiards and Snooker relation (WPBSA) disciplinary commission.

He was fixed a two-year and six-month suspension and ordered to wage £7,500 successful costs.

This prohibition was reduced pursuing aboriginal admissions and his plea of blameworthy to 1 twelvemonth and 8 months – and that prohibition expired connected September 2, 2024.

None of the different 9 disgraced stars person served the afloat magnitude of their suspensions.

According to the disciplinary commission, the erstwhile top-10 subordinate accepted successful March 2022 that “he was a enactment to different subordinate fixing 2 snooker matches”.

And betwixt September 1, 2019 and December 31, 2022, “he stake connected snooker matches successful breach of the rules”.

Xintong, 27, is nary longer connected the World Snooker Tour but has the accidental to regain a Tour Card successful Qualifying School successful the summertime of 2025.

Lifetime bans were slapped connected ringleaders Liang Wenbo and Li Hang.

Xintong’s engagement successful the probe past twelvemonth shocked galore wrong the sport, particularly fixed that helium is idiosyncratic well-respected for his talents.

O’Sullivan, the seven-time satellite champion, erstwhile tipped the cueist nicknamed the Cyclone for his accelerated benignant of play to spell connected and go the “best subordinate successful the world”.

Speaking aft Xintong crushed Luca Brecel 10-5 to assistance the UK rubric 3 years ago, the Rocket said: “If helium tin basal up and amusement pressure, determination is nary subordinate connected the circuit that has the implicit crippled similar him.

“He is similar Steve Davis but with Jimmy White’s talent. Very, precise scary.”