What exactly did Zhao Xintong do wrong in the matchfixing scandal that rocked snooker?

The Chinese star was the history of the World Cup

Zhao Xintong is on the verge of history in Crucible Theater when he wins the World Cup.

The Chinese Snooker Sensation storms the title and after two exhausting weeks in Sheffield leads a convincing tour into the last session. In view of the controversy that curved around him, he was certainly The History of the tournament.

Zhao would be the first player to win the tournament while he started as an amateur. This status is due to the fact that it was previously banned for 20 months after a match fixing scandal that shook the sport and had to go through the Q tour.

Zhao was banned by Professional Snooker for violating betting and match fixing rules as part of a more comprehensive examination of the World Professional Billard and Snooker Association (WPBSA) for corruption within sport.

In particular, it was found that Zhao was involved in the determination of a game, although not necessarily his own, and on snooker matches, which is only forbidden for professional players according to WPBSA rules.

While Zhao's case was considered less serious than others, such as Liang Wenbo or Yan Bingtao, he still received a 20-month suspension, which was reduced by two years because he was guilty and worked with the examination.

According to the disciplinary report of the WPBSA, ZHAO was involved or activated in the rectification of games for other players. He was “a party to fix or record the result or score of two games with Yan Bingtao in March 2022, and also admitted to several games between September 2019 and December 31, 2022.

The Commission discovered that Zhao was the only player under the investigation who “did not repair a match himself”. His commitment was limited to placing bets for Yan through Liang. The Commission also found that he had tried to discourage Yan, a friend since she was 16, from the game fixation. He felt forced to place the bets for Yan, which was given a more serious five -year ban.

The Commission also found that Zhao expressed “real regrets for his actions”, admitted the indictment for the earliest opportunity and had no own competition.

His ban was subsequently applied after January 2023, which means that he would return to sport in September 2024. The same applies to BAI.

The scandal was uncovered on the basis of a number of factors, including suspicious betting notifications, in which betting companies and integrity monitoring authorities were aware of unusual betting activities in certain matches. The betting patterns often suggested insider knowledge.

The WPBSA worked closely with sports betting integrity units and used the exchange of intelligence to uncover the scandal. Then several players were interviewed, while some phones and devices were confiscated as part of the evidence.

The cooperation between Zhao and Bai Pace Pancing has also reached their conclusion.

After the ban, he told the BBC: “Two years ago I made a little mistake, now I came back.

“I know how important snooker is for me and now I just want to return to the Snooker table.”

He added: “These two years were very long for me, I practiced every day. I knew I would come back, so I had to confidently preserve myself.

“I think if I play well, I can beat someone. I will only do my best.”