Original title: The Chinese Billiards Association suspended Yan Bingtao and other 7 players from all domestic billiards competition qualifications
China News Agency, Beijing, December 13th. The China Billiards Association issued an announcement on the 13th, deciding to suspend Yan Bingtao’s qualifications for all domestic billiards competitions.
According to the announcement, according to the notification of the World Professional Snooker Association (WPBSA), as well as the “Disciplinary Guidelines and Punishment Measures of the Chinese Billiards Association” and the “Management Regulations of the Professional Players Committee of the Chinese Billiards Association”, after research and decision, starting from December 12, 2022 , Suspend Yan Bingtao’s qualifications for all domestic billiards competitions.
The announcement stated that the Chinese Billiards Association firmly opposes game manipulation, gambling and other acts that violate sports integrity and ethics, and will make further punishments based on the final investigation results of the World Professional Snooker Association.
On the evening of the 12th Beijing time, the World Professional Snooker Association issued a statement stating that the chairman of the association, Jason Ferguson, has decided to suspend Yan Bingtao from participating in the World Snooker Tournament, and this decision will take effect immediately.
The statement stated that this decision was made because some players were suspected of manipulating the results of the game for the purpose of gambling, and the World Professional Snooker Association is investigating this. The statement emphasized that the suspension will continue until the conclusion of the investigation, and whether there will be subsequent punishment will also depend on the results of the investigation. Yan Bingtao has the right to appeal the suspension.
Prior to this, Liang Wenbo, Lu Ning, Li Xing, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, and Chang Bingyu were all suspended for “suspecting of manipulating the result of the game for the purpose of gambling”. So far, the number of Chinese snooker players suspected of “gambling” has reached 7. The China Billiards Association issued an announcement on December 11, deciding to suspend all domestic billiards qualifications of Liang Wenbo, Li Xing, Lu Ning, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu from that day on.
The above-mentioned 7 people are the new force of Chinese snooker movement. Among them, Yan Bingtao was once known as the strongest “post-00s”. In 2019, at the age of 19, he won the Riga Masters and became the first “post-00” to win a ranking championship. In 2021, he won the Snooker Masters, becoming the youngest Masters champion since 19-year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1995.
Currently, Yan Bingtao, who is ranked 16th in the world, is the second TOP16 player in the Chinese Legion besides Zhao Xintong (ranked 9th in the world).
The 35-year-old Liang Wenbo, who won the England Open in 2016, is the third Chinese player to win a ranking match after Ding Junhui and Hong Kong player Fu Jiajun. The 28-year-old Lu Ning was runner-up in this year’s Champions League (ranking edition).
The 32-year-old Li Xing is a player from Liaoning, and his latest world ranking is 62nd. Both Bai Langning and Chang Bingyu were born in 2002, and they are rising Chinese snooker stars with great development potential.
At the same time, 7 players were suspended, and Chinese snooker suffered heavy losses.