Mark King has revealed that a disciplinary hearing into his long-running ban from the World Snooker Tour has taken place.
The former world number 11 was suspended in March of 2023, but there have been hardly any details released concerning the matter since then.
Fans have repeatedly, and understandably, been asking for updates on the situation – especially considering cases involving other recent suspensions have been dealt with in a much quicker fashion.
King took to social media on Sunday night to finally give people an insight into how the legal matter is developing.
“Last week I was in London having my WPBSA disciplinary hearing after being suspended and spending 14 months in the dark,” Mark King wrote on Facebook.
“OMG my legal team who represented me were absolutely unbelievable in every way and were also acting pro bono, which I can’t thank them enough for.”
“My solicitors Ben Rees and Mark Kenkre from Napier Sterling Law and my barrister David Baker from One Essex Court.
“The others who were on my side, you know who you are – thanks so much.
“Please do not ask about the case as I can’t speak about it until a decision is reached.”
There has been no official announcement yet from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association concerning a result from the hearing.
The last time the WPBSA officially referenced the matter was last year when the initial statement was issued.
“WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson has today taken the decision to suspend Mark King from attending or competing on the World Snooker Tour with immediate effect,” the statement read in March, 2023.
“This follows an initial investigation of irregular betting patterns reported to the WPBSA on the match between Mark King and Joe Perry at the Welsh Open on 13th February 2023.”
“The suspension will remain in place until the conclusion of the investigation or any subsequent charges that may or may not be brought. Mark King has the right to appeal this decision.”
King, who recently turned 50, had been a professional on the main tour since 1991, spending several seasons ranked as a member of the top 16.
The Englishman’s greatest moment came in 2016, when he secured an emotional triumph at the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast.
He also reached the finals of the 1997 Welsh Open and 2004 Irish Masters where he was denied glory by Stephen Hendry and Peter Ebdon respectively.
King didn’t play a single match during the 2023/24 snooker season, and as a result his ranking plummeted to 109 in the world.
That officially confirmed his relegation from the main tour, losing his status as a professional for the first time in more than three decades.
Around the same time that King originally got suspended, there was a high-profile match-fixing scandal revolving around ten disgraced competitors from China.
However, a decision was quickly reached on that saga and strong bans were administered in June of last year.
Liang Wenbo, a former ranking event winner, and Li Hang were both given unprecedented lifetime bans for their leading roles in the match-fixing ring.
Lengthy bans were also handed out to former Masters champion Yan Bingtao, who admitted to fixing matches, and Zhao Xintong, who had recently reached as high as number six in the world rankings.
It’s unclear whether or not King will face similar sanctions, but it at least seems as though his fate will be decided soon.
Whatever the outcome from the disciplinary hearing, it’s undeniable that the process has taken too long to get sorted.
Featured photo credit: WST
Innocent until proven guilty
Shame about king as he’s not the world’s worst person apart from his eating habits,what’s wrong with this board a re they pros or amateurs fa to BB too slow ,get in your BB fingers BB out BB for BB gods sake ,or resign xxxxx
Ma tch fixing ruins the integrity of any sport and must be extracted like a rotten tooth.No smoke without fire as regards king,but they might find a burnt match somewhere( no pun intended)!.