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In 2014, archeologists unearthed a contract dating back to 267 A.D. outlining an unscrupulous deal between two wrestlers in ancient Greece. That document suggested athletes have been engaging in some shady behind-the-scenes dealings for close to two millennia, whether we’re talking about the match-fixing agreement those two grapplers seemingly engaged in or the cheating accusations that have cast a shadow over the likes of the Patriots and the Astros.
2022 has been a banner year for those kinds of scandals—especially when it comes to the comparatively niche pastimes and competitions that have been thrust into a hurricane of controversy. In the past few months alone, a chess grandmaster was accused of cheating with the help of an implement shoved where the sun doesn’t shine, two fishermen were hit with criminal charges for allegedly shoving some illegal aids of their own into catches at a tournament, and the world of competitive cornhole was rocked by the use of potentially illegal equipment at its premier competition.
As a result, it’s only natural that we’ve been treated to some more turmoil in another fairly obscure sport with the end of the year on the horizon.
According to Eurosport, the world of professional snooker—the billiards-adjacent table game that was invented in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century—is the latest sporting community to be rocked to its core courtesy of a stream of suspensions stemming from match-fixing allegations.
Last week, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association suspended a quartet of Chinese players following an investigation into suspicious betting patterns. On Monday, a fifth was implicated in that inquiry, as Yan Bingtao—the 16th-ranked player on the circuit who became the youngest champion in history after winning the Masters tournament in 2021 at the age of 20—was banned from competing on the World Snooker Tour.
Officials haven’t offered any major insight into the specifics of the matches that raised the red flags but say they will likely release more information and possibly dole out more punishments as they continue to explore the situation.
I can’t say I’m intimately familiar with the snooker, but if it has the capacity to produce this kind of drama, I may need to start paying a bit more attention.