Shaun Murphy weighs in on Zhao Xintong’s return to snooker after match-fixing ban

Shaun Murphy has expressed his conviction that Zhao Xintong should be allowed to return to the snooker tour after being banned for his role in the match-fixing incident.

Zhao was one of ten Chinese players who were banned last year, despite not being directly implicated in match-throwing.

He acknowledged that he had wagered on snooker from September 2019 to December 2022 and that he was aware of another player manipulating matches in March 2022. Due to Zhao’s early acknowledgement of guilt, his 30-month suspension was lowered to 20 months.

Zhao has secured a place in the UK Championship qualifications, an event he won in 2021, after winning back-to-back Q Tour events in Stockholm and Manchester last month, when he also recorded a 147 break in each event.”He was aware of it but chose not to disclose it, which is obviously illegal. He has completed his sentence.

“The issue with Zhao Xintong is that he’s extremely talented. One may argue that he has only practiced throughout these 18 months. I think he’s really, really sharp.

“There has been a lot of hype surrounding his comeback, which I’m not entirely certain about, but he was apprehended, accepted his penalty, and has since done everything correctly.

“There’s an element of rehabilitation, he’s done the crime and served his time and he’s back.”

The revelation this week that former Northern Ireland Open winner Mark King was banned for five years for match-fixing has left the snooker fraternity reeling.

“I think it has to be said Zhao Xintong was at the very lower end of those (10) bans,” Murphy stated. “Neither cheating nor match-fixing accusations were ever made against him.