Full documents publicly released on the decision to ban Mark King from the professional snooker tour

It was announced last week by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) - the sport's governing body - that King had been found guilty for manipulating the outcome of his round one match at the 2023 Welsh Open against Joe Perry, which he lost 4-0 on the main feature table.

King - who was initially suspended from the World Snooker Tour in March 2023 - was issued with a five-year ban from WPBSA-sanctioned competition until 2028, and ordered to pay costs in excess of £68,000.

Today, on Friday 22nd November, the WPBSA released on its website the full 77-page document from the Independent Disciplinary Committee on how it reached its decision. The WPBSA also published the full decision process on King's sanction and costs.

Several current or former professional players were interviewed during the investigation.

It appears that former world number 11 King - who is now 50-years-old - had been experiencing 'serious financial difficulties' around the time of the 2023 Welsh Open. King had no savings, although he explained during the investigation that if he needed funds, he planned to release equity from his £420,000 house and downsize.

The WPBSA was alerted by Sportradar on the 13th February - the day of the match between King and Perry at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno - about suspicious betting patterns on the match which were linked to King losing by at least three frames. Sportradar is a multinational corporation that analyses sports betting data.

The IDC decision document stated that EUR 191,769 in turnover was bet on that match. However, the average amount bet on a match in the same event was EUR 7,966, with the final generating the second-highest betting turnover of the tournament behind the King v Perry match with EUR 41,055 - more than four times less.

As a comparison to the figure of EUR 191,769 bet on the King v Perry match at the 2023 Welsh Open, the final of the 2022 World Championship at the Crucible involving Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump - the biggest match in snooker - generated a betting turnover of EUR 139,247.