Category: Snooker

Mark King has provided an update on his situation after he was suspended from the professional World Snooker Tour last year amid a betting probe.

The statement from WST read: “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.

“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.”

The former world No. 11 took to social media over the weekend, saying he had attended a disciplinary hearing last week after a 14-month absence from the main circuit.

“Last week I was in London having my WPBSA disciplinary hearing after being suspended and spending 14 months in the dark,”

“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..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.”

Ken Doherty’s hope of claiming his maiden World Seniors Championship title will have to wait for another year after he lost 5-2 to an in-form Igor Figueiredo in Sunday’s final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The popular Irishman was hoping to become the first player in history to complete a clean sweep of the sport’s world titles having won the professional, amateur and Under-21 titles in his storied 34-year career.

But Brazilian Figueiredo picked up from where he left off to claim the title for the first time having enjoyed dominant wins over defending champion Jimmy White (3-0) and Maltese speed merchant Tony Drago (4-1) in reaching the showpiece final.

Doherty made a blistering start to the match with a 100 break in the opening frame, but knocks of 72 and 93 saw the powerful Rio de Janeiro cueman recover to move 3-1 clear at the mid-session break.

Knocks of 50 and 56 saw Doherty keep the final alive by winning the sixth frame after his opponent edged a tight fifth frame to lead 4-1, but Figueiredo closed with an excellent 88 clearance to become the first major winner from South America in the final major of the 2023/24 snooker season.

“He just played fantastic,” said Doherty. “He finished it off on style. He deserved to win. He played much better than me today. I fell a bit short, but congratulations to Igor. He’s a great guy, and I just say well done.”

The win is worth at least £32,500 to the new champion, who earns £20,000 for the victory plus another guaranteed £12,500 as a qualifier for the elite Champion of Champions event in November.

“I feel over the moon. Every shot, I just want to control my emotion,” said Figueiredo, who was flanked by wife Camilla. “It’s so good for me. This is very special for me.

“My wife is very important to me. Supporting my life. She gives me a lot of support. Thank you God.”

First round (best of five frames)

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 3-1 Darren Morgan
• Barry Pinches 3-1 Joe Johnson

Quarter-finals (best of five frames)

• Jimmy White 0-3 Igor Figueiredo
• Stuart Watson 1-3 Tony Drago
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 2-3 Ken Doherty
• Barry Pinches 3-1 James Wattana

Semi-finals (best of seven frames)

• Igor Figueiredo 4-1 Tony Drago
• Ken Doherty 4-1 Barry Pinches

Final (best of nine frames)

• Igor Figueiredo 5-2 Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty’s hope of claiming his maiden World Seniors Championship title will have to wait for another year after he lost 5-2 to an in-form Igor Figueiredo in Sunday’s final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The popular Irishman was hoping to become the first player in history to complete a clean sweep of the sport’s world titles having won the professional, amateur and Under-21 titles in his storied 34-year career.

But Brazilian Figueiredo picked up from where he left off to claim the title for the first time having enjoyed dominant wins over defending champion Jimmy White (3-0) and Maltese speed merchant Tony Drago (4-1) in reaching the showpiece final.

Doherty made a blistering start to the match with a 100 break in the opening frame, but knocks of 72 and 93 saw the powerful Rio de Janeiro cueman recover to move 3-1 clear at the mid-session break.

Knocks of 50 and 56 saw Doherty keep the final alive by winning the sixth frame after his opponent edged a tight fifth frame to lead 4-1, but Figueiredo closed with an excellent 88 clearance to become the first major winner from South America in the final major of the 2023/24 snooker season.

“He just played fantastic,” said Doherty. “He finished it off on style. He deserved to win. He played much better than me today. I fell a bit short, but congratulations to Igor. He’s a great guy, and I just say well done.”

The win is worth at least £32,500 to the new champion, who earns £20,000 for the victory plus another guaranteed £12,500 as a qualifier for the elite Champion of Champions event in November.

“I feel over the moon. Every shot, I just want to control my emotion,” said Figueiredo, who was flanked by wife Camilla. “It’s so good for me. This is very special for me.

“My wife is very important to me. Supporting my life. She gives me a lot of support. Thank you God.”

First round (best of five frames)

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 3-1 Darren Morgan
• Barry Pinches 3-1 Joe Johnson

Quarter-finals (best of five frames)

• Jimmy White 0-3 Igor Figueiredo
• Stuart Watson 1-3 Tony Drago
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 2-3 Ken Doherty
• Barry Pinches 3-1 James Wattana

Semi-finals (best of seven frames)

• Igor Figueiredo 4-1 Tony Drago
• Ken Doherty 4-1 Barry Pinches

Final (best of nine frames)

• Igor Figueiredo 5-2 Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty lifted the World Championship in 1997 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, and has the chance to emulate that historic victory in the World Seniors event on Sunday.

Evergreen Irishman Doherty dropped only one frame in a dominant 4-1 semi-final win over Barry Pinches to secure a final showdown with Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo, who followed up his 3-0 whitewash of defending champion Jimmy White in the quarter-finals with an impressive 4-1 victory against Malta’s Tony Drago.

Doherty lost 5-4 to White in the 2020 final after leading 4-0, but is looking for an improved outcome as he chases his first World Seniors crown this time.

“I got off to a good start by winning that black-ball game and I’m thrilled to bits to get through to the final,” said Doherty, who completed an 18-12 win over Stephen Hendry in the 1997 world final.

“It was a really tough match, and I’m a bit jaded, but just so excited about tomorrow and the final against Igor Figueiredo.

“I’m not going to count any chickens, I’m just going to go out and play my best and give it all I can. I definitely want to win this tournament, it’s one I want to tick off my list, but I have a very tough opponent in front of me.”

Drago restored parity at 1-1 with a 69 break, but Figueiredo rolled in 57, 110 and 119 to book his spot in Sunday’s best-of-nine final in Sheffield with the victor collecting the trophy and a £20,000 winner’s cheque.

The showpiece match gets underway at 12pm UK time at the Crucible.

First round (best of five frames)

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 3-1 Darren Morgan
• Barry Pinches 3-1 Joe Johnson

Quarter-finals (best of five frames)

• Jimmy White 0-3 Igor Figueiredo
• Stuart Watson 1-3 Tony Drago
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 2-3 Ken Doherty
• Barry Pinches 3-1 James Wattana

Semi-finals (best of seven frames)

• Igor Figueiredo 4-1 Tony Drago
• Ken Doherty 4-1 Barry Pinches

Final (best of nine frames)

• Igor Figueiredo v Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty booked his place in the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship with a 3-2 win over Dechawat Poomjaeng, but defending champion Jimmy White crashed out after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Igor Figueiredo at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

1997 world champion Doherty produced closing breaks of 50 and 70 to secure a last-four meeting with Barry Pinches, who completed a 3-1 win over James Wattana in the final quarter-final match on Friday night.

White’s hopes of a fifth seniors title were wiped out for another year with Brazil’s Figueiredo easing into a meeting with Maltese favourite Tony Drago.

Drago produced a 91 break in a 3-1 win over Stuart Watson to continue his quest for a first seniors crown.

First round (best of five frames)

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 3-1 Darren Morgan
• Barry Pinches 3-1 Joe Johnson

Quarter-finals (best of five frames)

• Jimmy White 0-3 Igor Figueiredo
• Stuart Watson 1-3 Tony Drago
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 2-3 Ken Doherty
• Barry Pinches 3-1 James Wattana

Semi-finals (best of seven frames)

• Igor Figueiredo v Tony Drago 12pm
• Ken Doherty v Barry Pinches 3pm

Ken Doherty booked his place in the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship with a 3-2 win over Dechawat Poomjaeng, but defending champion Jimmy White crashed out after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Igor Figueiredo at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

1997 world champion Doherty produced closing breaks of 51 and 70 to secure a last-four meeting with Barry Pinches, who completed a 3-1 win over James Wattana in the final quarter-final match on Friday night.

White’s hopes of a fifth seniors title were wiped out for another year with Brazil’s Figueiredo easing into a meeting with Maltese favourite Tony Drago on Saturday.

Drago produced a 91 break in a 3-1 win over Stuart Watson to continue his quest for a first seniors crown.

First round (best of five frames)

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 3-1 Darren Morgan
• Barry Pinches 3-1 Joe Johnson

Quarter-finals (best of five frames)

• Jimmy White 0-3 Igor Figueiredo
• Stuart Watson 1-3 Tony Drago
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 2-3 Ken Doherty
• Barry Pinches 3-1 James Wattana

Semi-finals (best of seven frames)

• Igor Figueiredo v Tony Drago 12pm
• Ken Doherty v Barry Pinches 3pm

Defending champion Jimmy White was pushed all the way in the opening match of his World Seniors Championship title defence before securing a 3-2 win over Andrew Norman at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The six-time world finalist lost the first two frames to fellow Englishman Norman, who made a break of 65 in the second frame and missed an easy black among the balls in the third frame. White produced a battling 54 to win his first frame of the day before dominating the fourth frame to force a decider.

Despite former English amateur finalist Norman producing a run of 52 in the final frame, it was White who advanced to the quarter-finals after a Norman safety error saw the 1992 UK Championship winner keep his cool to sink brown, blue and pink to scrape home.

“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” said White. “I was lucky to win, but hopefully I can play better in my next match.”

Maltese speed merchant Tony Drago completed a 3-1 win over Michael Judge earlier in the afternoon to set up a meeting with Stuart Watson, who defeated Tony Knowles 3-0 in their first-round encounter.

White’s fellow Eurosport pundit and 1986 world champion Joe Johnson faces Barry Pinches on Thursday night, with 2011 World Seniors champion Darren Morgan up against crowd favourite Dechawat Poomjaeng.

First round

• Stuart Watson 3-0 Tony Knowles
• Ken Doherty 3-1 Tyson Crinis
• James Wattana 3-2 Rodney Goggins
• Igor Figueiredo 3-1 Tessa Davidson
• Tony Drago 3-1 Michael Judge
• Jimmy White 3-2 Andrew Norman