Snooker ace with large 12-year ban might make comeback however £125k problem could stay

Former world No. 5 snooker ace Stephen Lee celebrated his 50th birthday on Saturday – on the last day of his 12-year ban from the sport.

The 2003 World Championship finalist, who was part of the legendary ‘Class of 92’ with snooker giants Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins, saw his career collapse in a match-fixing scandal. Dubbed “the worst case of snooker corruption we’ve seen” by officials, Lee was nailed for seven counts of match-fixing during 2008 and 2009.

An independent tribunal found him guilty of intentionally throwing games against Ken Doherty and Marco Fu at the 2008 Malta Cup, conspiring to lose the opening frame in matches against Stephen Hendry and Mark King at the 2008 UK Championship, and fixing pre-determined scorelines in bouts with Neil Robertson at the 2008 Malta Cup and Mark Selby at the 2009 China Open.

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He was also implicated in a plot to tank a 2009 World Championship first-round clash against Ryan Day. There has never been any suggestion that any of these opposing players were aware of Lee’s involvement in match-fixing, reports the Express.

Lee managed to dodge a lifetime exclusion but got slapped with a 12-year suspension instead, which he failed to have lifted on appeal. However, now that his time out of the game is up- with the ban ending on Sunday, October 13, he’s still in the red with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to the tune of £125,000 in legal costs, a debt he needs to settle before they even consider letting him back in.

The Daily Star’s sister title the Express has contacted the WPBSA for comment and clarification over whether Lee has since paid those fees.

Players who have been suspended cannot simply re-join the World Snooker Tour, they must qualify via Q Tour, Q School, or the WSF Championship. However, unpaid fines would prevent Lee from competing in those competitions and prevent him from being promoted to professional snooker again.

Lee was a maestro with the cue ball before his ban, hailed as one of snooker’s top talents. Whether he’ll chalk up his cue for another shot at glory is up in the air, but he’s teased a possible comeback.

“I must get asked this weekly, daily, minutely,” Lee told The Mirror in 2022. “I would like to say no, but I am still capable of playing. Let’s see what happens in two years. It’s not a no, and not a yes.

“We can only just see what happens in a couple of years’ time. I have some exciting things coming up, and I’m also getting older. My eyes are getting worse, and I never had good eyes to start with. As you get older the determination and the fire goes.”