By Elliott West
“Liang put pressure on several young and impressionable” players, showed “threatening behaviour” towards them to cover up the scam, and failed to cooperate with the investigation”.
WPBSA report
Introduction
Liang Wenbo had it all, a successful snooker career and all the riches and trappings that come with being a professional snooker player. Yet Liang who was once ranked as high as 11th in the world rankings and won the 2016 English Open, decided to press the self-destruct button and put greed before principles, blowing his reputation and career into splintered pieces. Unrepentant and now banned for life, his ringleading part in the vile and odious match-fixing saga was described by the WPBSA Disciplinary Commission as “particularly disgraceful”. An individual who bullied and threatened players to get them to lose matches, 5 in total, for financial gain, a betting gain that was his pocket. Yet when it all blew up in his face and the game was up, he still attempted to cover his tracks, trying to delete the sorry affair from the prying eyes of the WPBSA investigation team.
The Dark Side
“Wenbo perpetrated a sustained and deliberate assault on the female victim, late at night, leaving her in great distress”.
Jonathan Wettreich, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside.
The alarm bell started to ring when in July 2021, Wenbo was caught on CCTV punching and kicking a woman on Charles Street in Sheffield. A vicious assault that continued despite one male passer-by trying to break it up. The female in question was subjected to being dragged along the pavement and pushed up against a nearby wall. The female then had to make a 999 call to alert emergency services of the incident. Later found guilty by Sheffield Magistrates’ Court after an investigation by the police and Crown Prosecution Service, Wenbo was given a 12-month community order and a fine of £1,380. He was also given a four-month suspension from snooker as a result.
Already shamed and disgraced, Liang still made the personal choice to put his hand in the pool of deceit. His disgraceful treatment of Chang Bingyu and others shows that he was prepared to rip up and flout the rules of ethics and throw tainted money at various snooker matches, promising the earth to the players involved and tapping into their weaknesses for gambling. Despite repeated efforts for Wenbo to attend the inquiry, he failed to show up at every attempt. Liang instead decided to promote the lie that she was being framed by Chang Bingyu. Yet in the post that Chang posted on the Chinese social media site Weibo, which Liang made him delete, the young Chinese player gave a chilling account of Liang’s actions.
“On the morning of the match day, Liang Wenbo called me with a threatening tone and told me that he had placed a lot of money on his bet without my knowledge, for my match with Jamie Jones that evening. He then asked me to lose 4-1 to my opponent. I was afraid that he had bet so much money and if I refused, he would cause trouble for me, so I reluctantly agreed. He said he would give me the money afterwards. Due to my fear, I ended up losing the game 4-1 as planned”.
Chang Bingyu
The Cowardly Approach
Instead of standing up and facing the music, Liang Wenbo decided to flee to China and put a post on Weibo that he was retiring from snooker before being given a life-long ban. Described by some as a predator, Liang continues to live in denial and I am hearing that he has decided to pursue a career on the Chinese pool circuit instead. Yet his troubles may not have ended as there is a strong possibility that he and the other nine players involved, may face criminal prosecution in China. I would support this action for Liang Wenbo and Li Hang but probably not for the rest as they have been remorseful for their actions, especially Zhao Xintong who has given a lengthy apology statement on his Weibo account. This statement echoes what I feel is genuine remorsefulness for his part in this saga and how he admits that he has brought shame to snooker and has agreed to intensive counselling, arranged by the WPBSA.
