Mark King has been banned from playing professional snooker for five years after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The former world number 11 has been suspended from the tour since March 2023 when an investigation involving irregular betting patterns during a match against Joe Perry was opened.

There was never any accusation of Perry - who won the relevant match at the Welsh Open by a 4-0 scoreline - being involved, King serving the suspension until the conclusion of the investigation and whether any charges would be upheld.

On Friday morning, the WPBSA released a statement which revealed that the 50-year-old had been banned from the sport until March 2028, the punishment beginning from the date of the initial suspension.

An Independent Disciplinary Committee ruled that King was guilty of two offences which breached the WPBSA regulations.

In its statement, it was said of King that 'between about 1 January 2023 and 14 February 2023 in breach of Part 2 rule 2.1.3.1 [of the WPBSA Regulations] you provided information for [sic] to be used for betting purposes to another person or persons and that information included the fact that you would contrive the score and/or outcome of the [Perry match]'.

A second charge read: 'That between about 1 January 2023 and 14 February 2023 in breach of Part 2 rule 2.1.3.1 [of the WPBSA Regulations] you provided information for [sic] to be used for betting purposes to another person or persons and that information included the fact that you would contrive the score and/or outcome of the [Perry match]'.

King has also been ordered to pay costs to the WPBSA of £68,299.50.

A fall from grace

Between 1997 and 2015, King was part of the top 32 of the World Snooker Rankings, reaching three ranking finals during that period.

He won the Northern Ireland Open as recently as 2016, recording a 9-8 victory over Barry Hawkins in the final.

King was also a regular at the World Championship without ever progressing past the second round of the tournament at the Crucible.