Former world snooker champion Alex Higgins has claimed that 4 top snooker players have taken bribes.

The 1972 and 1982 Crucible king said: “I’m still in touch with top agents in the game and the only thing they’ve said about this is, “How greedy do you want to be?” I know of at least four pros who have taken big bribes to chuck games. The names would shock the public if it was proved they were on the take.”

“Just because they wear crisp white shirts doesn’t make them clean…

Barry Hearn has confessed that the News of the World exposé on John Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney does not ‘look good’ for the 3-time Crucible winner.

Hearn, speaking after the News of the World published a story on world number 1 and last year’s World Champion Higgins, which allegedly shows him agreeing to lose 4 frames of snooker in exchange for a cash payment of £261,000, said:

“Obviously the guy is in bits and I can sympathise with him because it’s been his whole life – the guy is number one in the world”

Australians don’t do losing. From a young age they seem to be instilled with a fiercely competitive nature to triumph in whatever sporting arena you place them in. For a nation sandwiched between Taiwan and Syria in a list of countries by population they certainly exceed in pretty much every sport and have had world champions in tennis, rugby, cricket and golf.

One sport that has eluded them is snooker. But that all changed with Neil Robertson’s 18-13 victory over Scotland’s Graeme Dott on Sunday…

After crashing out to Graeme Dott in the first round of the World Snooker Championship and slipping out of the world’s elite top 16 in the process, Peter Ebdon has expressed his concern at Barry Hearn’s plan to shake up the sport.

Hearn, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, has plans for his Matchroom Sport business to take a 51% share in the sport, with the remaining stake leftover to players and fellow promoters.

But 2002 world champion, Ebdon, is unhappy with Hearn’s company having such a stranglehold on the game

With the World Snooker Championship set to get underway at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre this weekend, defending champion John Higgins has predicted a gloomy forecast if Barry Hearn fails to succeed in reinvigorating the sport.

Speaking to The Independent, Higgins said: “He wants a lot more tournaments for less prize money. We’ve all got to get away from this idea that the big money’s still around.”
“It was fantastic when I came into snooker, when tobacco was throwing lots of money at it, and even when they fell away we thought others would come in because of all the TV exposure….”

The draw for the first round of the World Snooker Championships was made earlier today, with Ronnie O’Sullivan’s clash with Chinese ace Liang Wenbo the pick of the Crucible openers.

Elsewhere, defending champion John Higgins begins his campaign against Barry Hawkins, while qualifier Ken Doherty faces a battle against Mark Selby to reach the second round.

Steve Davis will be making a record breaking 30th appearance at this year’s World Championships and opens up against Mark King…

Former World Snooker Champion John Parrott appears to be on the brink of calling time on his 27 year snooker career after he lost to Chinese teenager Anda Zhang in the World Championship qualifiers yesterday.

The 10-6 defeat leaves Parrott in the precarious position of 65th in the world, one place away from a spot on the tour next season and the 1991 Crucible winner was resigned in chances of competing again in the future.

“If I’m off the tour, it’s fairly certain that I’ll retire. I certainly won’t be playing any…”

Mark Selby came back from 4-1 and 9-6 down to defeat Ronnie O’Sullivan in a final frame thriller at The Masters last night.

Selby played some truly breathtaking snooker in the last 4 frames of the match to complete an unlikely 10-9 victory and pocket €150,0000 in the process.

After clinching his second Masters crown he said: “I thought I was dead and buried at 9-6. To play Ronnie anywhere it’s a great atmosphere but this was special. I just took it a frame at a time.”