Stephen Lee has expressed his thoughts on a potential comeback to the World Snooker Tour after serving a 12-year ban for match-fixing. The former snooker player was suspended in 2014 by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) after being found guilty of manipulating match outcomes, including one at the prestigious World Championship.
Having completed his ban, Lee is now eligible to participate in WPBSA-sanctioned events such as Q-School, a necessary step to rejoin the main World Snooker Tour (WST). Despite this opportunity, the 51-year-old stated in a recent interview that he has no intentions of returning to the top level due to the lack of support he feels he received from the WPBSA.
Residing in Thailand, Lee mentioned to The Hindu that while he still enjoys playing snooker at a certain level, he has no desire to engage in the rigorous process of Q School after such a lengthy ban. He also expressed his disinterest in working with WPBSA again, citing a lack of assistance from the association.
If Lee decides to make a comeback, he would need to settle a £125,000 debt with the WPBSA related to legal proceedings and unsuccessful appeals before being allowed to compete again. Lee, who previously ranked as high as fifth in the world standings, achieved notable successes in the past, including reaching the semi-final of the World Championship and the final of the Masters in 2008.
During his suspension, it was determined that Lee deliberately lost matches against several opponents, including Ken Doherty, Marco Fu, Stephen Hendry, Mark King, Neil Robertson, and Mark Selby, through prearranged outcomes. The WPBSA emphasized its zero-tolerance policy towards match-fixing when penalizing Lee, stating that such actions would not be tolerated within the sport.
Lee’s ban, one of the severest in snooker history at the time, was surpassed by the Chinese match-fixing scandal in 2023, leading to lifetime bans for players like Liang Wenbo and Li Hang. The incident highlighted the sport’s firm stance against any form of corruption, reinforcing the importance of maintaining integrity in professional snooker.