Snookered or Safe?

In what can only be described as bizarre, Peter Ebdon was taken to the cleaners by Liang Wenbo in the 2nd round of the Northern Island Snooker Trophy Tournament on 26 August 2008.

Ebdon, a former world-champion, was whitewashed 5-0 by Wenbowho is ranked 40. In and of itself, the whitewash is entirely possible. Ebdon may simply have had a bad day: a couple of bad breaks and poor positioning could do that - but what are the odds?

Cashing in
Well, several punters felt very strongly about the odds and made a nifty profit off their hunches. During his 17-year career Ebdon has coined it from Snooker - some £2.7 million. In 2008 alone he has raked in £78,000 - so what went wrong? On the day in question, few spectators would have suspected a crushing 5-0 whitewash of Peter Ebdon. It happened and spread bettors, of all people, seemed to favor such a result.

The Gambling Commission is looking into allegations of match-fixing - its second inquiry in 7 months - but Ebdon maintains his innocence and denies any involvement in such matters. Betting odds of 100-1 for a Wang whitewash of Ebdon were on the cards. Punters were wagering £100 to £200 bets and their numbers came in. Bookies were eager to take the cash, but are now crying foul and reluctant to pay out. With odds that high and winnings so large, a few people got pretty nervous and just a tad suspicious.

2005 Gambling Act
When Ebdon failed to rack up more than 32 points off his breaks and he lost 5-0, everyone started wondering. Under the 2005 Act, two players have been banned for sports-related betting - Peter Francisco (5 years) and Quintin Hann (8 years). However there is as yet no formal investigation into the Ebdon-Liang match. Ebdon maintains his innocence and denies any connection to spread-betters.