Match fixing suspicion in the Maguire - Burnett match

[crush]

And to think I got an 8 year ban for just agreeing to throw a match!

it's the most interesting thing I've read here

[João]

Burnett also lost 5-0 to Ding in the Grand Prix earlier this season. No idea how the bets were for that one though.

[cueman]

Lets just say I think most of the players on this forum would have been closer to potting that black than Burnett was! I suppose world snooker proving this is going to be difficult though and that's why some players will carry on and get away with it time after time. But the facts are plain for everyone to see, the bookies suspended bets on a 9-3, Burnett showed no determination once he got to 3 frames and basically threw that last black but he'll get away with it.

[spike]

Only seen the missed black for the first time at 7pm tonight on BBC2. Have to say it looked iffy!

[highbreak 8]

reply

If you were trying diliberatly to miss the black that would be the way to do it , to under cut it at that speed ,is about as dodgy as the alleged Peter Francisco missed yellow off its spot , when he got suspended for NOT GIVING HIS BEST . I think Hazel Irvins veiled remark said it all , Burnett 's last words in the interview were its my livelyhood , she said Exactly . Its only an allegation of course , but as a poster alludes to He will be lucky to make 25k a year , that if proved could have made him at a stroke more , there was a very well known player allegedly who in finals seemed to allways lose , its the easiest sport to throw . I personally know of when the qualifiers were at the Norbreck in the 80's players who had bad night , split with there wife's and i was told ,not that they would throw a match but they were not in the best frame of mind . i obviously cant say who . If this is proven it will rock the sport .at a time when the standard of the old guard is at best good club player standard . Higgins , and Hendry were dire , i think they dont have the will anymore to try and emulate Ronnie's standards .

[mister_e]

got to be a fix!! when jamie said "ive never flet pressure ever in my life before like that" ??? surely his 148 in 2004 world qualifiers he'd be crapping it more than a fairly easy black be so far behind in the match. so far behind that he had nothing to lose really.

[DandyA]

grow up people ... not members of this fine forum but bookmakers and others ... if Betfair cry every time they lose a bet then I simply say, they should not be taking bets ...

simple as that ... bookmakers usually spread the bets so they cannot lose whatever the outcome - did they get the spread wrong in this case?

I watched the last few frames of this match and I for one will be more than happy to stand up in court and say it was a good game and Jamie Burnett tried his heart out ...

my heart bleeds for the bookmakers ... and I am very well aware that Betfair spreads the bets to buyers and sellers so they will claim it's nothing to do with them ... I say bollocks ...

the Maguire/Burnett match was a good match and I thoroughly enjoyed it ...

what odds did Betfair quote on Steve Davis playing the "impossinle" shot in his match against Ding ... certainly both comentators (Virgo and Thorne?) thought it was impossible ... totally impossible ... absolutely impossible ...

is Betfair going to report Virgo and Thorne for match-fizing? and if not, why not - they said the shot was totally impossible - it could not be done ...

fortunately for them, I doubt they had a chance to make a book on it cos Steve Davis did make it and made it very convincingly but as I said, my heart bleeds for the owners of Betfair ...

[tallguy]

Does anyone have a link to the the 12th frame or the missed black ? I couldn't find it on youtube.

[DandyA]

I'd also like to add that the more dangerous thing for bookmakers are "shills" ... bookmakers rely on each individual person making his or her own bet - then bookmakers can spread the bets ...

Shills are two or more people acting in unison ... very very dangerous for bookmakers cos they (the Shills) can seriously alter the odds ...

nearly, but not quite as dangerous as Robert Redford and Paul Newman in "The Sting" ... what a great film that is ... what odds will Betfair give me that Donnigan wins when it's shown again this Christmas?

[Kathrin]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2041908.ece

SNOOKER was rocked by a betting scandal last night after a series of “irregular” big wagers on a game.

Suspicious bookies suspended bets on the match at the UK Championships.

The players, World No2 Stephen Maguire and pal Jamie Burnett, yesterday strongly denied match fixing.

Bookies had smelt a rat and halted betting after large sums were gambled predicting a 9-3 victory for the favourite Maguire.

Despite their suspicions, the first round clash went ahead on Sunday — and Maguire duly won 9-3.

Veteran BBC commentator Clive Everton last night called for an independent probe.

Everton, who covered the game, said: “There should be an inquiry which should consider the betting patterns.

“It should be conducted by snooker people. The last two frames should be studied particularly closely.”

Bookmakers grew suspicious several days before the contest at the Telford International Centre, Shropshire.

They were particularly worried about big money wagers predicting a 9-3 win for Maguire placed by first-timers in Glasgow.

Maguire, 27 — who was runner-up in last year’s UK Championship — comes from Milton in Glasgow. World No45 Burnett is from nearby Hamilton.

Cliff Wilds — head of sport for Victor Chandler — said: “When you get new accounts opened from Glasgow addresses to bet correct frame scores alarm bells go off.

“It’s very unusual to lay any frame score bets so far in advance — and we took half a dozen for fairly large sums of money.

“We took no money on Maguire to win 9-2 or 9-4 — only 9-3. That set the alarm bells off as well.

“Boylesports and Stan James have taken money for 9-3 as well.”

The two players — friends who used to practise together — protested their innocence.

But they admit they knew of the bets storm before their match.

Burnett, 33 — who missed a pot for a black to make the score 8-4 — said: “My friend phoned and said bookmakers had taken the betting off.

“In the last frame I thought ‘I need to try my life off here’ — just in case something stupid was being said or anything like that.

“I felt under pressure — probably the most pressure I’ve ever been in my life, to be honest.”

Players have been banned before for match-rigging but Burnett insisted he had nothing to hide.

“There’s been talk of matches going to be this score or that score but I don’t particularly care,” he said.

“I play to win all the time. If anybody’s got anything to say about it, then I’m willing to talk to them. I don’t have a problem with it.”

Maguire — the 2004 UK Champion — said: “I’m surprised he missed the final black in the final frame. Jamie’s a good player.”

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association has yet to launch an investigation.

A statement said: “A thorough assessment of the players’ performance will be made.”

[adrift]

Does anyone have a link to the the 12th frame or the missed black ? I couldn't find it on youtube.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ryPHSJfCo9o

[Monique]

A thourough investigation is needed in all cases like these because snooker certainly relies on the booking business for its "health", at least in UK and most probably in China.

Having said that I would not jump to conclusions regarding Jamie Burnett's nervousness being evidence to guiltyness. The guy's living is depending on his job. This is a serious accusation and he may face most serious consequences. He has some reasons to be nervous and he had just "fluked" that pink... He must have been shaking!

[Ekphantos]

I finally got around to watch the frame in question, thanks for the upload!
Some bad misses, but then you see that sometimes.
I wonder, if he had really wanted to lose the frame that badly, wouldn't it have been less suspicious to mess up a safety a bit earlier? Or why didn't he just try to miss the blue after running out of position? First pot a difficult long pot and then try to miss one over a similar distance (pink) just seconds after that? Doesn't make much sense to me.
Looking at the pink and black alone, it is suspicious, but the shots he played before didn't seem all that awful (only the double kiss on the yellow was bad)

[In-off]

grow up people ... not members of this fine forum but bookmakers and others ... if Betfair cry every time they lose a bet then I simply say, they should not be taking bets ...

simple as that ... bookmakers usually spread the bets so they cannot lose whatever the outcome - did they get the spread wrong in this case?

I watched the last few frames of this match and I for one will be more than happy to stand up in court and say it was a good game and Jamie Burnett tried his heart out ...

my heart bleeds for the bookmakers ... and I am very well aware that Betfair spreads the bets to buyers and sellers so they will claim it's nothing to do with them ... I say bollocks ...

the Maguire/Burnett match was a good match and I thoroughly enjoyed it ...

what odds did Betfair quote on Steve Davis playing the "impossinle" shot in his match against Ding ... certainly both comentators (Virgo and Thorne?) thought it was impossible ... totally impossible ... absolutely impossible ...

is Betfair going to report Virgo and Thorne for match-fizing? and if not, why not - they said the shot was totally impossible - it could not be done ...

fortunately for them, I doubt they had a chance to make a book on it cos Steve Davis did make it and made it very convincingly but as I said, my heart bleeds for the owners of Betfair ...

That's got to be the most laughable post EVER

You tell people to 'grow up'. In the grown up world, serious allegations are investigated properly by experts rather than relying on someone off the internet who doesn't like bookmakers.

[Templeton Peck]

It's impossible to prove by just looking at misses and betting patterns are the equivalent of a smoking gun but not proof in itself. Unless there are witnesses to the arrangement or there is suspect shot selection like with Francisco then there's not much you can do.