Chang Bingyu made £172,000 from the World Championship qualifying rounds, even though he was banned for match-fixing. This remarkable sum comes after a tumultuous period in his career.
Despite not competing in the main tournament at the Crucible Theatre, Chang reached the third stage of qualifying, where he lost 10-8 to Luca Brecel. During this stage, he produced a stunning 147 maximum break—a feat that earned him significant accolades.
Key earnings:
£147,000 bonus for achieving two maximum breaks in the season’s Triple Crown events. and An additional £15,000 for having the highest break at the World Championship.
Chang’s journey has been anything but smooth. He faced a 20-month ban due to a match-fixing scandal that implicated ten Chinese players. The pressure led him to admit to fixing a match at the 2022 British Open under duress from Liang Wenbo.
After his ban expired in December 2024, Chang returned to snooker with renewed vigor. He quickly made headlines by winning the Asia-Pacific Championship and becoming runner-up at the 2025 Scottish Open. Shaun Murphy, a stalwart of the sport, praised Chang’s performance, stating, “That was as good as anything I’ve ever witnessed in my 35 years playing snooker.”
The scandal surrounding him resulted in lifetime bans for Liang Wenbo and Li Hang—an outcome that shocked many in the snooker community. Yet, observers are keenly watching how Chang’s return will shape his career moving forward.
The implications of this scandal extend beyond individual players; they touch on the integrity of snooker as a whole. As Chang continues to navigate this complex landscape, his next moves will undoubtedly be scrutinized by fans and officials alike.
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