Stephen Lee (snooker player)

Stephen Lee

Lee at the 2012 Paul Hunter Classic
Born	(1974-10-12) 12 October 1974 (age 49) Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Sport country	England
Professional	1992–2014
Highest ranking	5 (2000/2001, 2003/04)
Century breaks	184
Tournament wins
Ranking	5
Minor-ranking	2

Stephen Lee (born 12 October 1974) is an English former professional snooker player who is currently serving a 12-year ban from the sport. He turned professional in 1992, reached a career-high of fifth in the snooker world rankings for the 2000–01 season, and won five ranking titles. His best performances in Triple Crown events were reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Championship, where he lost to eventual champion Mark Williams, and reaching the final of the 2008 Masters, where he was runner-up to Mark Selby. He compiled 184 century breaks in professional competition and was noted for his smooth cue action.^[1]

West Midlands police arrested Lee in February 2010 as part of an investigation into suspicious betting patterns at the 2009 UK Championship, but no further action was taken against him at that time. Following further reports of irregular betting patterns on a 2012 Premier League match between Lee and John Higgins on 11 October 2012, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) suspended Lee the next day and subsequently brought match-fixing charges against him. After an independent tribunal found Lee guilty of influencing the outcome of seven matches in 2008 and 2009, he was banned from competing in or attending any WPBSA-affiliated tournament for 12 years, backdated to the beginning of his suspension. This was the longest ban handed down in the sport until Liang Wenbo and Li Hang received lifetime bans in 2023. Lee appealed the decision, but his appeal was dismissed in May 2014, meaning that his ban will remain in force until 12 October 2024, also the date of his 50th birthday. Lee was ordered to pay the WPBSA £125,000 in costs relating to his hearing and appeal, but has not yet done so.