Former snooker champion Graeme Dott has been suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) just days before the World Snooker Championship. The Scot was due to feature in the World Championship qualifiers on Friday, with Dott having won the competition back in 2006.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the WPBSA announced: "Graeme Dott has been suspended by the WPBSA due to a case which is scheduled to be heard before the High Court in Scotland. Whilst court proceedings are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for the WPBSA to make any further comment."

The World Championship is set to get underway in Sheffield on 19 April, but Dott won't be involved. It will mark the first World Championship - main draw and qualifiers - since 1995 that the Scottish-born cuesmith will be missing for the event.

The snooker star from Larkhall in Scotland turned professional in 1994 and broke into the top-16 seven years later in 2001. Alongside his 2006 World Championship win, Dott boasts one other ranking title to his name, the 2007 China Open.

Either side of his Crucible win against Peter Ebdon 19 years ago, Dott also finished as a World Championship runner-up in 2004 and 2010. The now 47-year-old reached a career high of second in the world rankings back in 2007 and had ranked 56th in the world prior to his suspension.

Dott's form dropped off a cliff in the late 2010s when he slipped into depression following several personal life incidents. His friend and mentor Alex Lambie died just after Dott won the World Championship, whereas, weeks later, his wife Elaine, suffered a miscarriage while having checks for a potentially cancerous ovarian cyst.

Dott struggled to hit the same heights from that point on and following his runner-up finish at the 2010 World Championship, has managed just three ranking title final appearances. So far in the 2024/25 event, Dott has made it beyond the first round of a ranking event just twice - the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and British Open.

Last year, Dott had teased a career change, suggesting he could make the switch to the more lucrative eight-ball pool circuit. He said: “I’m not taking it deadly serious at the moment, it’s a bit of fun, but if I got better at it then it’s something I could definitely do more in the future if I got better at it.

“It’s something I will probably look into but, for now, I’m getting decent appearance-free money, and I want to do well, the extra prize money is of course a bonus. But I want to perform and, the more I play in these events, the more I think I’ll start challenging more. I wouldn’t play if I can’t any good at it, for sure, I’m just too competitive for that.”