World Snooker have confirmed they will conduct a formal investigation into the betting controversy surrounding Jamie Burnett's defeat to Stephen Maguire at the Maplin UK Championship in Telford earlier this week.

Bookmakers suspended activity on the first-round match after a flurry of wagers were placed on a 9-3 scoreline in Maguire's favour - the margin by which the Scot did eventually win.

Burnett missed a black in the 12th frame that would have made it 8-4, and therefore removed any concerns about the result.

And while Burnett has subsequently denied any wrongdoing, WPBSA have moved to try and get to the bot

tom of the allegation.

A statement from WPBSA last night read: "At approximately 4.50pm on Friday 12 December, the WPBSA received a telephone call from a bookmaker, reporting an unusual pattern of bets on Stephen Maguire to beat Jamie Burnett by a frame score of 9-3 in a match due to take place on Sunday, 14 December.

"The WPBSA immediately notified its other bookmaker contacts, so that the bookmakers could alert the industry and obtain feedback in relation to bets placed on the match.

"It also arranged for World Snooker officials to attend and observe the match in question, and secured tapes of the match afterwards for further study. Now that the match has been played, the WPBSA will move forward with a formal investigation.

"It has already instructed specialist external legal counsel to assist it in pursuing the investigation robustly and efficiently, so as to protect the integrity of the sport while at the same time respecting its obligation to treat those being investigated fairly."

A time frame for a decision to be reached was not revealed, although the statement indicated the investigation would be a thorough process.