The 2008 Malta Cup, which came to a close on Sunday night at the Hilton Conference Centre, is under investigation by a betting regulator in the UK for suspicious betting patterns.
The tournament, which carried no ranking points this year, saw the participation of most of the world's top 16 players as well as Maltese wild cards Alex Borg and Tony Drago.
Shaun Murphy retained the title after beating Ken Doherty 9-3 in the final.
Yesterday, the BBC reported that irregular betting patterns were spotted during the invitational tournament and that Gambling Commission was looking at stakes placed during games from the round-robin competition.
The Commission regulates gambling in the public interest and provides independent advice to government in Britain. Gambling Commission, a UK non-departmental public body, was established in October 2005.
The Guardian newspaper's website revealed that the Commission had received tip-offs about suspected match-fixing which is a criminal offence in Britain that can carry a prison term of up to two years.
Dialogue is underway between the commission and the World Snooker Association, the newspaper added.
World Snooker was quoted as saying: "We have an agreement with the Association of British Bookmakers whereby we are contacted confidentially if betting patterns are detected.
"In such cases the match in question is carefully monitored by our most senior officials and thorough assessment of the players' performance is made.
"In past incidents where players have been judged guilty of match-fixing or intention to match-fix, which are extremely rare, we have taken a particularly stringent line."
Contacted yesterday by The Times, Snooker Promotions director Richard Balani said he had no official confirmation or otherwise of the allegations surrounding the 2008 Malta Cup.
"This is news for us and Gambling Commission's action took us by surprise," he said.
"As organisers, Snooker Promotions have nothing to do with the betting trends. Our only worry is to see that the competition is run smoothly. It is up to World Snooker to investigate.
"Obviously, we will be monitoring all developments closely and see what comes up."
Former snooker players Quinten Hann and Peter Francisco were handed long-term suspensions for matters related to match-fixing in the past.
Francisco, from South Africa, was barred from the game for five years after an investigation into his World Championship match against Jimmy White in 1995.
On that occasion there were an unusual number of bets on a 10-2 win for White which was the eventual outcome.
Hann was sentenced to eight years out of the game in 2006 after a World Snooker investigation into a story in UK tabloids which alleged that the Australian had agreed to lose a game at the 2005 China Open in return for money. Hann denied the charges.