On May 2, the first day of the World Championship final, the News of the World alleged that Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney had agreed to take money to influence the outcome of matches.

Higgins and Mooney both travelled to Ukraine where they took part in a meeting with undercover reporters posing as businessmen who they believed were keen to set up tournaments in the country. Higgins and Mooney ran the World Series of Snooker, which staged tournaments in countries the main professional tour did not visit.

The News of the World alleged they agreed to accept £261,000 (€311,000) in return for fixing the outcome of four frames in matches to be played later this year at the new events.

Higgins swiftly denied the claims, insisting in a statement: “Can I say that I have never been involved in any form of snooker match-fixing. In my 18 years playing professional snooker I have never deliberately missed a shot, never mind intentionally lost a frame or a match.”

However he was immediately suspended and warned he would face “severe” punishment if the allegations could be proven.

The hearing hosted by Sport Resolutions, a London-based independent dispute resolution service, will be held behind closed doors and World Snooker will announce the outcome in a statement at its conclusion.

If Higgins is cleared, he will be free to resume his playing career with immediate effect, and could make his comeback at the World Open in Glasgow, which begins on September 18. The 35-year-old from nearby Wishaw would be sure to receive a warm welcome from the Scottish crowd.

Should the hearing find against him, however, Higgins would face a long ban from the sport, although a lifetime ban appears out of the question, on the basis of recent remarks from World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.

David Douglas, a former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent who joined the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in April, has led the investigation, which has involved examining the News of the World’s dossier, including the full video footage of the Kiev meeting.

The case will be judged by Ian Mill QC, who has considerable experience of dealing with sporting disputes. He notably chaired the independent panel which in 2004 turned down England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand’s appeal against his eight-month suspension for failing to attend a drugs test.

Higgins in May described the task of proving his innocence as “the biggest match of my life”.

He insisted at the time of the allegations coming to light that he and Mooney had feared they were in the company of “Russian mafia” in Kiev and decided “to play along with these guys and get out of Ukraine”.

Higgins is expected to be asked why, if he had encountered such a situation, he did not report it to the WPBSA.