 This need being enough for Fernandez to qualify the main tour, however Fernandez was suspended from the sport of snooker for a period of 15 months following corruption charges and would not be eligible to participate in snooker events before 27 August 2017.In November 2017, Fernandez beat the world number three player Ding Junhui in the UK Championship coming from 5-1 behind to defeat the two-time former UK Champion 6–5 at the York Barbican.Fernandez was born in Limerick, Ireland, but lives in Kendal England, where he practises with manager Andy Milliard

Fernandez was given a 15-month ban by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in July 2016 for admitting to a breach of their corruption rules.