Ronnie O’Sullivan withdraws from Welsh Open on day of opening match at Home Nations event
Updated 11/02/2025 at 10:15 GMT
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s extended absence from snooker goes on after he pulled out of the Welsh Open on the day he was scheduled to play his opening match. The seven-time world champion was due to face Jamie Clarke in Llandudno on Tuesday, with the Welshman now receiving a bye to the next round. O’Sullivan has not played since the Championship League on January 9 and is yet to win a title this season.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the Welsh Open hours before he was due to face Jamie Clarke in the first round.
The Rocket has not played competitively since he snapped his cue during the Championship League in January and subsequently withdrew before his final group-stage match against Ali Carter.
He then pulled out of the Masters on "medical grounds" where he had been drawn to play Scotland’s John Higgins in the opening round at Alexandra Palace.
O'Sullivan admitted he "exhausted" himself in the build-up to the Triple Crown event and went onto withdraw from the German Masters as well.
It was hoped he would return to action in Llandudno but his withdrawal means Clarke has received a bye into the second round, where the Welshman will face either Matthew Selt or Ricky Walden.
A short statement from the WST read: "Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
"O'Sullivan was due to face Jamie Clarke at 1pm on Tuesday afternoon. Clarke will now receive a bye to the last 32."
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O'Sullivan is yet to win an event this season and currently sits 20th on the one-year list, with April's World Championship fast approaching.
The 49-year-old is a seven-time champion of the Crucible and needs one more title to break clear of Stephen Hendry and claim the solo record.
Another win would also mean he has eight world, UK and Masters titles on his roll of honour.
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The Welsh Open is live on Eurosport and discovery+ and, despite the absence of O'Sullivan, will see some of the sport's biggest names battle it out for the title.
Masters champion Shaun Murphy is in action today against Ma Hailong, while Mark Allen scraped through to round two with a 4-3 win over Stan Moody.
World champion and second seed Kyren Wilson takes on Marco Fu later today, while the likes of Mark Selby and home hero Mark Williams have already booked their spots in the next round.
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Stream top snooker action, including the Welsh Open, live and on-demand on discovery+
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