Ronnie O'Sullivan pulls out of British Open hours before opening match against Manasawin Phetmalaikul
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Updated 23/09/2024 at 14:50 GMT+1
The British Open will not feature snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan after the 48-year-old withdrew from the tournament on Monday, just hours before his opening match against Manasawin Phetmalaikul. O'Sullivan had been tipped to make a strong run at the event, which this year is being staged at the Centaur Arena in Cheltenham. Lewis Ullah has replaced O'Sullivan in the official schedule.
He clinches shock win over O'Sullivan at English Open
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O'Sullivan has withdrawn from the British Open, with Lewis Ullah his replacement in the official tournament draw.
The seven-time world champion had been due to take on Manasawin Phetmalaikul in his opening match on Monday - but his withdrawal became apparent as he was replaced on the WST tournament schedule by Ullah.
There is a high-profile line-up jostling for the British Open crown - with champion Mark Williams vying to extend his reign, alongside Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen.
The Rocket was also absent for the British Open in 2023 due to medical reasons and will again miss out on the chance of securing the ÂŁ100,000 winner's prize, with his absence for the 2024 tournament confirmed just hours before his opening-round tie was set to commence.
O'Sullivan will now be looking towards the Wuhan Open - starting on October 6 - for his return to action after crashing out of the English Open in the opening round last week.
The world No. 4 struggled to find any form at the table as he suffered defeat to He Guoqiang in Brentwood - a loss he later slammed as "awful" and "embarrassing".
O'Sullivan has had a busy recent period with cue in hand, taking part in the Xi'an Grand Prix - where he eventually lost to Kyren Wilson in the semi-final - before crashing out of the Saudi Arabia Masters in the quarter-final to an inspired Si Jiahui.
The English Open soon followed, and after his opening-round defeat, The Rocket casted doubts over his potential involvement in the next World Snooker Championship - which takes place in April 2025.
"Forget about the Worlds. I'm not even bothered to be honest with you, if I'm going to play rubbish I might as well play left-handed,” he said.
"Play left-handed and enjoy it, but be useless, or play right-handed, be useless and not enjoy it.
"I haven't got long, I'm not going to deny it, I'm not playing well enough, there's no point in even worrying about it - I've just accepted it now, which is quite a nice place to be really."
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'Steady decline for five years' - O'Sullivan critical of performance despite victory over Zhang
Video credit: TNT Sports
O'Sullivan, who was defeated at the quarter-final stage of the 2024 World Championship, needs one more Crucible title to stand alone as the most successful player at the event and surpass his joint-record of seven titles with Stephen Hendry.
Despite his recent struggles, O'Sullivan's title-winning form is not all too distant - with the 48-year-old scooping the World Snooker Tour player of the year award in May, rewarding his remarkable five-title campaign.
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