Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the Welsh Open just hours before his scheduled first-round match in Llandudno.
The seven-time world champion was set to make his competitive return to snooker against Jamie Clarke.
A brief statement from World Snooker Tour 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.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the Welsh Open
Getty
The last-minute withdrawal marks the latest in a series of tournament absences for ‘The Rocket’.
O’Sullivan has not competed since his Championship League exit in January, where he snapped his cue and struck the table in frustration.
Following that incident, he withdrew from the Masters tournament just over a day before his scheduled match against John Higgins.
These withdrawals have raised concerns about the current form and participation of one of snooker’s most prominent figures.
As a result of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal, Jamie Clarke has received a bye into the second round of the tournament in Llandudno.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has struggled for consistency this yearPAO’Sullivan’s next tournament is currently unclear with only four more tournaments before the season-ending World Championship in April.
The World Open in China gets underway on February 23 and he’s set to face Stuart Carrington.
But O’Sullivan has shown time and time again this season that he’s more than ready to withdraw with just a few hours notice.
O’Sullivan made it through to the last-16 at last year’s World Open before losing a close battle against Hossein Vafaei.
It’s been a season to forget for O’Sullivan having won just 12 of 26 main draw matches.
His frustrations got the better of him in the Champions League last month, where he admitted to ‘losing the plot’.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters last month
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Speaking after withdrawing from the Masters, O’Sullivan said: “It was a nightmare decision really to make, if you’d have asked me Sunday if I was ready to play I’d probably have been ok to play. But it’s such a massive tournament.
“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.
“I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable, so I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play and such a big tournament that I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days notice.”