RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has withdrawn from the Masters just days before his scheduled title defence.
The defending Masters champion, 49, cut a frustrated figure as he dramatically quit the Championship League on Thursday.
O’Sullivan reportedly threw his cue in the bin following a chaotic 3-2 loss to Robert Milkins.
The Rocket apologised to Milkins and the ref after twice rapping his cue against the table during the Group 3 match.
He entered the contest on a rough losing run after falling to defeat in four of his opening five matches in the tournament.
O’Sullivan he has now dropped out of the Masters just two days before the start on medical grounds.
He had been due to play in the first round against John Higgins on Sunday.
O’Sullivan has now been replaced in the draw by former world champ Neil Robertson.
A statement from the WST read: “Neil Robertson has replaced Ronnie O’Sullivan in the draw for the upcoming Johnstone’s Paint Masters.
“Last year’s champion O’Sullivan was due to face John Higgins in the opening match on Sunday afternoon, but has withdrawn on medical grounds.
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“Higgins will now face Robertson, who was ranked in 17th position at the seeding cutoff after the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship.
“The Johnstone’s Paint Masters runs from January 12th to 19th at Alexandra Palace in London.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Ronnie O’Sullivan fires dig at snooker chiefs after star hits ‘perfect’ 147 ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6365241026112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]O’Sullivan dropped out of several events in late 2024, including the Scottish Open.
Snooker legend Stephen Hendry has questioned if The Rocket’s “competitive spirit” remains to keep playing.
Discussing the seven-time world champion’s future, Hendry said last month: “Who’s going to pull the trigger first and say that’s it, that’s enough? I think it will be Ronnie.
“Not because of anything to do with standard of play or anything.
“He’s earning so much money now, I don’t know if the competitive spirit is still there, I don’t know.”
O’Sullivan won last year’s Masters hot on the heels of strong performances at the Shanghai Masters and the UK Championship.
Discussing his future in December, Ronnie said: “At the moment I’ve hardly played any matches since August. It is what it is.
“[I just want] to keep on playing, enjoying it, having fun and see what happens.
“I don’t really have a New Year’s resolution. Maybe it’s just to stay healthy and be happy, I suppose.
“I’m in the gym a lot. I hadn’t run for a year, I just started running a couple of months ago because my knees were a bit battered.
“So I’m doing a little bit of running, a lot of gym work, keeping fit because I think it’s good for my mind and stuff like that.”