Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled out of the Welsh Open hours before his first-round tie with Jamie Clarke, leaving hoards of fans in Llandudno bitterly disappointed.
Many had travelled hours to make it to Venue Cymru in time for O’Sullivan’s scheduled 1pm start, a return to the baize for the first time in a month, having recently pulled out of the Masters and German Masters.
Daniel Rees, proprietor of Cardiff Classic Shirts, made the six-hour total journey from the capital and stayed overnight in Chester before heading to Llandudno to watch O’Sullivan – only to be let down en route to the event.
“We got the train up last night and stayed overnight in Chester, got up early this morning and he was still in the line-up, once the TV coverage had started I thought he would definitely be appearing,” Rees explained to Express Sport.
“But when we were 10 minutes away from the venue they announced it [O’Sullivan’s withdrawal] on the TV. It shows a complete lack of respect for travelling fans and I would question whether WST [World Snooker Tour] announced it so late to ensure extra ticket sales.
“When were they informed of his withdrawal? He must have known yesterday he wouldn’t be here today.”
He explained that he had met fans who had come from as far as Canada to watch O’Sullivan make his highly-anticipated return to snooker, only for the match to be cancelled as Clarke received a bye to the second round, with fans venting their frustrations on social media.
A brief 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.”
The WST also confirmed to Metro that the withdrawal was made on the morning of the event.
O’Sullivan’s next scheduled match is against Stuart Carrington on February 23 at the World Open in Yushan, China.
Having pulled out of the Masters, German Masters and an exhibition in Finland over the past month, O’Sullivan explained that he “lost it” after snapping his cue in frustration at the Championship League.
“It was a nightmare decision [pulling out of the Masters] really to make,” he told Eurosport. “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.”
