Ronnie O’Sullivan will miss another snooker tournament after withdrawing from next week’s German Masters. The seven-time world champion had been due to face Dylan Emery in the last 32 in Berlin on Tuesday.
The event was set to mark O’Sullivan’s return after skipping his Masters title defence this month, citing exhaustion.
But the 49-year-old has now opted to extend his break in order to prioritise his mental health.
The development is likely to prompt further fears from fans over the future of the icon. It is the seventh event O’Sullivan has pulled out of in the 2024/25 season, and it is the eighth time he has opted to skip the invitational event in Germany.
O’Sullivan has not played since confessing to “losing the plot” in the Championship League ahead of the Masters. During a 3-2 defeat to Robert Milkins in Leicester, he broke his cue and left it in a bin, before pulling out of his final group match.
He was later ordered to take the cue home by organisers. And explaining his decision not to play at Alexandra Palace, the world No.3 blamed his erratic behaviour on his recent excursions in the Far East.
“I’ve obviously been on this three-week trip, away playing, and I think I just exhausted myself,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure while I was away and the build-up of all that kind of got too much.
“I lost the plot on Thursday and snapped my cue so that’s unplayable, so I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was not to play. It’s such a big tournament I felt whoever was going to come in should at least have a couple of days’ notice.”
O’Sullivan did proceed to work on the Masters as a pundit for Eurosport. And during the event, he called on snooker chiefs to provide more support for players on the tour, and said full-time doctors should be employed to be on hand at tournaments.
O’Sullivan has not confirmed if he will compete at the Welsh Open next month, having opted not to play last year, citing “stage fright”. The tournament is being held in Llandudno from February 10-16.
The star is not the only high-profile player to withdraw from the German Masters, which gets underway on Monday. World No.9 Ding Junhui has also pulled out after being due to take on Ross Muir in the opening round.
