Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of this year’s Masters snooker tournament on medical grounds.
The world number three, who has won the competition eight times, was due to face John Higgins in the opening match on Sunday afternoon.
Neil Robertson has replaced O’Sullivan in the draw for the Masters, which takes place at Alexandra Palace in London until 19 January.
It comes after O’Sullivan, a seven-time world champion, whacked his cue on the table in frustration and lashed the white ball into a group of reds during his defeat to Rob Milkins in snooker’s Championship League on Thursday.
The 49-year-old is reported to have thrown his cue in the bin before pulling out of the event ahead of a scheduled afternoon meeting with Ali Carter.
O’Sullivan played four matches in the competition on Wednesday, losing three of them, and seemed to have trouble with the tip on his cue.
A statement from the World Snooker Tour 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“Last year’s champion O’Sullivan was due to face John Higgins in the opening match on Sunday afternoon, but has withdrawn on medical grounds.”
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It comes after O’Sullivan withdrew from the Northern Ireland Open for medical reasons in October 2024.
It was the third consecutive tournament that O’Sullivan had withdrawn from, having also skipped the British Open and Wuhan Open.
O’Sullivan was knocked out on the opening day of the UK Championship in November last year having previously won the tournament eight times.
