Mark Allen has withdrawn from the upcoming Shanghai Masters due to personal reasons, with Ali Carter taking his place in the draw.
The world number 10 confirmed that ‘family reasons’ were behind his decision not to play in the invitational event, which starts later this month.
The 39-year-old said in a statement: ‘I would have loved to play in Shanghai but I’m not able to make it this year for family reasons.
‘I’d like to apologise to the fans, our partners in Shanghai and my sponsors Liberwin and Omin as I have always enjoyed playing in this fantastic event. I’ll be working hard to make sure I’m in it next season.’
The Pistol was scheduled to face a wildcard player, who is yet to be confirmed, but world number 17 Carter will now take Allen’s place in the draw and play in the opening round on July 29.
While clearly Allen is dealing with more important matters, it is a blow to miss out on the prestigious event early in the season.
Even defeat in the opening round sees players pocket £10,000, while the champions walks away with £210,000.
Allen is yet to play this season, with his next match scheduled to be in the opening round of the Wuhan Open in August.
The Shanghai Masters sees the world’s top 16 qualify, joined by the next four highest ranked Chinese players and four amateur wildcards.
The 24-player draw means the top eight in the world go straight into the last 16, while players ranked 9-16 have to face the Chinese qualifiers.
This year’s event runs from July 28 to the final on August 3 at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium.
Shanghai Masters draw and schedule
Monday July 28
UK times
Round One
02.30: Barry Hawkins vs Wu Yize
02.30: Si Jiahui vs Wildcard
07.00: Zhang Anda vs Yuan Sijun
07.00: Chris Wakelin vs Wildcard
12.30: Neil Robertson vs Pang Junxu
12.30: Shaun Murphy vs Wildcard
Tuesday July 29
Round One
02.30: Ali Carter vs Wildcard
02.30: Xiao Guodong vs Lei Peifan
Round Two
07.00: Kyren Wilson vs Si/Wildcard
07.00: Mark Selby vs Murphy/Wildcard
12.30: Ding Junhui vs Zhang/Yuan
12.30: Judd Trump vs Robertson/Pang
Wednesday July 30
Round Two
07.00: Mark Williams vs Allen/Wildcard
07.00: John Higgins vs Xiao/Lei
12.30: Zhao Xintong vs Wakelin/Wildcard
12.30: Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Hawkins/Wu
Judd Trump will head to Shanghai as the defending champion after beating Shaun Murphy in last year’s final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has tended to be the star of the show at the Shanghai Masters, though, winning four editions on the spin before Trump beat him in last season’s semi-finals.
World champion Zhao Xintong will be making his debut in this incarnation of the Shanghai Masters, having played in the previous ranking event version over a decade ago.
Shanghai Masters previous winners
Non-ranking event
2024 Judd Trump
2023 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2019 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2018 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Ranking event
2017 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2016 Ding Junhui
2015 Kyren Wilson
2014 Stuart Bingham
2013 Ding Junhui
2012 John Higgins
2011 Mark Selby
2010 Ali Carter
2009 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2008 Ricky Walden
2007 Dominic Dale