Ronnie O’Sullivan is not playing in Cheltenham this week (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan was a late withdrawal from the British Open while defending champion Mark Williams was stunned in his opening round match in Cheltenham.
O’Sullivan was due to face Thailand’s Manasawin Phetmalaikul in his first game and was still in the draw on Monday morning.
However, the Rocket’s withdrawal was confirmed in a statement from World Snooker Tour, although no reason for the decision was given.
‘Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the Unibet British Open, which starts today in Cheltenham,’ a WST statement read.
‘He was due to face Manasawin Phetmalaikul at 7pm on Monday. O’Sullivan has ben replaced by Lewis Ullah, the highest available player from the 2024 Q School ranking list.’
O’Sullivan has not been a great supporter of the British Open since it returned to the calendar in 2021, only competing in the 2022 edition when he lost in his first match to Alexander Ursenbacher.
Another withdrawal from the event means his next competitive outing is set to be at the Wuhan Open next month.
Mark Williams fell at the first hurdle in Cheltenham (Picture: Getty Images)
Williams certainly was competing in Cheltenham as he looked to defend the title he brilliantly won last year by beating Mark Selby in the final.
He fell at the first hurdle, though, comfortably beaten 4-1 by Malaysia’s Rory Thoras the veteran struggled to deal with his new cue.
Since his run to the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters, which he so narrowly lost to Judd Trump, the Welshman has started playing with a new cue and it is taking some time for him to get used to it.
Williams was nowhere near his superb best, with Alan McManus on commentary saying he was ‘as poor as I’ve seen him play in a long, long time’ in defeat to the world number 79.
Stephen Hendry bruisingly said of Williams on ITV4: ‘It was a very, very poor performance. He’s using a new cue, I hope he was paid nicely because it’s going to derail his season. It’s going to take him a bit of getting used to.
‘It sounded horrific and his play was horrific. It was very, very bad.’
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