Ronnie O'Sullivan withdraws from 2025 German Masters due to medical reasons


World number three O'Sullivan was scheduled to face amateur player Dylan Emery in his opening match, but the Welsh youngster - who won two qualifying matches to reach the main venue - now receives a bye into the last 32 of the £550,400 ranking event. The news was announced on the World Snooker Tour website.
It is not a surprise that seven-time World Champion O'Sullivan has pulled out of the event; he has withdrawn from several other tournaments this season. He last played at the Tempodrom in 2017.
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At the recent behind-closed-doors Championship League Snooker Invitational in Leicester, a frustrated O'Sullivan broke his cue and left it in a bin following a loss to Robert Milkins, which saw him leave the event early despite having one more league match to play.
Subsequently, O'Sullivan - who was the title holder - withdrew from the Masters. Whilst he didn't play at the Alexandra Palace in London, O'Sullivan was part of the on-site Eurosport punditry team where he discussed 'losing the plot' at the Championship League a few days before, and that he was getting used to another cue in preparation for tournaments later in the season. He also had an engaging post-match conversation with Mark Selby about mental health in the sport at the event - a discussion that drew a lot of attention online.
The next professional event on the World Snooker Tour that O'Sullivan could be involved in is the 2025 Welsh Open at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno in mid-February. The record 41-time ranking event winner is in the draw and would face a qualifier in the final 64, but he didn't play in the last two Home Nations Series events, so his participation is very doubtful, although it is at a location he appears to like.
Should O'Sullivan not be in Wales, his next outing on the sport's premier circuit could very well be at the 2025 World Open in Yushan, China that starts on February 23rd. Pretty much straight after that tournament is the first Players Series event of the season, the 2025 World Grand Prix, which is being held outside of the United Kingdom for the first time.
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The Grand Hall at the Kai Tak Arena - a new venue that can hold around 4,000 spectators - is the new home for the World Grand Prix, which this year has a heavily increased top prize of £180,000.
Currently sitting 18th on the one-year/seasonal ranking list, O'Sullivan is almost certain to qualify for that 32-player tournament, although he has a lot of work to do if he is to qualify for the Players Championship and Tour Championship events later in the term.
EDIT: O’Sullivan has since withdrawn from an exhibition event he was due to play in against John Higgins in Helsinki, Finland on Saturday 25th January - the weekend before the 2025 German Masters begins.
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