Ronnie O’Sullivan spoke about his Scottish Open withdrawal as he started his punditry duties on the event for Eurosport on Friday.

There have been divided opinions on the world primary’s repeated choices to drag out of occasions this time period.

O’Sullivan has cited well being issues on six events because the summer season, throughout which he has missed his defence of the Champion of Champions along with 5 rating occasions.

The newest prevalence was for this week’s Scottish Open, coming simply over every week after his good eighth UK Championship glory in York.

An official announcement from the World Snooker Tour on the newest O’Sullivan no-show didn’t come till Monday morning, on what was day one of many competitors on the Meadowbank Sports activities Centre.

Nevertheless, the Rocket confirmed totally different experiences that he had truly pulled out the day earlier than.

“I’m feeling alright – not too unhealthy,” Ronnie O’Sullivan instructed Rachel Casey on Eurosport throughout the quarter-final day on the Scottish Open.

“I’ve recovered from the UK Championships. It was a tough event, and it took rather a lot out of me.”

“I wasn’t fairly prepared to return and play right here on the Scottish Open, which was actually disappointing, as a result of I like this event, I like this metropolis, and I like this venue.

“Opposite to what everybody mentioned, I did pull out on Sunday night time. I didn’t go away it till the final minute, like everybody appeared to assume.

“I wouldn’t try this. However I’m nonetheless joyful to be right here watching a terrific event with some improbable gamers nonetheless left within the event.”

Whereas the distinction between Sunday and Monday might not appear to be rather a lot, it did even have a big influence on whether or not a substitute top-up might have been drafted in or not.

“If Ronnie had pulled out Sunday night time, why have been we, as Q College high ups, not knowledgeable sooner?” novice Steven Hallworth wrote on social media.

“(At) 10am Monday morning I used to be contacted by the World Snooker Tour to get to Edinburgh for 1pm to play – unattainable.”

“Disgrace, as I’d have pushed straight there if I might have made it.”

O’Sullivan’s absence, which might have had a dangerous influence by way of promotion and ticket gross sales, finally resulted in opponent Liam Graham receiving a bye.

Alfie Davies, son of former skilled Anthony Davies, was one other participant requested on Monday morning but additionally couldn’t make the journey as much as Scotland in time.

Graham, in the meantime, wasn’t joyful in regards to the scenario both, though the rookie may want he had stayed quiet after listening to O’Sullivan’s aspect of the story.

“It’s disrespectful what he’s executed, it’s not proper,” Graham was quoted by the Each day Document as saying on Monday.

“Lots of people took break day work to return and watch right this moment and it’s disappointing.”

“On the finish of the day I need to play the very best gamers on the earth and I used to be actually wanting ahead to it.

“I had lots of people coming to look at and it’s actually disappointing for them. It’s not shocking given the issues he does.

“I discovered after I bought to the venue this morning. I didn’t have a lot prior warning, I feel he pulled out very late.

“I’d have stayed at house and all of the individuals who have travelled to look at me would have come one other day as effectively.”

4 stay within the hunt for the Scottish Open title, with the semi-finals going down on Saturday within the capital metropolis.

Dwelling favorite John Higgins faces Noppon Saengkham, whereas reigning champion Gary Wilson is in motion in opposition to Zhou Yuelong.

Sunday’s closing will present the final alternative in 2023 for silverware to be gained, with an £80,000 high prize on provide for the champion.

Scottish Open draw

Spherical of 128 (bo7)

Gary Wilson 4-3 Elliott Slessor
Xing Zihao 4-3 Fergal O’Brien
Joe O’Connor 4-0 Andy Lee
Scott Donaldson 4-3 Ashley Hugill
Hossein Vafaei 3-4 Daniel Wells
Rory Thor 4-1 Graeme Dott
Ryan Day 4-2 Jiang Jun
Ashley Carty 4-2 Andres Petrov

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-2 Ma Hailong
Chris Wakelin 4-2 Mark Joyce
Yuan Sijun 4-0 Muhammad Asif
Mark Williams 3-4 Sam Craigie
Robbie Williams 4-1 Rod Lawler
David Gilbert 4-3 Jak Jones
Jordan Brown 4-2 Adam Duffy
Kyren Wilson 4-2 Mostafa Dorgham

Mark Allen 2-4 Jamie Jones
Dominic Dale 4-1 Ross Muir
Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Amaan Iqbal
Jimmy White 4-3 Duane Jones
Robert Milkins 0-4 Mark Davis
Andrew Higginson 4-3 Allan Taylor
Zhou Yuelong 4-0 Anthony Hamilton
Martin Gould 4-2 Reanne Evans

Manasawain Phetmalaikuk 4-2 Ben Woollaston
Stuart Bingham 4-0 Michael White
Aaron Hill 4-1 Ken Doherty
Jack Lisowski 4-0 Mohamed Ibrahim
Julien Leclercq 4-0 Baipat Siripaporn
Si Jiahui 4-3 Tian Pengfei
Zhang Anda 4-2 Andy Hicks
Judd Trump 4-0 Sydney Wilson

Liam Graham w/o Ronnie O’Sullivan
Ben Mertens 4-0 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Sanderson Lam 4-3 Fan Zhengyi
Cao Yupeng 4-2 David Lilley
Barry Hawkins 3-4 Pang Junxu
Xu Si 4-0 Mink Nutcharut
Anthony McGill 4-0 Ryan Thomerson
Oliver Traces 4-0 John Astley

Lukas Kleckers 4-1 Stuart Carrington
Noppon Saengkham 4-0 Rebecca Kenna
Jack Borwick 1-4 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Ali Carter 4-3 Lengthy Zehuang
Alfie Burden 4-1 Ian Burns
Matthew Selt 4-1 Dylan Emery
Matthew Stevens 4-0 Victory Sarkis
Mark Selby 4-2 Sean O’Sullivan

Shaun Murphy 1-4 Liu Hongyu
Zak Surety 4-1 Liam Pullen
Lyu Haotian 4-2 Joe Perry
Jackson Web page 4-1 Himanshu Jain
John Higgins 4-0 Oliver Brown
He Guoqiang 4-0 Peng Yisong
Ricky Walden 4-3 Hammad Miah
Alexander Ursenbacher 4-0 Wu Yize

Liam Highfield 4-0 Dean Younger
Tom Ford 4-1 Louis Heathcote
Jenson Kendrick 4-2 Anton Kazakov
Ding Junhui 4-0 David Grace
Martin O’Donnell 4-2 Andrew Pagett
Jamie Clarke 4-2 Xiao Guodong
James Cahill 4-3 Stan Moody
Luca Brecel 4-0 Iulian Boiko

Spherical of 64 (bo7)

Gary Wilson 4-3 Xing Zihao
Joe O’Connor 4-1 Scott Donaldson
Daniel Wells 3-4 Rory Thor
Ryan Day 3-4 Ashley Carty
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 2-4 Chris Wakelin
Yuan Sijun 0-4 Sam Craigie
Robbie Williams 3-4 David Gilbert
Jordan Brown 0-4 Kyren Wilson

Jamie Jones 3-4 Dominic Dale
Jimmy Robertson 3-4 Jimmy White
Mark Davis 1-4 Andrew Higginson
Zhou Yuelong w/o Martin Gould
Manasawin Phetmalaikul 0-4 Stuart Bingham
Aaron Hill 4-1 Jack Lisowski
Julien Leclercq 2-4 Si Jiahui
Zhang Anda 4-2 Judd Trump

Liam Graham 4-2 Ben Mertens
Sanderson Lam 4-1 Cao Yupeng
Pang Junxu 4-1 Xu Si
Anthony McGill 4-2 Oliver Traces
Lukas Kleckers 1-4 Noppon Saengkham
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 3-4 Ali Carter
Alfie Burden 1-4 Matthew Selt
Matthew Stevens 3-4 Mark Selby

Liu Hongyu 4-0 Zak Surety
Lyu Haotian 4-0 Jackson Web page
John Higgins 4-1 He Guoqiang
Ricky Walden 4-3 Alexander Ursenbacher
Liam Highfield 2-4 Tom Ford
Jenson Kendrick 1-4 Ding Junhui
Martin O’Donnell 4-2 Jamie Clarke
James Cahill 3-4 Luca Brecel

Spherical of 32 (bo7)

Gary Wilson 4-3 Joe O’Connor
Rory Thor 4-3 Ashley Carty
Chris Wakelin 4-0 Sam Craigie
David Gilbert 3-4 Kyren Wilson
Dominic Dale 4-1 Jimmy White
Andrew Higginson 2-4 Zhou Yuelong
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Aaron Hill
Si Jiahui 2-4 Zhang Anda

Liam Graham 3-4 Sanderson Lam
Pang Junxu 2-4 Anthony McGill
Noppon Saengkham 4-2 Ali Carter
Matthew Selt 4-3 Mark Selby
Liu Hongyu 2-4 Lyu Haotian
John Higgins 4-3 Ricky Walden
Tom Ford 3-4 Ding Junhui
Martin O’Donnell 4-2 Luca Brecel

Spherical of 16 (bo7)

Gary Wilson 4-1 Rory Thor
Chris Wakelin 4-2 Kyren Wilson
Dominic Dale 0-4 Zhou Yuelong
Stuart Bingham 4-0 Zhang Anda

Sanderson Lam 4-1 Anthony McGill
Noppon Saengkham 4-3 Matthew Selt
Lyu Haotian 2-4 John Higgins
Tom Ford 4-2 Martin O’Donnell

Quarter-Finals (bo9)

Gary Wilson 5-0 Chris Wakelin
Zhou Yuelong 5-4 Stuart Bingham

Sanderson Lam 3-5 Noppon Saengkham
John Higgins 5-3 Tom Ford

Semi-Finals (bo11)

Matches to be performed on Saturday, Dec 16

Gary Wilson vs Zhou Yuelong (1pm UTC)

Noppon Saengkham vs John Higgins (7pm UTC)

Last (bo17)

Match to be performed on Sunday, Dec 17

Featured picture credit score: WST