Ronnie O’Sullivan: Defending Masters champion talks of 'nightmare' withdrawal from 2025 tournament
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the Masters on Friday, two days before his scheduled first-round match against John Higgins, who subsequently lost 6-5 to Neil Robertson; 2025 tournament runs until January 19 at London's Alexandra Palace
Last Updated: 13/01/25 8:08pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan has described his decision to withdraw from the Masters as "a nightmare", adding that he "lost the plot" in the build-up to the tournament.
The defending champion and eight-time winner of the Masters pulled out on Friday, having snapped his cue in frustration following a defeat to Robert Milkins in snooker's Champions League earlier in the week.
There was concern for O'Sullivan's mental health after his withdrawal "on medical grounds", according to a World Snooker Tour statement. When asked on Eurosport how he is on Monday evening, he said: "I'm alright, not too bad."
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O'Sullivan added: "It was a nightmare decision really to make. If you'd have asked me on Sunday if I was ready to play, I'd probably have been OK. But it's such a massive tournament.
"I'd been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself... a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.
"I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that's unplayable. I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play such a big tournament. I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days' notice."
Neil Robertson replaced O'Sullivan in the draw and beat John Higgins 6-5 in their first-round clash on Sunday.
The Masters is an invitational event, with only the world's top 16 players awarded places. No ranking points are awarded but the tournament forms part of snooker's Triple Crown, alongside the World Championship and UK Championship.
O'Sullivan beat Ali Carter 10-7 in the 2024 Masters final but has not made it past the semi-finals of any tournament this season.
The seven-time world champion was knocked out in the first round of the recent UK Championship in York, an event won by world No 1 Judd Trump as he beat O'Sullivan's conqueror Barry Hawkins 10-8 in the final.
The 49-year-old said he still harbours hope of playing the Masters again and of hopefully extending his record number of titles to nine.
"This is an unbelievable tournament, top 16, best players in the world, amazing crowd. I've won this tournament many times, been in 14 finals," he said.
"I'd love to come here and play again and hopefully be lucky enough to win the trophy again, that would be great."
