Following yesterday’s “will he, won’t he” withdraw saga, defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has today confirmed that he will not be returning to China in 2010, although not because of any problems with his back, instead citing personal problems…
As stated by O’Sullivan over at World Snooker:
“This has been a very difficult decision to make, however I have a very young family and at this moment I need to spend more time with them. I’m truly sorry to my fans in China, I love meeting and playing in front of some of the most passionate people in the world. I very much look forward to returning to China soon.”
What this means is that the winner of the tie between Jamie Burnett and Tian Pengfei will now move straight into the round of last 16.
Whether or not he will receive his minimum ranking points for the event is at this stage unclear. My personal view is that as he has not been forced out of the event on medical grounds, he should not and therefore I will adjust his points to 0 for the event on my provisional rankings. Should these be restored at a later date however I will add them back on…