Ronnie O’Sullivan was drawn against Scottish teenager Liam Graham in the first round of the Welsh Open, just a fortnight after Graham accused the snooker great of being “disrespectful” ahead of their proposed clash in Edinburgh. Graham was set to meet O’Sullivan at the Scottish Open, but the World Snooker Tour (WST) at the last minute confirmed that the Rocket had pulled out of the event.
The WST cited “medical reasons” for O’Sullivan’s absence as Graham was handed a bye into the second round of the tournament, but he was upset at the manner of O’Sullivan dropping out of the tournament. “It’s disrespectful what he’s done, it’s not right,” Graham said.
“A lot of people took time off work to come and watch today and it’s disappointing. At the end of the day I want to play the best players in the world and I was really looking forward to it.
“I had a lot of people coming to watch and it’s really disappointing for them. It’s not surprising given the things he does. I found out when I got to the venue this morning. I didn’t have much prior warning, I think he pulled out very late. I would have stayed at home and all the people who have travelled to watch me would have come another day as well.”
However, the 19-year-old will get a chance to face O’Sullivan at the upcoming Welsh Open. The draw for February’s tournament in Llandudno has thrown the pair together, while Scottish Open winner Gary Wilson faces Mark Davis and Stephen Maguire has been handed a tough clash against Si Jiahui.
O’Sullivan did receive backing from long-time rival Shaun Murphy over the incident, and the Rocket did later set the record straight on his absence. He explained that his UK Championship victory took a physical toll on his body, forcing him to pull out of the Scottish Open, and he did communicate that to the WST further in advance of the late announcement.
“I’ve recovered from the UK Championship. It was a hard tournament and took a lot out of me so I wasn’t quite ready to come and play here at the Scottish Open,” O’Sullivan said after taking up punditry duties at the Edinburgh tournament.
“Which was really disappointing as I love this tournament, love this city, love this venue and contrary to what everyone said I didn’t pull out on Sunday night.
“I didn’t leave it until the last minute like everyone said and seems to think because I wouldn’t do that. But still happy to be here and watching a great tournament with fantastic players.”
