Here is WST’s short announcement:
O’Sullivan Pulls Out Of Johnstone’s Paint Masters
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the Johnstone’s Paint Masters for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to face Neil Robertson in the opening round on Wednesday January 14th at 7pm. He has been replaced in the draw by Chris Wakelin who was 17th seed at the cut-off point.
The tournament at Alexandra Palace in London run from January 11-18.
I’m not sure what the real issue is but this is becoming seriously worrying, especially knowing that he traveled to Ireland to prepare for this event. Whatever it is, I wish Ronnie, and those close to him, the best for the future. 😟
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
I would like to see ELO-rankings now.
https://snooker-predictions.com/rankings.html
Interesting. I cannot tell if this would be better though.
It would reward consistency more.
Ronnie (3rd) and Luca (22nd) = consistent?
Lucsa has been neither consistent nor winning.
Yea, I consider 22nd high.
Maybe time to retire and go for that Chinese pool he is so interested in. If you don’t care for the Masters, you don’t really care for snooker. He said he would not play, but then it seemed he might, not fair to people who bought tix and will have Wakelin now.
that is awful form and quite frankly it’s a pisstake.
he is making an absolute clown of himself and it will remain as a stain his legacy.
Who are you to judge?
Exactly. None of us knows what’s going on, and we do NOT have a right to know either. He gave us fans a lot over the course of 30+ years. We should be grateful not judgemental.
BTW here is something that may explain what happened in recent months: “Sources close to O’Sullivan say he has been ill recently and felt physically drained – though he is okay and on the mend.SunSport understands he has not taken this decision lightly and he is gutted he is missing one of his favourite events – but he wanted to be fair to paying fans and let them know as soon as he could.”
Does he ever feel “mentally drained” for Saudi? Let’s not take the piss.
Saudi happens early in the season and also not at a time and in a place where daylight is poor and in short supply. Lack of natural light is known to affect the mood, in everybody, but more so in those with history of depression. And not just humans either. In his book “Les derniers rois the Thulé” Jean Mallaurie recounts how some sled dogs are so affected by the lack of light in the polar regions in winter that they commit suicide.
Santino is right with all of his points. He damages his legacy and loses fans. And he said in an interview with Hendry in Saudi-Arabia on this Cue tips channel that he would retire from snooker immediately if there weren’t Saudi-Arabia and China tournaments.
Santino didn’t say that we have a right to see him play. And when he plays he usually looks motivated nowadays. Fans who only bought tickets to see him obviously would like to see him play without motivation as well.
It is a little rich to be sad to miss his so-called favourite event when he said before that he would give it a miss anyway. And there were not problems doing the Chinese pool exid. I just hope he won’t show up for Eurosport then. But thean cried wolf so many times that even it is a real issue, it will be questioned. And yes, it damages his legacy.
I get the impression that Ronnie simply doesn’t want to subject himself to pressure and expectations at the moment, as he no longer has to prove anything to anyone. Maybe that will change, but perhaps it’s also just the gradual transition into life after snooker. I also don’t think he will play the German Masters, since the tournament in Hong Kong takes place the following week. To get back into form, he would probably need to play several tournaments in a row. The last two seasons have been very fragmented. Either way, Ronnie decides what’s best for him. He doesn’t owe anyone anything. I am happy that we still see him from time to time.