Ronnie O'Sullivan has been warned about his future conduct by World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn after withdrawing from the German Masters on the eve of the tournament.
The three-time world champion was due to face Dominic Dale in Berlin on Thursday, but has now cancelled his participation, believed to be on medical grounds.O'Sullivan, who has been at the forefront of Hearn's attempts to freshen up the sport's image, last year withdrew from the Shanghai Masters, where he was the defending champion, and from 10 of the 12 new lower-ranking events.
But the Essex potter, whose attendance record has seen him fall to number 10 in the world, appeared to be at his mercurial best as he played Jimmy White in an online exhibition on Tuesday and at the inaugural Snooker Shoot-Out in Blackpool at the weekend.
"When I took over he was my flag-bearer but now he's dropped the flag," Hearn told the Guardian.
Disappointed
"I don't care if Ronnie doesn't play but what he can't do is enter and pull out at the last minute, without very good reason."It's his face on all the posters in Germany; it's a very important tournament for us as we try to develop the European market and an awful lot of people are going to be disappointed he's not there.
"This can't go on. Ronnie's very likeable when he wants to be but he should start considering his future in the game and his responsibilities to it."
Hearn's worries have been added to with the news that world champion Neil Robertson may not be in Germany either owing to a lost passport.
Wednesday's wild-card matches saw Shoot-Out winner Nigel Bond beat Stefan Kasper 5-2, Joe Swail hammer Hans Blanckaert 5-0 and Anthony Hamilton defeat Pavel Leyk 5-1, while there were also victories for Jack Lisowski and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon.
