China’s “No. 1 Snooker Brother” Ding Junhui and the World‘s “No. 1 Brother” O’Sullivan were noticeably absent from the main draw of the 2024 German Snooker Masters, which kicked off in Berlin, Germany on January 29th.
The qualifying tournament for the 8 seeded players, who will be competing in the main draw, had been postponed. While 12 Chinese players advanced to the main draw, both Ding Junhui and O’Sullivan were missing from the event.
The Chinese Legion, with 22 professional qualifiers, had a strong presence in the qualifying tournament, with 20 players competing. Ultimately, 12 Chinese players, including Zhang Anda, Zhou Yuelong, and Xiao Guodong, advanced to the main competition. However, Ding Junhui suffered an upset loss to Yuan Sijun, a young player born in 2000, in the qualifying round and missed the main draw.
In addition to the absence of Ding Junhui, Ronnie O’Sullivan, the world‘s top-ranked snooker player, withdrew from the 2024 Snooker German Masters “due to medical reasons.” Iranian star Hussein Wafi and England veteran Martin Gould also withdrew from the competition due to visa and medical reasons, respectively.
The eight postponed qualifying matches of the German Masters will be held on the first day of the main event, with Xu Si and Fu Jiajun set to face Sean Murphy and Mark Selby, who are ranked among the top eight in the world.
The German Masters is a prestigious snooker ranking event, and the Chinese Legion has historically performed well in this competition. Ding Junhui, Zhao Xintong, Fu Jiajun, and Yan Bingtao have all reached the finals of this event, with Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong winning the championship in 2014 and 2022 respectively.