Ronnie O'Sullivan in danger of missing two major ranking events as Mark Allen muscles in on snooker's big four

ByEurosport

Updated 23/01/2023 at 18:45 GMT

Mark Allen's dream season continued at the World Grand Prix in Cheltenham as his third tournament victory of 2022/23 saw him rise to a career-high of third in the world. While the Antrim man is a certainty to qualify for the Players Championship and Tour Championship, world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is at risk of missing both major events before he chases an eighth Crucible crown in April.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan could be forced to sit out the Players Championship and Tour Championship before he chases a record eighth world title in April.

Only the top 16 on the sport's one-year ranking list qualify for the Players next month with the elite top eight making the cut for the Tour Championship in March.

Despite continuing to occupy the world No. 1 spot, O'Sullivan sits 23rd on the one-year list, 13,000 points behind Xiao Guodong in 16th place.

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Having opted out of the Shoot Out and the German Masters over the next two weeks, O'Sullivan's fate depends upon a strong run at the Welsh Open, which takes place on 13-19 February on discovery+ and Eurosport, to boost his hopes of appearing at the Players Championship in Wolverhampton the following week.

A 4-2 defeat to Noppon Saengkham in the World Grand Prix last 16 saw him earn only £7,500 from his trip to Cheltenham when he urgently needed a deeper run at the eighth ranking event of the campaign.

O'Sullivan already has contingency plans to play pool and exhibition matches before the Crucible's 47th World Championship begins in Sheffield (April 15 - May 1).

"If I don't have a good run here or in Wales then it's back to the exhibition circuit just to keep it ticking over until the Worlds come round," he said before his World Grand Prix exit.

The cut-off for the Players Championship comes after the Welsh Open with the 39-time ranking event winner probably chasing the £35,000 available for reaching the final in Llandudno

The knock-on effect of missing the Players Championship means O'Sullivan would struggle to qualify for the Tour Championship in Hull (27 March-2 April) unless he won the Turkish Masters, the final ranking event before the Tour seeding cut-off point which was cancelled by organisers on Monday.

O'Sullivan opted against playing in the inaugural tournament won by Judd Trump in Antalya last year.

Mark Allen has no such problems after adding the World Grand Prix to his title victories at the Northern Ireland Open and UK Championship.

A 10-9 victory over Trump in the World Grand Prix final sees him move up two places to a career-high of third in the world ahead of Trump and Robertson.

It means the Antrim man breaks new ground in muscling in on the sport's established big four of O'Sullivan, Mark Selby, Trump and Robertson, who have dominated the leading positions in the rankings in recent years.