breaking news:Ronnie O’Sullivan was told to get ready to leave snooker due to

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However, Fu got the better of the world No 1 O’Sullivan in convincing fashion on Wednesday, prevailing 6-2 to send the Rocket out of the tournament. It means that he misses out on the huge money on offer to the winning player.

O’Sullivan had been one of several high-profile darts players to place pressure on the World Snooker Tour to allow them to play in China. The lucrative sums on offer to stars far outweighs what is available to them in the United Kingdom.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Ronnie O’Sullivan sacrificed spending Christmas at home to play in the Macau Masters tournament (Image: Getty)
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But O’Sullivan has missed the opportunity to claim the biggest prize after losing against Fu. It will come as a disappointment after spending his Christmas Day beating Ding.

The 48-year-old insists he will never play again if he is denied the opportunity to play frequently in China. Snooker bosses are at odds with their biggest stars over when they can play in non-sanctioned events in Asia, with Barry Hearn effectively urging any player wishing to play in China to terminate their contract.

Events scheduled in the far east often clash with World Snooker Tour competitions.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan has threatened to quit snooker if he cannot play in more lucrative Chinese events (Image: Getty)
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“If I can’t go and do what I need to do, which is play a lot in China, I won’t ever play again. So, we’re at a kind of crossroads now,” O’Sullivan said in November.

“If that gets to the point where I’m not able to do that, I’m not allowed to do that, I probably won’t play. I’ll probably go and play Chinese 8-Ball because I still want to play snooker, I still want a cue in my hand.

“There’s just not enough here in the UK for me to justify the effort that I put in. If someone’s going to respect me and value me more, why would I not go there? It’s like being in an unhealthy relationship with someone, why would you be in that?”

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