Snooker champion criticizes decision to relocate World Grand Prix following Ronnie O’Sullivan’s choice

Mark Allen has openly criticized the decision to bring two substitute players into the World Grand Prix snooker tournament held in Hong Kong. Hossein Vafaei and Ben Woollaston were called up to replace Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Maguire, both of whom had to withdraw due to health issues. O’Sullivan has been absent from several tournaments in 2025, primarily due to ongoing fatigue.

Allen, currently ranked seventh in the world, expressed his disapproval on social media platform X after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Jimmy Robertson. He argued that players who have not qualified based on their rankings should not be allowed to participate. He stated, “While I have nothing against Ben or Hossein, replacing withdrawn players with those who didn’t qualify seems unfair. If a top-16 player pulls out, should the next in line be automatically included?”

Allen further emphasized that players ranked outside the top 32 on the one-year list had their opportunities to qualify and failed to do so. He questioned the protocol by asking, “In a scenario like the World Championship semi-finals, if a player falls ill, do we replace them with the highest-ranked player who has already lost, or do we leave it as a bye?”

As the event unfolded, Woollaston was quickly eliminated after a narrow 4-3 loss to Shaun Murphy, the reigning Masters champion. Woollaston’s career highlights include a single professional title from the Players Tour Championship event 14 years ago. Meanwhile, Vafaei was set to face Si Jiahui, ranked 13th globally, in a bid to progress to the round of 16. Vafaei is notably remembered for his stunning victory over O’Sullivan at last year’s World Open.

In other matches, Mark Selby narrowly defeated Jackson Page 4-3, securing his advancement to the next stage, while Xiao Guodong overcame Jak Jones. Neil Robertson delivered a commanding 4-0 win against Yuan Sijun, and Barry Hawkins edged out Tom Ford 4-3 in a closely contested all-English match.

The tournament experienced disruption when a local curfew in Hong Kong led to a temporary halt in Kyren Wilson’s match against Matthew Selt. Fans had to exit the venue to comply with the curfew, as the Kai Tak Arena is located 30 minutes away from the nearest metro station. The match eventually continued in an empty arena, with Wilson emerging victorious in a 4-3 triumph over Selt.