Ronnie O'Sullivan and top snooker stars snub event where Rocket snapped cue

 Ronnie O'Sullivan has opted to sit out another event, with a host of his rivals also absent.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has opted to skip the Championship League after snapping his cue at the event

Ronnie O’Sullivan will skip the Championship League in Leicester after smashing his cue against the table at the event in January. The Rocket has barely played since the Championship League at the start of the year, with his only other tournament appearance coming at the World Snooker Championship in the spring, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Zhao Xintong.

O’Sullivan had been taking on Robert Milkins in his penultimate match of the Championship League group stages when he smashed his cue in a burst of anger after missing a pink. He apologised to the referee for his actions but then withdrew from the event. And he was ordered to remove the smashed cue from the bin before leaving the arena.

The Championship League got underway on Monday afternoon, with Stephen Maguire taking on James Cahill in the first match.

Ali Carter will be aiming to defend his title after defeating Jackson Page 3-1 in last year's final.

But O’Sullivan won’t be at the event, with world No. 1 Judd Trump and reigning world champion Zhao also choosing to miss the tournament.

Meanwhile, Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson have also opted out of the tournament, which runs for just over three weeks.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was forced to play with a new cue at the World Snooker Championship

The tournament begins with 32 groups of four, with the winner of each group progressing to a second group stage where players are split into eight groups of four.

Two final groups of four will then determine the two finalists, with the showpiece match due to take place on July 23.

World No. 9 Barry Hawkins is the highest-ranked player in the competition, with Masters champion Shaun Murphy also set to feature. The winner will earn £33,000 and secure their place in the Champion of Champions event in November.

O’Sullivan, who started his own YouTube account earlier this year, was forced to play with a new cue at the World Championship after breaking his old one but struggled to get to grips with it and switched it towards the latter stages of the event.

And ahead of the showcase tournament, the 49-year-old told The Sun: “What happened was just coming. I have done it before. And it’s not the game - it’s me really.

“I have just been struggling for so long now. I just couldn’t do it anymore, to be honest with you. I couldn’t. And I’m still struggling now to be honest. I literally have had enough of playing what I call unacceptable snooker.”

Discussing his cue, he added: “It’s a bit of memorabilia now, it’ll be getting sold off. I do regret it really, because it was my cue. It’s hard to find another one.”