Snooker International Championship in turmoil as five stars forced to pull out

Snooker is currently in turmoil after five top players pulled out of the upcoming International Championship. The ranking event begins on November 2 and runs until November 9 in Nanjing, China.

Despite it being a huge event, five big names have already confirmed they will not be featuring at the South New City National Fitness Center. Mark Williams was the first to pull out with illness, while Ali Carter also decided he will not be participating as a result of personal reasons. BBC pundit and snooker icon Ken Doherty will also not compete in the competition as a result of illness. Meanwhile, World No. 95 Sam Craigie has also withdrawn from the event as a result of medical reasons, while No. 24 David Gilbert has also made himself unavailable for personal reasons.

Doherty's decision not to compete means 2012 and 2018 runner-up Neil Robertson has been granted a bye into the last 32. Moreover, because of Craigie and Gilbert's withdrawals, Jimmy Robertson and one of Thepchiya Un-Nooh or Xu Jiarui will also be given safe passage into the next round.

When Williams opted to not compete, he clarified his reasoning in a social media post to his followers. He wrote: "Man down. No International Championship for me. Respiratory infection. Another week doing nothing. Champion of Champions next stop, fingers crossed."

He will therefore be replaced by Anthony McGill of Scotland, while Irish prodigy Aaron Hill has been drafted in as a late replacement for Carter.

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