Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the International Championship in Nanjing, China, after he was scheduled to play a qualifier in Leicester. This means he will not compete in the tournament, which is one of the most significant events in the snooker calendar. The International Championship offers a top prize of £175,000 and is held annually in Nanjing. Last year, Wu Yize, a rising star in the sport, won the tournament by defeating John Higgins in the final, marking his first ranking title before going on to become world champion in May. The tournament returned to the schedule in 2023 after being paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. O'Sullivan has participated in the past three editions, competing in the same qualifying rounds as other players, which are mostly held in the UK. A few early matches are moved to the main arena in Nanjing. This season, O'Sullivan was set to face Louis Heathcote in Leicester to qualify for the main event, but he has now withdrawn. In his place, amateur player Joshua Thomond has been added to the draw and will face Heathcote. O'Sullivan had reached the semi-finals in 2023 but has struggled in recent years, losing in the second round to players like Pang Junxu and Jack Lisowski. The 50-year-old is expected to compete at the Shenzhen Open later this month, where his opening match will be held in China. He is set to face Jiang Jun on September 28 in a tournament that was previously known as the Xi'an Grand Prix but has been moved and renamed. The structure of the Chinese snooker events can be complex, as they include local wildcard entries that compete against professional players. At the International Championship, three wildcards will play a pre-qualifying round against established players like Steven Hallworth, Liu Wenwei, and Michal Szubarczyk. Another wildcard will enter directly into the first round and face Pang Junxu. If Szubarczyk wins his pre-qualifier, he will face Jackson Page, while Liu Wenwei will take on Judd Trump and Hallworth will meet Fan Zhengyi in the first round.