Anthony Hamilton has withdrawn from the World Championship due to his coronavirus concerns, World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn said on Thursday.
Hamilton was scheduled to play his
first round match against Kyren Wilson on Friday, but the 49-year-old, who
suffers from asthma, has decided to pull out.
The World Championship, which starts
on Friday in Sheffield, is one of three events being used to test the return of
spectators to British sport on a limited basis.
A reduced capacity is being used at
the Crucible Theatre, with spectators issued with a code of conduct and asked
to adhere to strict rules, including wearing face masks
“Anthony Hamilton withdrew yesterday
having gone through the qualifying competition and decided last night that he’s
going to withdraw from the World Snooker Championship because he’s got asthma
and he is worried about his own health,” Hearn told Talksport.
After beating Scott Donaldson in the
final round of qualifying on Monday, Hamilton had criticised the move to allow
a limited number of fans into the Crucible.
Hamilton, who describes himself as “high
risk”, had called the situation “ridiculous” and warned: “Let’s say one person
gets ill and dies from the Crucible – it’s one person who died for no reason at
all, just for entertainment.”
The four-time quarter-finalist also
admitted he came close to withdrawing from the event before the qualifiers,
which were played behind closed doors.
The late notice of his withdrawal
angered Hearn, who said: “The question I pose is why did he not withdraw before
the qualifying competition, because by getting through the qualifiers he has
effectively stopped someone else from going and earning a living.
“He entered a competition knowing
while he was in that competition he knew there was going to be fans present.
“He knew the situation. He hasn’t had
asthma that started yesterday. He’s had asthma and health issues for some time.”
Hamilton’s withdrawal came 24 hours
after five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, who will compete in the
tournament, claimed players were being treated like “lab rats” over the fan
experiment.
