Ronnie O'Sullivan Received One of Biggest Fines in Snooker History Over Rare Incident

Ronnie O'Sullivan was given a staggering fine by World Snooker after a rarely-seen incident during one of his matches.

O'Sullivan was set to compete in the 2026 Masters, which gets underway on Sunday, but pulled out due to medical reasons.

The seven-time world champion was due to take on Neil Robertson in what would have been only his second competitive match on UK soil since the 2025 World Championship.

His last match was at the UK Championship, where he suffered a surprise 6-4 first-round defeat to China's Zhou Yuelong.

O'Sullivan hinted in November that he would miss the Masters due to the travel involved, having recently relocated to Dubai with his new wife Laila Rouass.

Dubai residents can receive a fine if they complete more than 30 days doing work in the United Kingdom over a calendar year, according to the gov.uk website, though it is unclear whether that had factored into O'Sullivan's deliberations at the time of his November comments.

But The Sun report that O'Sullivan was spotted in Ireland ahead of the tournament, and his name was on the entry list on Friday - showing that he had committed to playing until his forced late withdrawal.

When it comes to fines, 'The Rocket' was once docked a staggering sum of over £20,000 by snooker authorities back in 2007.

O'Sullivan was taking on Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals of the 2006 UK Championship when he walked out of the arena mid-frame.

'The Rocket' did not return, with Hendry awarded a walkover victory.

The World Pool, Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) subsequently gave O'Sullivan three separate fines over the incident.

He was fined £11,750 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs, as well as losing £4,050 in prize money earned from the tournament.

The walk-out occurred after O'Sullivan missed a red while trailing 4-1 in a best-of-17-frame match.

Outside of penalties relating to match-fixing and similar offences, it is one of the biggest fines ever handed out in snooker history.

He shook hands with referee Jan Verhaas and then Hendry, who looked perplexed, before leaving the arena.

Hendry was awarded a 9-1 walkover victory (Image: WST)

O'Sullivan would later state that Hendry didn't speak to him 'for about three years' afterwards.

The 50-year-old, who has been open about his battles with mental health, explained why he walked out during an interview with Eurosport in 2021.

"I was going through a bit of a hard time at the time, which I'm not sure I spoke about in either of my books," he said.

"But yeah, I just wasn't in the mood to play snooker so I walked out, and that was that."

O'Sullivan began working with psychiatrist Steve Peters in 2011, and elected to take almost a full year out of snooker during the 2012/13 season.

He returned to play in the 2013 World Championship and remarkably won the tournament, defeating Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the final.