The Scottish Open has been hit by a wave of late withdrawals, with several high-profile players opting not to travel to Edinburgh for this week’s tournament.
This event is the third leg of the Home Nations Series, following Mark Allen’s victory at the English Open and Jack Lisowski’s dramatic win at the Northern Ireland Open. It is being staged at Meadowbank Sports Centre, with £100,000 on offer for the winner.
Despite the attractive prize fund, not all of the sport’s leading names have been persuaded to take part. Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui chose not to enter at all, while Mark Williams and Neil Robertson pulled out after initially being expected to compete. Robert Milkins and Jak Jones have also withdrawn, leaving the draw significantly disrupted.
As a result, Zhao Xintong, Matthew Stevens, He Guoqiang and Ben Mertens have all received walkovers into the last 32. Because qualifying rounds had already been completed, no replacements could be drafted in. Those automatic wins guarantee each of them at least £5,400 in prize money before striking a ball, with their first matches scheduled for Wednesday when the last-32 round is played in full.
Even with several stars absent, the field still features plenty of big names chasing the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Mark Selby, John Higgins, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy and two-time champion Gary Wilson are all in action, alongside defending champion Lei Peifan and last year’s finalist Wu Yize.
Selby arrives in Edinburgh in outstanding form after recent wins at the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship, making him the standout favourite. However, the Scottish Open has produced surprise winners in recent years, with Gary Wilson claiming back-to-back titles before Lei Peifan’s success last season, underlining the tournament’s unpredictability.
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