Five players, including four members of the world’s top 16, are to miss the Northern Ireland Open to compete in an exhibition event in Macau.
Current world champion Luca Brecel and four-time world champions John Higgins and Mark Selby will sit out the World Snooker Tour ranking tournament in Belfast from 22-29 October.
Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh will also skip the Waterfront Hall event.
World Snooker Tour says the five are set to face disciplinary proceedings.
The body said that a decision to play in a non-sanctioned event instead of a tour event would be regarded by them as “a breach of the terms of their player contract”.
“The WST is disappointed to hear that a number of players under contract with the WST have elected not to play in a WST event, preferring instead to play in a non-sanctioned event in Macau thereby being in breach of the terms of their player contract,” read a statement from the organisation issued on Tuesday.
The statement added that players are not obliged to enter all of its events but that playing in a non-sanctioned event instead is “detrimental” to the WST tournament they miss.
It continued: “Unfortunately, despite engaging in email correspondence and phone calls intended to best explain our position and enable the players to make informed decisions, five players (four of whom are ranked within the top 16) have decided not to compete in the Northern Ireland Open and have withdrawn their entry in order to play in Macau.
“These players are Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Brecel, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ali Carter, none of whom will therefore appear in Belfast.
“As a result, if these players decide to participate in the exhibition in Macau, the WST will have no alternative but to refer them to the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee for breach of their player contract, and this has been clearly communicated to the players.”
The body added that the absence of several of the game’s leading players from an event “would undoubtedly result in sizeable financial implications to the WST including loss of broadcast income, and sponsorship and ticket sales revenue let alone losses due to any reputational damage”.
“WST has always been and will continue to be supportive of a player’s earning opportunities outside of the WST provided that these do not distract, devalue, or conflict with the WST or a WST event,” the statement read.
“Players and promoters have ample opportunity to play in and host non-sanctioned events during gaps in the WST calendar.”
Mark Allen, who has won the past two Northern Ireland Open titles, will be there to defend his title.
