Snooker star 'disappointed' after Ronnie O'Sullivan pulls out of Welsh Open at last minute

The withdrawal follows O'Sullivan's similar late exit from the Masters, where he withdrew 48 hours before facing John Higgins, and comes after a difficult Championship League where he snapped a cue and kicked a table before quitting.

While Clarke benefits from the bye, he expressed mixed feelings about missing the chance to face the snooker legend.

"There was a part of me that was relishing the opportunity, maybe about 20 percent of me was disappointed because he's coming to the end of his career, and you don't get many chances to play Ronnie," Clarke told the BBC.

"He picks and chooses his events, and rightly so, but I was probably more happy than not happy. Although it would've been nice to play him."

Clarke revealed he had been preparing intensively for the tournament, particularly with fellow player Jamie Jones.

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"I've been putting a lot of work in, been practising a lot with Jamie Jones and had a new games with Liam Davis over the last month especially since the new year," he said.

The world No.65 added: "I've been putting in the hours, doing a lot of best of sevens. I went to the qualifiers full of confidence. But you can never tell if you'll be able to take playing well in practice out there."

BBC pundit and 12-time women's world champion Reanne Evans offered insight into players' reactions to such withdrawals.

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"For the players that say they really wanted to play Ronnie, they are lying. He needs the ranking points and if they are given to you on a plate then you'd accept it with both hands," she said.

Fellow commentator Dominic Dale added: "It's great when you can go out there in front of a big audience playing the game's greatest player. But when you do need ranking points if you can get a bye then it's a big help."

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Clarke expressed optimism about competing in his home tournament alongside fellow Welsh player Jamie Jones.

"When Jamie and I are both in a tournament we can go for dinner, go for a coffee and we can both push each other on," he said.

"When you're practicing and you're on the tour it can be quite lonely, so it would be good to put in a performance in my next game and establish myself in the tournament.

That would be nice to get myself into the later rounds."