World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the Bahrain Snooker Championship for health reasons.
O'Sullivan, 32, had been due to face veteran Steve Davis in the opening round in Bahrain.
Davis now gets a bye into the second round, with the tournament starting with six wildcard matches on Saturday.
It is believed that O'Sullivan is fatigued because of his recent playing and promotional schedule and has been advised to rest by doctors.
O'Sullivan's absence is a further blow to snooker's newest ranking event as double world champion John Higgins, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui have also withdrawn.
606: DEBATEThe first round proper starts on Sunday when former world champion Graeme Dott will be in action at about 1700 GMT, playing the winner of Saturday's wildcard match between Barry Pinches and Ahmed Goulam.
Irishman Ken Doherty and England's Shaun Murphy will also be playing on Sunday.
Wales duo Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens begin their quest for the title on Monday morning against Dave Harold and Stuart Bingham respectively. They will be followed by Peter Ebdon (1200 GMT) and Stephen Hendry (1700 GMT).
Tournament favourite and world number two Stephen Maguire is in first-round action on Tuesday and is set to play either England's Mark Davis or Bahrain's Habib Subah Habib.
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