- Walden was due to play Barry Hawkins in the last-16 on Thursday morning
- But the match was cancelled after he was taken to hospital on Wednesday
- The exact nature of Walden’s last-minute scare has not yet been disclosed
Snooker star Ricky Walden has been taken to hospital after being forced to pull out of the German Masters on medical grounds.
Walden, 42, was set to play Barry Hawkins in the last-16 of the tournament this morning but the match was cancelled after his last-minute health scare.
It has since emerged that Walden was admitted to hospital on Wednesday night.
The exact nature of the issue has not been publicly disclosed.
A statement from the World Snooker Tour read: ‘Ricky Walden has withdrawn from the ongoing Machineseeker German Masters on medical grounds.’
Rolf Kalb, the legendary former German snooker star, posted on X: ‘Bad news.
Snooker star Ricky Walden has been taken to hospital and pulled out of the German Masters
Walden was set to play his last-16 tie on Thursday morning but withdrew on medical grounds
‘Ricky Walden had to be taken to hospital last night and was therefore forced to withdraw from the German Masters.’
Walden had beaten Ryan Day and Dylan Emery to reach the last-16 and victory over Hawkins would have sealed his first quarter-final appearance since 2023.
A three-time ranking event winner, Walden also impressed at the Championship League last week, recording victories over the likes of Xiao Guodong, Dave Gilbert, Zhou Yuelong, Noppon Saengkham and Joe O’Connor.
But his withdrawal in Berlin means Hawkins will receive an automatic bye to the next round, where he will take on either Wu Yize or Alexander Ursenbacher.
Judd Trump will continue his title defence the German Masters today when he faces Neil Robertson, and he believes the tournament deserves to be bigger.
He said: ‘I’d like to have seen it grow somehow, I think the tournament deserves to be bigger than it is. I don’t think it should be on a par [for prize money] with some of the other events like the Home Nations, although Northern Ireland is the exception.
‘I think Germany should be up there, just behind the UK [Championship], but it’s not really gone anywhere, it’s stagnated a little bit. There should be a few changes to make a bit bigger than it is because the crowd over there deserve it.
‘It’s a little bit disappointing because I feel like they could even hold the Tour Championship or something over there. The crowd deserve something bigger.’
