Ronnie O'Sullivan to return at Masters next month

The five-times world champion said he was missing tournament snooker during his stint working as a pundit for Eurosport covering the UK Championship in York, an event he chose not to enter after overcoming Judd Trump 10-9 in the final a year ago.

O'Sullivan has been playing exhibition snooker since losing to world champion Stuart Bingham 13-9 in the last eight of this year's World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in April.

The Englishman had previously taken a year out of the game between 2012 and 2013, remarkably returning from a season out to win his fifth world title at the Crucible in May 2013.

He has cited insomnia as a reason behind his decision to avoid competitive play, but the Masters is traditionally regarded as a home tournament for the Essex player being staged at London's Alexandra Palace. It runs between 11-18 January.

O'Sullivan lost 6-1 to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals of last year's tournament after beating Mark Selby in the 2014 final to win for a fifth time at the sport's biggest invitational event.

"I've just realised I've been missing it quite a bit," said O'Sullivan, flanked by fellow professional Jimmy White and Colin Murray, who is hosting Eurosport's coverage of the UK Championship.

"Looking forward to playing the Masters," he said on his Twitter account.

O'Sullivan also intends to play the German Masters in February at the Tempodrom in Berlin.