Hossein Vafaei was victorious in the latest instalment of his rivalry with Ronnie O’Sullivan, prevailing 5-4 in the last 16 of the Huading Nylon World Open in Yushan.
Victory keeps his hopes of qualifying for the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship alive. Only the top 12 players of the season earn a place in the prestigious event. Vafaei must make the semi-finals to edge above John Higgins into 12th spot.
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Regardless of today’s defeat, O’Sullivan will head into the Tour Championship as world number one. It will mean he has been on top of the world rankings for two years when the event gets underway on April 1st, his longest ever unbroken spell at the summit.
Vafaei and O’Sullivan have had a chequered history in meetings with each other. That started when O’Sullivan blasted open the pack when breaking off during 2022 German Masters qualifying, a match which Vafaei won 5-0.
The Iranian took offence and reciprocated the act in a meeting at the World Championship last year, but that backfired and O’Sullivan crushed him 13-2. Afterwards they warmly embraced as they left the arena.
There was never more than a frame between them in this afternoon’s tightly contested encounter. With Vafaei leading 4-3 and one from victory, O’Sullivan fired in a sublime 125 to force the final frame.
Vafaei had the first opportunity in the decider, but inexplicably missed a straightforward red to the top pocket on 33. O’Sullivan countered with a break of 62, but fell out of position ahead of the final red.
It came down to the colours, with Vafaei needing them all to steal a famous victory by a single point. He did just that, depositing the black along the top cushion to clinch his place in the last eight. Next up he faces either Ding Junhui or Shaun Murphy.
“I feel great, but to be honest with you I’m still shocked how I missed that red. I went down so quick that my eyes couldn’t see anywhere. That was unforgivable. All of a sudden the game changed and I thought I was going to lose,” said 29-year-old Vafaei.
“I’m very happy to get the victory. He is my hero. Just playing against Ronnie O’Sullivan is a dream come true, but what about winning?
“I’m not going to talk about past results, all that matters is the moment right now. The past is past and right now I’m so happy.”
VAFAEI REACTS TO THRILLING WIN
Kyren Wilson came through a high quality clash with Ben Woollaston 5-4. The Warrior dug deep in the final frame to summon a superb break of 119.
That sets up a quarter-final showdown with world number two Judd Trump. The Ace in the Pack booked his progression with a 5-3 win over former World Seniors Champion David Lilley.
Barry Hawkins sealed his last eight slot with a 5-1 defeat of Stephen Maguire. The Hawk fired in runs of 129, 67, 71 and 54 on his way to victory and now awaits Neil Robertson or Chris Wakelin.
‘HE’S MY HERO’ – HOSSEIN VAFAEI STUNS RONNIE O’SULLIVAN AT WORLD OPEN AFTER FINAL-FRAME DRAMA, JUDD TRUMP PROGRESSES
BY ALASDAIR MACKENZIE
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s bid for World Open glory is over after the world No. 1 fell to a dramatic defeat to Hossein Vafaei in the last 16. A tight contest required a deciding frame, where a costly miss from O’Sullivan and a composed finish from Vafaei saw the Iranian pinch the frame on the final ball. Meanwhile, top seed Judd Trump defeated David Lilley to reach the quarter-finals.
Hossein Vafaei admitted he thought he “was going to lose” before stunning his “hero” Ronnie O’Sullivan with a 5-4 victory at the World Open that was decided by the black in the final frame.
The Iranian never fell behind in a famous victory that saw him march into the quarter-finals in Yushan, where he will face Ding Junhui or Shaun Murphy.
“I’m very happy to get the victory. He [O’Sullivan] is my hero,” said Vafaei.
“Just playing against Ronnie O’Sullivan is a dream come true, but what about winning?“
World No. 1 O’Sullivan looked like he might have done enough to scrap his way over the line despite a mixed performance after a bad miss from Vafaei on a red in the decider left the door open.
He potted the final red, but a surprising miss on the black, followed by an excellent long yellow from Vafaei, swung the momentum back in the Iranian’s favour, and the world No. 21 secured only his second win over the seven-time world champion in six meetings.
“I feel great, but to be honest with you I’m still shocked how I missed that red,” Vafaei added.
“I went down so quick that my eyes couldn’t see anywhere. That was unforgivable. All of a sudden the game changed and I thought I was going to lose.“
O’Sullivan’s bid for a third ranking title of the season is therefore over and he will now likely turn his attention to the Tour Championship in Manchester next month, the penultimate ranking event of the season before the World Championship.
“I’m not going to talk about past results, all that matters is the moment right now. The past is past and right now I’m so happy,” Vafaei said.
Vafaei started the stronger, pouncing on an error from The Rocket to put together an 86 clearance in the opening frame that proved to be the highest break of a stop-start contest.
A poor shot from the Iranian gave O’Sullivan a starter in an ugly second frame and he took the opportunity to level, but Vafaei soon reclaimed the lead with a run of 73.
O’Sullivan was struggling to put together any meaningful breaks in a scrappy performance, but he found some momentum with a 51 clearance that was enough to draw him level once more.
However, the theme of the match continued as Vafaei regained the lead with a 79 break, only to be pegged back again, with a superb starter from O’Sullivan earning him applause from his opponent as it went to 3-3 to set up a best-of-three finale.
Vafaei pounced on an opening to go in front for the fourth time and move to within one frame of the quarter-finals.
But just as crisis was calling, O’Sullivan responded. The Rocket made his best break of the match by a distance with a majestic 125 century to level things up and take the contest to a decider.
Vafaei got off to a strong start by taking a 33-0 lead, before a terrible miss on a simple red to the right corner let O’Sullivan back in to steer himself into a 62-33 lead.
But O’Sullivan couldn’t clear the table and the frame was still there for the taking as a nervy snooker exchange began.
A great pot on the final red from Ronnie put him 26 ahead with 27 left on the table, but he somehow missed on the black to hand Vafaei a lifeline.
The Iranian got back in with a long pot on the yellow, leaving him needing to clear the colours to claim the slenderest of frames by a single point – and this time he made no mistake.
TRUMP MARCHES ON
Top seed Judd Trump moved through with a 5-3 win over David Lilley to continue his bid for a fifth title of the season.
The Ace in the Pack produced a majestic 135 break to take a 2-0 lead early on, but a determined Lilley fought back with a 124 of his own to level at 2-2.
Trump rallied, winning two frames in a row to put one foot in the next round, and although Lilley pulled one back, the world No. 2 kept his composure to close things out with a 67 break.
Barry Hawkins also progressed in convincing fashion, defeating Stephen Maguire 5-1 to set up a last-eight meeting with Neil Robertson or Chris Wakelin.
Kyren Wilson reached the last eight with a 5-4 win over Ben Woollaston, producing a 119 break in the final frame to seal a tight contest and set up a clash with Trump.
Here are the scores of that match
And some images shared by WST and on Weibo
Ronnie had a golden chance to win the match actually. Having won the battle on the last red in the decider, he only needed the black to seal the win. It was on the top cushion, but not tight on the cushion and there was some distance between the white and the black as well as between the black and the pocket but, still, Ronnie probably only needed to roll it in. Instead he appeared to play it with some power and it stayed out. Hossein did well to clear from there, it wasn’t easy under the circumstances. Why did Ronnie play that black that way, I don’t know. Neal Foulds in commentary was not the wiser. Maybe it was just tension release, maybe he tried to get position to play the yellow, in an attempt to make sure that Hossein wouldn’t play for snooker? Only he will know…
Anyway … it is disappointing but it is what it is. No amount of speculation will change the outcome.
There are no quotes by Ronnie in the above article, but he WAS interviewed and it was reported on Weibo. Here is a translation for what it’s worth:
He said after the game: Vafaei obviously played better today and deserved this victory. Today, my performance was much worse than that of my opponent. My long stand was unable to put pressure on my opponent, and the game was not as close as the score.
After the game, I will go to the World Billiards Museum to do some activities, then go to the gym to exercise, and will stay for an extra day or two.
This is one of the best tournaments in the world and very important. I saw a lot of passionate fans and a really nice stadium. The event was very good and well organized. This and the Saudi event are the best events in the world.
I’m not tired, and I can’t use this as an excuse to lose. But in terms of performance, I can only give myself 3-4 points, but in terms of spirit, I can give myself full marks. I feel that I have been playing the game very hard, but it is still very difficult and I did not show my best condition.
I will do some things in the offseason to help improve my condition, including some exhibition games to increase my competitiveness and improve my performance under pressure. I may come to China or some other places to play some exhibition games later.
Ronnie was very gracious at the end of the match and both were smiling. He had no complaints and, maybe, having a break before the Tour Championship will do him good.
Here is the end of the match, shared by ES on YouTube
2 thoughts on “The 2024 World Open – Ronnie exits the tournament on Day 4”
He was scared of being snookered by the pink or the blue by rolling it in or soft deep screwing it, so he hit it (too) hard.
The black was obviously disappointing after Ronnie got this golden opportunity with the Vafaei-miss, but the whole thing did not start well with that horrendous break-off: even though he can produce some terrible openings, Ronnie usually opens better in deciders. but in the end, despite some great centuries. Ronnie was not that convincing all the tournament. Even yesterday he only avoided 3-3 with that horrible Lyu Haotian-miss of the yellow. (Btw. it didn’t look too good how Lyu did not even look at Ronnie during the final fistbump.)
It was interesting what the commentary said yesterday, how Ronnie has not won such a multitable-setting short-match-tournament since 2017. Well, this is what it is, right now the only thing that matters is the World, so I hope he does not start going down from his peak: he still needs one great showing. 🙂
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
He was scared of being snookered by the pink or the blue by rolling it in or soft deep screwing it, so he hit it (too) hard.
The black was obviously disappointing after Ronnie got this golden opportunity with the Vafaei-miss, but the whole thing did not start well with that horrendous break-off: even though he can produce some terrible openings, Ronnie usually opens better in deciders. but in the end, despite some great centuries. Ronnie was not that convincing all the tournament. Even yesterday he only avoided 3-3 with that horrible Lyu Haotian-miss of the yellow. (Btw. it didn’t look too good how Lyu did not even look at Ronnie during the final fistbump.)
It was interesting what the commentary said yesterday, how Ronnie has not won such a multitable-setting short-match-tournament since 2017. Well, this is what it is, right now the only thing that matters is the World, so I hope he does not start going down from his peak: he still needs one great showing. 🙂