Following a contentious opening to his World Championship rematch with the reigning champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, Hossein Vafaei was called “disrespectful”.
In the second frame, the Iranian qualifier stunned BBC pundits Stephen Hendry and John Virgo by smashing the pack of reds off the break-off.
After the first session between the two, O’Sullivan went on to take a 6-2 lead.
Virgo stated on BBC One, “I think it’s disrespectful to play that shot.”
“This is [Vafaei’s] biggest match to date. It still amazes me that he would play a shot like that.
For me, that’s a first. The thoughts that snooker players have are amusing.
At the beginning of the second session, 28-year-old Vafaei, who had been in a verbal spat with the seven-time world champion prior to the match, smashed the balls furiously, giving O’Sullivan a 1-0 lead.
The action brought back memories of O’Sullivan doing the same to Vafaei in the German Masters qualification final set, when they lost 5-0.
Stephen Hendry, a seven-time world champion, stated on BBC One that “it’s clearly a planned break-off because Ronnie did it to him in a match [last season].”
“Vafaei gazed up at what was probably one of his pals in the audience before he got down to break off.
However, becoming entangled in anything like that is foolish. That’s the World Cup, folks. Why should I participate?
“Ronnie won’t care, so I’m not sure what he was intending to accomplish by doing it.
“Not very excellent. Not witty. It’s clear that he has been hanging onto that for a very long time.
Before the match, the “Rocket” had cautioned Vafaei not to “rattle my cage,” while O’Sullivan’s opponent made fun of the world number one by calling him “a nice guy when he was asleep.”
However, O’Sullivan emerged victorious, having taken a stride toward a highly sought-after quarterfinal spot.
The damage was done to the 47-year-old, who is aiming to make history this season by trying to become the first player to win eight world titles in the modern era, by breaks of 78, 65, 51, 78, and 102 – his 200th century break in the Crucible.
Luca Brecel of Belgium defeated three-time world champion Mark Williams 13-11 in a tough match to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.
Brecel led 9–7 after dominating the last session with breaks of 113, 100, 66, 80, and 51. However, he lost a great opportunity to lead 10–6 after stuttering on a break in the afternoon’s last set.
Welshman Williams recorded breaks of 67, 54, and 53 in addition to an 81 break that kept him in the running.
However, Brecel crossed the winning line with runs of 71, 84, 67, and 117, his fourth century of the game.
After the second session of their second-round match, Mark Allen of Northern Ireland leads England’s Stuart Bingham 12-4 and needs just one more frame to win tomorrow.
After leading 5-3 at the restart, the former Crucible semi-finalist easily won seven frames on the spin, with breaks of 53, 63, 75, 63, 65, 97, and 51.
Neil Robertson, the former world champion, is trailed 10–6 by qualifier Jak Jones. After they locked up again at 4-4, Welshman Jones broke 100, 65, 49, 74, and 49 to seize the upper hand.
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