Ronnie O'Sullivan hugs Hossein Vafaei in 'nice ending' to grudge match at World Snooker Championship
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Updated 22/04/2023 at 16:54 GMT
It was the tasty encounter many snooker fans had hoped to see at the World Snooker Championship given the ongoing feud that had played out between the pair, but after Ronnie O'Sullivan comprehensively defeated Hossein Vafaei in their second-round match at the Crucible on Saturday afternoon, all of the edge disappeared. O'Sullivan gave Vafaei a hug and the duo shared a heartwarming embrace.
'Isn't that a nice ending!' - O'Sullivan hugs Vafaei after grudge match
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei shared a touching hug in what was "a nice ending" to their grudge match at the World Snooker Championship.
The seven-time world champion strolled into the Crucible for the second session on Saturday afternoon holding a commanding 6-2 lead, and the final scoreline was even more emphatic as he clinched a 13-2 victory with a full session to spare.
It was a hugely impressive win for O'Sullivan as he romped home playing some exquisite snooker and never looking remotely troubled by Vafaei, who seemed more distracted by the build-up around the match than the laser-focused world No. 1.
The Rocket had said he was an "easy target" for other players to criticise in the lead-up to the match, after Vafaei had told Eurosport's Rachel Casey he wanted to "shut" O'Sullivan's mouth in Sheffield in what represented an astonishing broadside.
But after the 47-year-old had clinched the comfortable victory, he walked straight over to his beleaguered opponent to give him a big hug as the pair embraced, laughed and exchanged pleasantries before walking off together.
"Isn't that a nice ending: after all the chat and all the talk, there is an embrace," said Dave Hendon, on commentary for Eurosport at the time, as O'Sullivan set up a quarter-final clash with Luca Brecel.
"At the end of the day, they are both snooker players. Big smiles on both faces and that is a really nice way to end."
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O'Sullivan and Vafaei have a long-standing prickly relationship after Vafaei memorably told O'Sullivan to retire for being "disrespectful" ahead of the 2022 World Championship, and claimed the seven-time world champion was "not good for the game", questioning "what has he done for the sport?"
Asked what he made of Vafaei's attack in a pre-match interview, O'Sullivan told Eurosport: "I don't know, it is more other people have been telling me what was said. I don't know what to say, really, other than I wish every snooker player well.
"I know that everyone on the circuit works really hard, sometimes on the circuit for 10-20 years, they don't get many rewards, and when they do, it is nice.
"We are all on this circuit together and you can't begrudge any good results so I hold no hard feelings for anyone because obviously it is a tough gig and we are all here just trying to do our best.
"So I don't take it personally. I think I'm kind of used to that, I had it as a junior growing up, I had it as an amateur, I had it as an early-season pro, and you still continue to get it.
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"It has kind of followed me around my whole career really, but it is what it is, you know? You just have to play your game and just do your job.
"I think maybe I am a bit of an easy target because if I do an interview about my own game or whatever, obviously they will pick something out and there will be a headline. If I'm not playing, then generally they will ask other players what they think about what I've said, and the interview is about them talking about me.
"So I can't win, really - do you know what I mean? The press is always going to find a question to ask someone. Some people are going to have stronger opinions than others so they are going to voice those opinions. It just is what it is.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan hugs Hossein Vafaei following the second session of their match on Day Eight of the Cazoo World Snooker Championship 2023 at Crucible Theatre on April 22, 2023 in Sheffield, England
Image credit: Getty Images
"All over my career I have had little things," O'Sullivan continued. "Even when friends say it, they don't know there is a commentator who is one of my best friends. He didn't doubt me, but he thought one player was about to take over, and it was Ding Junhui.
"You know what? When I heard that it just fired me up, and he is one of my best friends. So it is not whoever has said it; sometimes I need someone to doubt me or question whether I can still do it. I like having something to prove, but I don't make it a personal thing, I just use it to fire myself up."
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