'He's my hero' - Hossein Vafaei stuns Ronnie O'Sullivan at World Open after final-frame drama, Judd Trump progresses
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Updated 21/03/2024 at 12:47 GMT
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.
'He thought he'd thrown it away' - Watch dramatic ending to O'Sullivan-Vafaei classic
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.
Vafaei and O'Sullivan have a something of a chequered history after some break-off shot controversy in 2022, but the Iranian has put it behind him.
“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.
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Mobile phone...or a xylophone? O'Sullivan unfazed to draw level with Vafaei
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.
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'He's had to find something' - O'Sullivan sparkles with 125 clearance
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.
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'Oh wow, what a miss!' - Vafaei spurns simple red in final-frame decider against O'Sullivan
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.
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