German Masters snooker: Hossein Vafaei suffers defeat a day after Ronnie O'Sullivan whitewash, Yan Bingtao victory

ByEurosport

Updated 26/10/2021 at 18:21 GMT

Hossein Vafaei suffered a disappointing 5-3 defeat to Andrew Higginson in the last 64 of the German Masters less than a day after the world number 60's stunning 5-0 whitewash of six-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. The last 32 qualify for the final stages of the German Masters, with the Tempodrom in Berlin staging the tournament between 26-30 January 2022.

O’Sullivan sends balls flying round table in ultra-aggressive break-off

Hossein Vafaei was sent crashing back to earth a day after his 5-0 whitewash of six-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan as he suffered a 5-3 defeat to Andrew Higginson in the last 64 of the German Masters in Cannock.

On the final day of qualifying for the tournament, Iran's number one could not replicate the level of form that saw him destroy O'Sullivan in under an hour with breaks of 52, 50, 81, 64 and 141 on Monday evening.

German Masters

Murphy, Ding and Higgins lose German Masters qualifiers as shocks continue

27/11/2022 at 11:20

Vafaei made a quickfire start with a break of 57 seeing him move 1-0 ahead of Higginson, but the 2007 Welsh Open finalist rolled in knocks of 52 and 81 to move 2-1 ahead of O'Sullivan's conqueror.

The world number 60 restored parity at 2-2 before Higginson – ranked a place lower at 61 – restored his advantage with a 76 contribution to move 3-2 ahead.

Vafaei dominated the sixth frame to level at 3-3, but his opponent claimed the final two frames with the tension palpable to book a trip to Berlin in January.

The last 32 qualify for the final stages of the German Masters, with the Tempodrom in Berlin staging the tournament between 26-30 January 2022, which you can stream live and on demand on discovery+.

Masters champion Yan Bingtao watched compatriot Lei Peifan compile breaks of 63 and 94 to move 2-0 clear in his second-round match before reeling off the next five frames with knocks of 75, 66, 59, 81 and 61 enough to ensure his progress to the German capital.

Former world semi-finalist David Gilbert claimed the final four frames against Zhao Jianbo from 2-1 behind with runs of 74, 63 and 97 seeing him through to the final stages.

In Tuesday's remaining qualifier, former UK finalist Liang Wenbo ran out a 5-2 winner against Ben Hancorn.