Ronnie O’Sullivan sends balls flying in crazy break-off when 4-0 down at German Masters to Hossein Vafaei

Updated 25/10/2021 at 20:32 GMT

The Rocket was on the end of a 5-0 defeat to world number 60 Hossein Vafaei – but it was his antics at the start of the fifth frame that will grab the most headlines. The Rocket played a shot many will view as disrespectful, although it did end with a pot and perfect position on the black. Stream the German Masters live and on demand on discovery+

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

Ronnie O’Sullivan cut a frustrated figure during his shock defeat to Hossein Vafaei at the German Masters, smashing a break-off shot into the pack of reds and sending them flying round the table.

While snooker players typically play tactically with their opening shot of a frame, the six-time world champion went for a gung-ho approach and cannoned the cue ball pool-style into the pack.

His bemused opponent stood up to return to the table, only to see a red bounce off the bottom right cushion and roll into the opposite pocket – prompting a smirk from O’Sullivan.

German Masters

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

27/11/2022 at 11:20

Such was O’Sullivan’s good fortune, he finished perfectly on the black and duly delivered a break of 24 before misfiring with an ambitious red up the table.

Vafaei belatedly returned to complete a 5-0 whitewash, with the inspired world number 60 piecing together breaks of 52, 50, 81, 141 and 64.

Neil Robertson posted the moment on social media, admitting he preferred it to Mark Williams' controversial break-off that saw him roll up underneath the reds.

It comes after O'Sullivan revealed he was "baffled" by the next generation of snooker players arriving in the sport, saying he believed a lot of their issues stem from ego and a false sense of self-belief.