Ronnie O'Sullivan 'baffled' and 'sad' about feud with Hossein Vafaei at World Snooker Championship

ByDan Quarrell

Published 22/04/2023 at 19:39 GMT

World No. 1 and seven-time world champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan, has given Eurosport his thoughts after he thrashed Hossein Vafaei 13-2 in a convincing victory in the second round of the World Snooker Championship on Saturday afternoon. Reflecting after the match, O'Sullivan admitted that he was left "baffled" and "sad" by the way that his relationship with Vafaei deteriorated.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White have given Eurosport their reactions after The Rocket won his grudge match with Hossein Vafaei in the second round of the World Snooker Championship.

The seven-time world champion clinched a comprehensive 13-2 victory with a full session to spare as he set up a quarter-final clash with Luca Brecel, and he was able to reflect on the feud between himself and Vafaei that had added extra spice to the encounter.

The Rocket had said he was an "easy target" for other players to criticise in the lead-up to the match, after Vafaei - in a remarkable rant - had told Eurosport's Rachel Casey he wanted to "shut" O'Sullivan's mouth.

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Those comments from the pair were just the latest in what has been an ongoing tiff since Vafaei memorably told O'Sullivan to retire for being "disrespectful" ahead of the 2022 World Championship, and claimed the 47-year-old was "not good for the game".

After what was a resounding, one-sided victory, O'Sullivan admitted he was "baffled" and "sad" by how his relationship with Vafaei had developed, even though the duo shared a nice hug and embrace following the match.

"It was a tough first session, I just played professionally," O'Sullivan told Eurosport in the studio after his emphatic victory.

"I just tried to play what I thought I could pot, so I was holding back on my natural game a bit. But sometimes you have got to be patient and wait for it to happen. I have learned that you cannot always push the boat out.

"It was not like it motivated me to win that match or make it personal," he continued about facing Vafaei following their exchanges away from the table.

"I have probably had six comments through the course of my career that I have taken and used to get my act together and prove to myself that I am still capable of playing the game.

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"I use it just to become a better player. I don't ever get personal because you play 40 to 60 to 80 matches a year, we play a lot of different players, and there is no point in getting fixated on one player because there is just no point.

"We are taught to play the balls. The minute you start getting involved with the opponent it becomes negative for your own game."

On his relationship with Vafaei, he added: "Me and Jimmy would watch him play sometimes and he would get a little bit involved and we would go 'you don't need to do that, you are a really great player, let your snooker do the talking'.

"All of a sudden, it just went a bit funny. So I was baffled and I was a bit sad about it, to be honest with you, but there is not a lot you can do. He has his reasons. Hopefully, it is put to bed now and we can be friends and that is it."

Asked if he definitely was still friends, he said: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you never know with Hossein. Next week he could be coming at me again, you know!"

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White added: "He [O'Sullivan] came out and played Hossein, and as I have said a few times, he took no notice of what Hossein was saying.

"He was measured, he was focused and he made the white ball pop a bit today. I know that when he is moving the white ball around like that, it makes the game easy."

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei hug at the end of their grudge match at the World Snooker Championship

Image credit: Eurosport

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