Ronnie O’Sullivan’s second-round opponent at the World Snooker Championship. Hossein Vafaei, has stoked the rivalry between the pair by suggesting the seven-time world champion is “a nice person when he’s asleep”.
Vafaei produced a scintillating session of snooker to turn an overnight 5-4 deficit against Ding Junhui into a thumping 10-6 win in their first-round encounter, before using the post-match interview to add fuel to the fire ahead of his clash with O’Sullivan.
Vafaei - who became the first Iranian player to win a match at the Crucible Theatre by beating Ding - is known for his showmanship on and off the baize and was keen to stress that facing the consensus greatest snooker player of all time held no fear for him.
“I think Ronnie O’Sullivan is such a legend, such a good player when he’s on the table,” Vafaei told the BBC. “I think he’s such a nice person when he’s sleeping, he’s just such a nice person when he’s asleep, you know what I mean.
“It’s going to be a great match for the people. I think sports need to have people like us who show something, at least. I don’t have anything to lose, if he beats me 13-0 it’s still the start of my career. At least I don’t have fear of him.”
O’Sullivan came through his own first-round encounter 10-7 against Chinese debutant Pang Junxu on Saturday and blamed an illness for an up-and-down performance, something Vafaei had no time for.
“He always finds an excuse for himself, he’s been like that for 30 years,” added Vafaei. “If I beat my hero, well used to be my hero, if I beat him I’m going to be dangerous for the tournament.
“I’m not going to disrespect other players, I’ve seen so many players playing well, like Neil Robertson, such a tough opponent for this tournament, but it’s going to be great if I go to the final.
“There’s no pressure on me, I don’t have anything to lose everyday I’m learning, new experience.”
In additon to being two of the sport’s great entertainers, the O’Sullivan vs Vafaei clash already looked to be a box-office encounter, given the comments made by the Iranian ahead of last year’s World Championship.
The then-27-year-old lashed out at the Englishman’s remarks suggesting snooker was a waste of a life for most people, urging ‘the Rocket’ to be a better ambassador for the sport and even suggesting he should retire to let the younger players take the spotlight.
At the time, Vafaei told Metro.co.uk: “A lot of things he says frustrates me. What kind of legend are you if you call people numpties?
“I was and am still good friends with him, but I don’t like that. Maybe he likes it and gives him a good feeling but I think people should treat him like that as well. I treat him like he deserves.
“I like him a lot, I am his fan, I love what he does but sometimes he’s disrespectful, he’s not good for the game. I think he should retire, to be honest with you. He should retire and then the younger generation make the game bigger.”
That response clearly stuck with O’Sullivan, who referenced those statements earlier this week when suggesting he relishes criticism from fellow pros as it fires him up.
“Has he [Vafaei] been saying much this year?” O’Sullivan smirked in an interview with Eurosport. “I think he’s learned to be quiet. Don’t rattle my cage!
“I’m just having fun. I love it when they call me out, I love it when they give me stick, I love it, it turns me on, I get off on it.”
Vafaei thumped O’Sullivan 5-0 at the German Masters when the pair last played in October 2021 and their best-of-25 second-round contest at the Crucible begins on Friday afternoon.
