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Ronnie O’Sullivan seals win over Hossein Vafaei at World Championship with session to spare, hits 1,200th career ton
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Published 22/04/2023 at 17:41 GMT+1
Ronnie O'Sullivan took control of his second-round clash at the World Championship with Hossein Vafaei - labelled a grudge match after the latter's controversial pre-game comments - in the opening session. He arrived for the second session on Saturday afternoon with a 6-2 lead, and kept up the momentum to seal an impressive 13-2 victory, finishing with a session to spare.
Watch O'Sullivan clinch 1,200th career century in Crucible masterclass
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Ronnie O’Sullivan won all seven frames on Saturday to wrap up a 13-2 victory over Hossein Vafaei in the second round of the World Championship with a session to spare.
The clash had been labelled a grudge match on account of Vafaei’s controversial pre-game comments about wanting to "shut" O’Sullivan up.
If it was a game plan, it was one that raised eyebrows. And one that backfired spectacularly as a focused O’Sullivan dominated the opening session to lead 6-2 overnight.
Vafaei needed a fast start at the Crucible on Saturday, but he never got out of neutral as O’Sullivan blitzed him to secure an impressive victory.
O’Sullivan said ahead of the defence of his title that not exerting too much mental and physical energy in the early rounds was of huge importance, and he did exactly what he would have wanted to finish a day early.
He can now focus his attention on a quarter-final clash on Tuesday with Luca Brecel, who beat Mark Williams 13-11.
O’Sullivan began the session with a series of good safeties, which crafted a chance. He knocked in an excellent long red to the bottom left pocket and made 48 before missing a tough pink to left middle. Vafaei had a chance to counter but missed a simple blue and O’Sullivan picked off the balls required to take the first frame of the session and re-establish a five-frame advantage.
After a string of excellent safeties in the opening frame, O’Sullivan played a slack one in the 10th to allow his opponent an opening. Vafaei made 59 but somehow missed frame-ball green, and it proved costly as O’Sullivan picked his pocket with a clearance of 60 - the highlight being a stunning shot to develop the final red off the black.
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'What a shot!' - O'Sullivan pulls off outrageous shot to free up red
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Vafaei was swimming against the tide, and the balls were not falling his way. O’Sullivan left a chance for the Iranian in the 11th but he needed the bridge to get over another red, and he fouled when playing the pot. It did not prove costly, but a short while later O’Sullivan got in again and made a run of 68 to make it three frames on the spin to start the afternoon.
While it could be argued the balls were not kind to Vafaei, he was also his own worst enemy. He crafted a chance in the 12th with an excellent red to right middle and had the table at his mercy on a break of 32 when he missed a simple red. O’Sullivan’s counter was ice-cool and clinical, as a break of 82 meant he had swept the mini-session to lead by 10-2.
The torture for Vafaei continued after the interval, and if this grudge match had been in the boxing ring it would have been stopped. Vafaei missed a red to left middle and O’Sullivan picked off a break of 64 to extend the lead to nine frames.
The only thing missing from O’Sullivan’s play on Saturday was a ton. That arrived in the 14th frame, as he picked off a glorious 107 for the 1,200th century of his career.
Vafei was put out of his misery in the following frame, as O’Sullivan pounced on another error to wrap up victory with back-to-back tons to ensure he would have Sunday off.
It is the seventh time O’Sullivan has won a match at the Crucible with a session to spare, so Vafaei is not the only one at the party. And it was positive to see the match end with an embrace between the two, to put the bad blood behind them.
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'Isn't that a nice ending!' - O'Sullivan hugs Vafaei after grudge match
Video credit: TNT Sports
Neil Robertson’s bid for a second world crown ended at the hands of Jak Jones.
The 2010 champion delivered the best performance of the first round in crushing Wu Yize 10-3, but that form deserted him against Crucible debutant Jones.
Jones did the damage when dominating the second session to lead 10-6 overnight.
Robertson won the opening frame on Saturday to threaten a fightback, but Welshman Jones held his nerve to win three on the spin to secure a 13-7 victory.
Jones will face Mark Allen in the quarter-finals following the Northern Irishman’s 13-4 win over Stuart Bingham.
Four-time champion Mark Selby leads Gary Wilson 5-3 heading into the second session.
Trailing 3-2, Selby clicked into gear, securing the final frame of the night to take a two-frame lead into the next session.
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