Ronnie O’Sullivan was adjudged by several fans of the billiard game not to be at his best, but that was not enough to stop The Rocket from mauling Hossein Vafaei.
O’Sullivan eased off to a 4-1 win over his opponent, who offered no resistance whatsoever. It felt like Hossein had thrown in the towel even before the game started. He made a mistake after mistake, which slowly erased his name from the list showing the players left in the tournament.
The Rocket made no mistake in punishing his Iranian opponent for fumbling when he had the chance. O’Sullivan ensured his onslaught with breaks of 52, 55, and 60.
It was miles adrift of vintage stuff we are used to seeing from Ronnie, but it was just enough to secure the win, which is what really matters. With Vafaei making a match-high break of 25, it was clear there was always going to be one winner, and it wasn’t the Iranian.
Vafaei’s tight opener went his way, but the pendulum decided against swinging in his direction this time. O’Sullivan will now return to the arena to battle Mei Xi Wen, who saw Elliot Slessor as an unworthy opponent, stomping over him with a 4-1 win.
O’Sullivan, who has been found guilty of making a series of controversial statements during this term’s English Open, said he couldn’t stop laughing at Hossein. Could the Iranian be mad at his guts?
O’ Sullivan said: “I was just laughing at Hossein – he’s so funny. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the evening was Zhao Xintong, who did Neil Robertson dirty, courtesy of a 4-0 demolition.
It has been six years since the Chinese youngster was praised as the next big thing by Steve Davis, and last season’s run to the Welsh Open last-8 gave signs that the 22-year-old could soon live up to his billing.
This is his biggest statement yet as he managed to claim the first two frames before producing breaks of 68 and 71 to dump Robertson out of the tournament.
Neil Robertson has been quite unlucky in this tournament, failing to advance past the quarter-finals in all his trials.
Written by: Roland Arum