O'Sullivan Beats Vafaei in Xi’an Grand Prix


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - English snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan cruised to an emphatic victory over Iranian player Hossein Vafaei at the Xi’an Grand Prix to set up a quarter-final showdown with Matt Selt.

The Rocket, who does not always see eye-to-eye with Vafaei, was simply a cut above as he steamrolled his way to a 5-0 whitewash.

The match lasted little over 90 minutes as O'Sullivan turned on the style to put Vafaei to the sword with a ruthless display. He secured century breaks of 103 and 104 and was never really threatened by the Prince of Persia, who struggled to get going and failed to recover.

It came a year after the two players were embroiled in a bitter feud at the World Snooker Championship in 2023. It began when Vafaei accused O'Sullivan of being 'disrespectful' to the sport and urged him to retire, which did not go down well with the Rocket.

The 2024 Xi'an Grand Prix (officially the 2024 Du Xiaoman Xi'an Grand Prix) is a professional snooker tournament that is taking place from August 19 to 25 at the Qujiang E‑sports Centre in Xi'an, China.