Ronnie O’Sullivan has refused to enter a war of words with Hossein Vafaei, despite being on the receiving end of several insults from his upcoming opponent. The pair will face off on Friday in a match that threatens to boil over.
Speaking after booking his spot to face O’Sullivan in the World Snooker Championship, Vafaei took aim at his upcoming opponent in astonishing style. The Iranian revealed that he would like to ‘shut his mouth’ and that he no longer holds the world No 1 in high regard due to his personality away from the table.
Vafaei then went on to reveal that he had become a better person since he stopped idolising O’Sullivan and that the Englishman was only nice when he was asleep, raising the stakes to extreme levels ahead of their match.
However, O’Sullivan has kept a lid on his emotions ahead of the face-off and that he hopes that the pair can ‘hug and make up’ at some point. He told Eurosport: “I could be a nicer person? I don’t know. I try to help all of the players on the circuit. If you ask a lot of the pros, pros that are winning world titles that are my rivals, I give them advice. I text them and say ‘you are too good to not be winning as many tournaments as you should, I think you should be trying this or trying that’.
“It is well documented that I open myself up to that, and I like to do that because it is good to share. I did the same with Hossein earlier in his career, so it is what it is.” O’Sullivan went on to explain that he has always been an easy target throughout his career due to his ability, though only wishes opponents well – and that applies to Vafaei too.
“I don’t think I have said anything to personalise things,” he continued. “I’m sure we will hug and make up at some point. If I don’t go on and win the tournament then I would love to see him go on and win the tournament.
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