An ecstatic Hossein Vafaei couldn't contain his joy, as he roared out mid-clearance during the deciding frame of a 10-9 win over Barry Hawkins in the opening round of the Halo World Championship.
A stunning display from the Iranian number one saw him battle to keep himself in contention. He fired in four centuries on his way to a final frame, having never led during the entire match. Vafaei was 50-0 up in the decider, but still some way shy of the winning post, when he roared out after potting a red to the green pocket.
The former Shoot Out champion went on to complete a break of 73 which saw him claim victory and set up a clash with three-time World Champion Mark Williams. Vafaei will be gunning for a first ever Crucible quarter-final.
This was only a second match win at the Theatre of Dreams for world number 24 Vafaei, who has come through qualifying in each of the last four years. He beat Ding Junhui in 2023, before falling foul of a 13-2 loss to Ronnie O’Sullivan in a fiery encounter. Last year Vafaei fell short against Judd Trump in the first round.
Defeat extends Hawkins’ torrid recent record in snooker’s showpiece event. He’s only won three matches at the Crucible since 2018 and hasn’t been beyond the second round during that period. However, he can reflect on a strong season which has seen him make finals at the UK Championship and the German Masters.
They came into this evening with Hawkins leading 5-4 and the Londoner took the opener to extend his cushion. Vafaei then responded with back-to-back century breaks of 104 and 107 to restore parity at 6-6.
Hawkins went 8-7 ahead when Vafaei made 110 to draw level once more. It was the Englishman that first moved to the verge of victory, making 106 to lead 9-8. A tight 18th frame went the way of Vafaei and he then made that emotional run of 73 in the last to get over the line. The moment of victory was the first time that he had led during the entire match.
“In the moment, during the deciding frame, my mind went negative. I had to change something around. I needed to give something a go and let the animal come out again. It was a trick to my mind. When you get close to crossing the line, people can make mistakes. That was the only way," said 30-year-old Vafaei.
“I was under lots of pressure. All the way I was down. What can I do? I’m always under pressure. I couldn’t handle it at the end. I had to show some emotion or I’m not human. I had to show to the fans that we feel the pressure. People want to see this.
“Beating the world number 11 in the Crucible with four centuries is the best performance I have had. The numbers don’t lie. I could easily have given up and not continued. I kept believing in myself that the game was there.”