Williams used breaks of 108, 76, and 75 to win the second round match 4-1, however there was tension between the two players when Vafaei shook hands with the referee but not with his opponent.
The Iranian smacked his own thigh in frustration when Williams missed a pink at the conclusion of the match, indicating that he was displeased with the Welsh Potting Machine.
The three-time world champion said that he did so because he had assumed Vafaei would come back to play snookers, but the Prince of Persia stormed off, viewing it as impolite.
Williams told ITV, “I just pulled him up about it there and said, ‘What’s your problem?'” “He said it was because, when I won, I smacked my leg.
“I slapped my leg at the end because I should have played it safe and not gone for the pink. I assumed he would have returned to the table and we would have continued with snookers.”
I should never have gone for the pink, and I knew it, which is why I was a little pissed off when he suddenly came storming up.
“That’s the reason, pfft, I don’t care anyway if that’s the reason,” he replied.
When punditry duties called for him, former world champion Ken Doherty stated, “I think it was the fact that he had already won the match, Hossein wasn’t going to play for snookers.” Mark thought otherwise; Hossein saw it to be insulting since he had already prevailed. That’s the reason he stormed out.
Williams was pleased to share his thoughts on social media after the event, as was to be expected, and he responded to several remarks on X.
Regarding the circumstances, the 48-year-old remarked, “Unreal, didn’t know what was happening.” I was a big fan of his game as well, and my family as a whole enjoyed him, though I’m not sure whether they still do anymore.
Additionally, he called the circumstances “pathetic” and “shocking,” noting that he was particularly shocked because he had “always got on” with Vafaei.
Vafaei lost the second frame after miscounting the score, potting the last pink to put himself ahead by six points, but he did not play for the black. This was only one of the many events that made the game memorable. In the end, Williams potted the black to win it.
Williams foolishly scooped up the white ball and put it in his pocket to trick the referee during the fifth frame’s re-spotting of balls following a foul, which resulted in him losing seven points under the rules.
Williams, ranked 43rd in the world, defeated Shaun Murphy 4-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face Cao Yupeng. Despite this setback, Williams did not lose the frame or the match.
