Mark Williams labelled Hossein Vafaei “pathetic” after the Iranian refused to shake his hand following their World Grand Prix conflict.
Williams superior to the quarter-finals of the match for the very first time with a comparatively snug 4-1 win over Vafaei at Leicester’s Morningside Arena, with breaks of 108, 76 and 75. But the World No. 4 was left baffled when his opponent stormed off in a huff after the competition, prompting boos from the group.
It turned out the Prince of Persia had been irked by Williams’ resolution to slap his leg in annoyance after lacking a pink on the finish of the fifth body. The Welsh Potting Machine defined afterwards that he did so as a result of he thought Vafaei would return to play for snookers, however the 29-year-old thought of it an act of disrespect and marched out, conceding the match.
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Speaking afterwards, Williams advised ITV: “I just pulled him up about it there and said, ‘What’s your problem?’ He said it was because I slapped my leg at the end when I won.
“I slapped my leg on the finish as a result of I shouldn’t have gone for the pink, I ought to have performed secure and I believed he would have come again to the desk and carried on for snookers. That’s why I used to be a bit fuming, I shouldn’t have gone for the pink and I knew it and he simply stormed up. He stated that’s the rationale, if that’s the rationale, pfft, I don’t care anyway.”
Who was within the mistaken: Williams or Vafaei? Let us know within the feedback part under.
Former world champion Ken Doherty, who was on punditry obligation, instructed he understood why Vafaei thought of Williams’ leg slap disrespectful. He stated: “I think it was the fact that he had already won the match, Hossein wasn’t going to play for snookers. Mark had a different idea about it, Hossein thought it was disrespectful because he’d already won. That’s why he stormed off.”
Nevertheless, Williams hit out at Vafaei on social media after the competition, writing: “Unreal, didn’t know what was happening. I was a good admirer of his game as well, all my family liked him, not sure they do after that now.” He later branded the Iranian “pathetic”, including that he was stunned as he “always got on” with Vafaei.
Williams will face China’s Cao Yupeng within the subsequent spherical, and a win there’ll see him advance to a semi-final conflict with both Judd Trump or Mark Selby.