Hossein Vafaei whitewashes Ronnie O’Sullivan in German Masters qualifiers

Hossein Vafaei pulled off a remarkable 5-0 whitewash of an out of sorts Ronnie O’Sullivan in the German Masters qualifiers in Cannock on Monday.

World number 60 Vafaei romped to one of the most notable victories of his career to date as he dismantled an erratic O’Sullivan at the Chase Leisure Centre.

The Persian potter opened up a 2-0 lead with breaks of 52 and 50 as he punished early missed chances from O’Sullivan.

He then added a clinical break of 81 before following up with a spectacular 141 clearance to move 4-0 ahead inside an hour.

O’Sullivan’s frustration was evident after the pair returned from the interval as he smashed into the pack of reds from the break off, seeing a red drop in, but could only make 24.

Vafaei pounced once again and rounded off an emphatic victory with a break of 64 to book his place in the second qualifying round on Tuesday.

The defeat is O’Sullivan’s first whitewash since he was thrashed 5-0 by John Higgins at the Scottish Open in 2017 and means his four-year wait for a German Masters appearance goes on.

Elsewhere, 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty produced a spirited fightback to defeat Matthew Stevens 5-3 and progress to the main stages of the event in January.

Stevens led 3-1 in a match which signalled a repeat of the 2000 Masters final, but Doherty hit back with four consecutive frames to set up a Last 32 meeting with Sam Craigie in Berlin.

Tyneside’s Craigie was a commanding 5-1 winner over Mark Davis with breaks of 60 and 50 along the way.

Reigning World Champion Mark Selby also secured his spot in the main event following a 5-1 victory over Ashley Carty.

Selby produced a top break of 112 en route to a dominant victory, and will face Barry Pinches in the Last 32 at the Tempodrom.

Norwich veteran Pinches pulled off a 5-1 rout of John Astley with a top break of 113 in the opening frame.

Liang Wenbo coasted into the second qualifying round after a 5-1 victory over Reanne Evans, while David Gilbert held his nerve in a tense decider to edge out David Grace in a marathon encounter.

WATCH THE GERMAN MASTERS QUALIFIERS STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)

German Masters Qualifiers 2022 Results

Monday October 25

First Round
Elliot Slessor 2-5 Zhao Jianbo
David Gilbert 5-4 David Grace
Lei Peifan 5-3 Soheil Vahedi
Yan Bingtao 5-2 Chen Zifan
Ronnie O’Sullivan 0-5 Hossein Vafaei
Steven Hallworth 1-5 Andrew Higginson
Liang Wenbo 5-1 Reanne Evans
Fergal O’Brien 3-5 Ben Hancorn

Second Round
Mark Davis 1-5 Sam Craigie
Matthew Stevens 3-5 Ken Doherty
Barry Pinches 5-1 John J Astley
Ashley Carty 1-5 Mark Selby

“What do you think about having to play qualifiers?”

Ronnie O’Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/1iNX0Sz8bg

— Live Snooker (@Livesnooker) October 25, 2021