Iran’s Hossein Vafaei earned a late night 6-4 victory over 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy, after the evening session was delayed by an hour due to a fire alarm at the MrQ UK Championship in York.
It was the first time Vafaei and Murphy have faced off on the World Snooker Tour, other than at the Shoot Out, and high octane snooker was expected with both players known for their aggressive style of play. However, the unexpected delay in play meant for a fragmented start when the pair finally took to the arena at 8pm.
Vafaei had to come through qualifying to make it to the Barbican, but he is used to landing seismic wins in York, having knocked out four-time World Champion Mark Selby in each of the last two years.
This evening’s tie saw Vafaei win a low scoring opener with just 56 points, before adding the second to move 2-0 up. The third frame went the way of Murphy and the Magician then clinched the fourth on the black to head into the mid-session level at 2-2.
Breaks of 52 and 100 saw Vafaei reassert his authority on proceedings after play got back underway, moving 4-2 ahead. He was pegged back to 4-3, but a break of 78 then saw world number 18 Vafaei move one from victory at 5-3. Although Murphy extended the match by taking the ninth, Vafaei made a crucial break of 67 to get over the line and secure his place in the last 16.
Vafaei said: “To be honest with you, I will take that but I didn’t play really well. The most important thing for me is that I am still in the tournament and I’m in the next round. The match went a little bit slow. I managed to win and got a century. I am quite happy.
“My body was going because the situation happened one hour before the match. Everyone got moved because of the fire alarm. It made us a little bit tired. In the end I managed everything really well.
“I was in my dressing room and I got told we had to go out because fire could come inside that room as well. I took my cue and I ran outside. We got moved to the pub, where it was warm and nice. Half an hour later they came and told us we could go back because everything was fixed.”
Next up Vafaei faces world number 29 Matthew Selt, who defeated fellow Essex cueman Ali Carter 6-3.
Selt crafted breaks of 111, 102 and 73 on his way to victory. He will be gunning for a second trip to the UK Championship quarter-finals in the next round, while his opponent Vafaei is seeking a maiden place in the last eight.
