"What's your problem?" Williams and Vafaei ready for Crucible clash after handshake snub and bust-up

Both Williams and Vafaei booked their passages into the last 16 of this year’s blue riband event following very hard-fought round one victories on Sunday in Sheffield.

In a topsy-turvy affair, three-time World Champion Williams defeated Chinese youngster Wu Yize, 10-8, in a match where there was an age difference of 29 years between the players.

The Welshman led early on, but Wu headed into the closing stages of the tie 8-7 up. However, Wu crucially missed a red in frame 16 with the extended rest when only a few more pots away from making it 9-7.

50-year-old Williams punished his opponent for the error, taking that frame to level up before depositing the next two to become the oldest winner of a match at the Crucible in 15 years since a 52-year-old Steve Davis defeated then reigning champion John Higgins in round two of the 2010 staging.

Iran’s number one Vafaei was involved in an even more entertaining and dramatic encounter as he ousted number 11 seed Barry Hawkins, 10-9, to record his second match victory on the Crucible stage.

Vafaei showed great battling qualities throughout the fixture having never been in front and trailed by two frames on four separate occasions.

The world number 24 - who made five century breaks in his final qualifying round win a few days earlier - was continuing to hit the ball very sweet as he fashioned runs of 123, 104, 107 and 110 to haul himself back in and force a deciding fame.

In the 19th and final frame, Vafaei got himself in a great position, and whilst on a break of 50 let out a loud and unexpected ‘come on’, despite still requiring several further pots to leave Hawkins needing penalty points.

The 30-year-old did indeed get the job done in that visit, and in a post-match interview with the BBC said: “I have to say sorry to my opponent. I couldn’t handle it, I was under so much pressure. Oh my God, such a tough opponent Barry Hawkins.”

When asked about his reaction in the final frame, Vafaei explained: “I want to send a message to my mind. I was a little bit negative, I had to turn it around. I don’t want to explain it too much, it’s something with me and my mind, this is personal.

“Nothing to do with my opponent. I have to turn something around to go back and be positive again.”

Vafaei sets up mouth-watering meeting with Williams

Vafaei and Williams will face each other on the World Snooker Tour for the first time in over 15 months in their round two tie at the Crucible.

Their last match together was an action-packed one in the last 16 of the World Grand Prix in January 2024.

Williams won that tie 4-1, but it was full of incident, both on and away from the baize.

There was a bizarre end to a very close frame two when Vafaei miscalculated the scores and incorrectly thought he only needed the final pink for the frame. He potted the pink and didn’t play for position on the black, which he also required, and went on to lose that frame.

In frame five, when referee Olivier Marteel was replacing the balls after a foul and a miss, Williams jokingly removed the cue ball from the table and hid it.

However, despite seeing he was doing it light-heartedly, Marteel penalised Williams saying to him “You know that’s a penalty seven. You touched the ball during a consultation period, it’s in the rules.”

The biggest talking point of the match came later in the frame, though, when Vafaei stormed out of the arena without shaking hands with the winner Williams.

The two met backstage a few moments later when Williams approached Vafaei to ask him what the issue was.

Vafaei took umbrage to Williams slapping his own leg near the end of the frame, although Williams explained that he didn’t do that in a victory celebration, but rather he was upset with himself for missing a pink instead of playing safe.

On the non-handshake after that game, Williams said: "I thought he would have come back to the table and carried on for snookers. That's why I was a bit fuming. He just stormed off, but if that's the reason... I don't care anyway!"

Following his dramatic win over Hawkins on Sunday night at the Crucible Theatre, Vafaei was asked about his upcoming meeting with Williams by the BBC, and it appears that that incident at the World Grand Prix is in the past, and Vafaei only has respect for the 26-time ranking event winner.

“He's one of the greatest legends in our sport, I respect him a lot and past is past you know. I watch his game to become a snooker player.

“I'm playing against Mark Williams one of my legend inside the Crucible, it's going to be a great match, it's going to be a good achievement for me. Now when I look I can see how far I came.”

Vafaei is no stranger to dramatic moments or controversial comments at the Crucible.

In 2023, he had a ‘grudge match’ with Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 16, having made comments about O’Sullivan before the encounter about how he felt he had been disrespected by the seven-time world champion in a previous match together.

O’Sullivan ended up winning 13-2 with a session to spare while Vafaei imploded, smashing the pack of reds on the break-off early in the match.

Last year, following a first round defeat to Judd Trump, Vafaei lambasted the Crucible and its facilities, saying that the venue was ‘smelly’ and that “everything’s so bad.”

Please visit our 2025 World Snooker Championship tournament information centre here for details on the draw, results, format and order of play.