Hossein Vafaei had to ‘let my animal come out’ in shock Crucible moment

An emotional Hossein Vafaei celebrated a huge win over Barry Hawkins (Picture: Getty Images)

Hossein Vafaei said he had to let his animal come out when he unleashed an unexpected scream on his way to beating Barry Hawkins in the opening round of the World Snooker Championship.

The ultra-competitive game went all the way to 19 frames, with Vafaei never ahead at any point as they wound their way to 9-9.

The Prince of Persia was ahead when it mattered, though, and pinched the game 10-9 thanks to a fantastic break of 73 under the utmost pressure.

Along his way on that break in the final frame, Vafaei potted a red to reach 50 and, entirely unexpectedly, let out a loud shot.

The frame was far from won at that point, with Dennis Taylor saying on BBC commentary: ‘That’s a little bit premature, I know he does get emotional…’

The Iranian went on to wrap up the game and explained why he felt he had to shout out at a pretty weird time.

‘In that moment my mind went negative, so I had to turn something around to tell myself, I had to let something go and let my animal come out again,’ he said.

‘That was a little treat to my mind. Don’t stop me please! Let me go! Let me please go! When you get close to over the line, this is the way people make mistakes.’

On his conversation with Hawkins after the match, he explained: ‘I said, “This is nothing about you, mate. I couldn’t handle it, I was under lots of pressure.”

‘All the way I was down. 1-0, until 8-7 until 9-8 I was all the way down, so what can I do? Up, down, up, down. I did it 10 times!

‘I had to show some emotion otherwise I’m not human. I am human! I had to show some emotion to the people, to the fans. It’s going to be boring [otherwise], people want to see this.’

Hawkins and Vafaei were in good spirits after the match (Picture: Getty Images)

Vafaei has won just one match at the Crucible before and he rates the battling win over Hawkins, which featured four centuries, as the best of his career.

‘Beating the world number seven in the Crucible with four centuries, this is the best performance I had, the numbers don’t lie,’ he said. ‘Not only the game way, but the mental way. I was believing in myself. My game is there.

‘It feels unreal. I can rest now, I can go to the academy, easy life without pressure.’

Vafaei is into the last 16 where Mark Williams awaits (Picture: Getty Images)

Hawkins had no issue with Vafaei’s outburst, only disappointed with his own performance which he deemed sub-par.

‘He just said sorry and he couldn’t help it,’ revealed the Hawk. ‘But it’s understandable, it’s 9-9 at the Crucible, emotions are running high. It’s a big occasion for both of us.

‘He screamed a bit early because he had to pot a few more balls and anything can happen. But it is what it is, it doesn’t bother me.

‘I’m just a bit gutted I didn’t finish the match off when I had a chance and didn’t perform how I have the rest of the season.’

Waiting for Vafaei in the last 16 of the World Championship is Mark Williams after the Welshman beat Wu Yize earlier on Sunday.