Ronnie O'Sullivan showed his class with what he said to Hossein Vafaei following his loss at the World Open on Thursday.
The Rocket backed the Iranian to go and win the tournament after suffering a surprise defeat in the last-16 in China.
O'Sullivan was the strong favourite to triumph again this week and add to the five tournaments he has already won this season.
He started his campaign with a win over Michael White on Tuesday before beating Lyu Haotian 5-2 in the last-32 on Wednesday.
Ronnie O'Sullivan showed his class with what he said to Hossein Vafaei
WST
The Rocket was far from his best in both matches but this season has picked up the habit of getting better as each tournament progresses.
But he came unstuck against Vafaei on Thursday, with the 29-year-old beating the seven-time world champion for the second time in his career.
O'Sullivan took the match to a deciding frame after levelling the clash up at 4-4.
But the legendary star surprisingly missed on the black to give Vafaei the opportunity to complete an impressive win.
The pair have famously clashed before, with Vafaei previously saying in 2022 that O'Sullivan was 'not good' for the sport and 'should retire'.
But any bad feelings have seemingly been put behind them after their latest clash.
The two players fist-bumped and hugged, with O'Sullivan congratulating Vafaei for his win.
They spoke for a few seconds before O'Sullivan swiftly made his way out of the arena.
Vafaei has revealed the classy comment O'Sullivan said to him in their exchange.
He told WST: "He just said 'go and win it now, just go and win it, you can win it'. And then I said 'I will try my best'."
Vafaei will now play Ding Junhui in the quarter-final after he beat Shaun Murphy 5-3.
He didn't want to discuss any of his previous meetings with O'Sullivan, adding: "I’m not going to talk about past results at the moment, all that matters is the moment right now. The past is past and right now I’m so happy."
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Ronnie O'Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei embraced following their World Open clash
WST
Vafaei knows he will qualify for the Tour Championship in Manchester if he reaches the semi-final in China.
But he insists that is not his main focus. He said: "It's not on my mind at all, it wasn't. I said that.
"If I am good enough, I have to be in every tournament, so I have to try my best to win the tournament to put myself in that position. So I never think about those tournaments.
"If I think about it then I'm going to put pressure on myself, why should I think about it?"
Ronnie O'Sullivan was beaten 5-4 by Hossein Vafaei in a close encounter
WST
Vafaei was excited to play either Ding or Murphy before discovering his next opponent.
He added: "Both of them fantastic players, both of them great legends of our sport. Looking forward to playing either of them.
"The crowd in China has always been fantastic. All the venues have always been full. I enjoy playing in China."
