Ronnie O'Sullivan match interrupted by bizarre 'xylophone' noise before shock World Open defeat

Ronnie O'Sullivan's match with Hossein Vafaei at the World Open was interrupted by a noise that sounded like a 'xylophone', according to a Eurosport commentator.

'The Rocket' fell to a surprise 5-4 defeat against Vafaei; the Iranian who memorably told O'Sullivan that "he should retire" after the 2022 World Championship.

Instead of taking Vafaei's advice, the seven-time world champion has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career, lifting the Shanghai Masters, the Masters and the Riyadh Season World Masters.

But on Thursday, O'Sullivan fell to a dramatic loss that was decided by the black in the final frame.

“I’m very happy to get the victory. He [O'Sullivan] is my hero," said Vafaei, who will face Ding Junhui or Shaun Murphy in the quarter-final.

"Just playing against Ronnie O’Sullivan is a dream come true, but what about winning?"

It was a game full of decisive moments.

Earlier on in the last-16 tie, with Vafaei 2-1 up, O'Sullivan had already won the frame [luckily] when a noise was heard from the crowd inside the Yushan Sport Centre in China.

The sound confused many in attendance, including the Eurosport commentators.

"I thought that was someone on the xylophone actually," the commentator said as O'Sullivan continued to clear up. "Maybe it was a phone. I don't know. Don't know why they would have one here."

You can see that incident below:

It was an incredibly close, but scrappy, contest as O'Sullivan forced a decider following a 125 break.

He then gained control of the final frame with a break of 62 but a missed black allowed Vafaei to close the gap. The Iranian potted blue, pink and black to take the frame and match by a single point.

“I’m not going to talk about past results, all that matters is the moment right now," Vafaei said after the win.

"The past is past and right now I’m so happy."