Hossein Vafaei (; born 15 October 1994) is an Iranian professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player. He is the first professional player from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He won his first ranking title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out, beating Mark Williams 1–0 (71–0) in the final. Vafaei made his Crucible debut at the

2022 World Snooker Championship The 2022 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2022 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 April to 2 May 2022 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, the 46th consecutive ...

, where he lost 4–10 to

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player who is a former List of World Snooker Championship winners, world champion and the current List of world number one snooker players, world number one. He is currently in ...

in the first round. He made his Masters debut at the 2023 event, replacing

Zhao Xintong Zhao Xintong (; born 3 April 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player and the reigning World Snooker Champion. He first turned professional in the 2016–17 season, aged 19, having previously recorded wins against a number of top p ...

in the draw after the sport's governing body suspended Zhao amid a match-fixing investigation. Vafaei defeated

Mark Selby Mark Anthony Selby (born 19 June 1983) is an English professional snooker player. Ranked List of world number one snooker players, world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 24 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the all ...

6–2 in the first round, but lost 4–6 to

Jack Lisowski Jack Lisowski (born 25 June 1991) is an English professional snooker player from Churchdown, Gloucestershire. He turned professional in 2010 by finishing first in the 2009/2010 International Open Series, PIOS rankings. A left-handed player, he ...

in the quarter-finals, despite equalling the tournament's highest break of 143 in the match.

Career

2009/2010 season

His first international tournament was the 2009 World Under-21 Amateur Snooker Championship. He reached the last 16 where he lost by five frames to three against Liu Chuang.

2010/2011 season

He participated in the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the snooker singles competition and was beaten 4–1 by Dechawat Poomjaeng in the last 16. In December 2010, he played in the World Amateur Snooker Championship and reached the last 16, where he lost 5–1 to

Leo Fernandez Leo Fernandez (born 5 July 1976 in Limerick) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Snooker career Fernandez's best ranking event progress was reaching the last 16 of the 2003 Welsh Open, defeating opponents including fellow Irishman F ...

. In April 2011, he reached the final of ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship, but lost 7–3 to

Cao Yupeng Cao Yupeng (; born 27 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the 2011 Asian Under-21 Championship, thus qualifying for the professional main tour for the 2011–12 season. In his first season on the circuit, he reached ...

. Later in the month he participated in ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, however, he could not advance past the group stage. He competed in Group C, and finished in fourth place with one win and three losses.

2011/2012 season

In September 2011, he received a wildcard to participate at the Shanghai Masters, but could not advance to the first round as he lost 5–1 against

Fergal O'Brien Fergal O'Brien (born 8 March 1972) is an Irish retired professional snooker player who competed on the World Snooker Tour from 1991 to 2024. He won one ranking title during his career, defeating Anthony Hamilton 9–7 in the final of the 1999 ...

. In December, he won the World Amateur Snooker Championship by defeating

Lee Walker Lee Walker (born 11 February 1976) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and former World Seniors Champion. He is an official WPBSA coach and is the long-term coach of Mark Williams. Career After turning professional in 1994 at the ag ...

10–9 in the final. He won the title at the age of 17 years and 81 days, which made him the youngest ever winner of the tournament, breaking Ian Preece's record. Vafaei received a wildcard to participate at the 2012 World Open, but lost 5–2 against Mark King. In April 2012, he won ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship, by defeating

Zhang Anda Zhang Anda (; born 25 December 1991) is a Chinese professional snooker player, who made his debut on the Main Tour for the 2009–10 season. He qualified by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship. In November 2023 he won his first world ...

6–2 in the final. He reached the semi-finals of ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, where he lost 6–3 to

Aditya Mehta Aditya Mehta (born 31 October 1985) is an Indian former professional snooker player. He participated on the World Snooker Tour for the 2007–08 season, and between 2011 and 2018. He reached a highest world ranking of 49. Mehta participated in ...

Attempt to turn professional

He received a main snooker tour card courtesy of his World Amateur win to participate in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 seasons. However, due to visa problems he could only participate in the

Six-red World Championship The Six-red World Championship is a six-red snooker tournament, played with the six and six . Ding Junhui is the reigning champion. History The event was first held in the 2008–09 snooker season, 2008/2009 season, and was known as the Six- ...

in Thailand, where he lost in the last 16 to

, and APTC Event 2 in China, where he lost to Li Yuan in the last 64. It was a similar story in his second season as he only played in the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

(lost 3–0 to

Lü Haotian Lyu Haotian (; born 29 November 1997) is a Chinese professional snooker player, notable for being one of the youngest snooker players to have played in professional tournaments, aged only 14. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 Internatio ...

in the first round) and the

(failed to advance beyond the group stage).

2014 IBSF World Under-21s Championship

In May 2014, Vafaei qualified as the top seed of his group at the 2014 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship by losing only one frame in the preliminary stage. He then beat Poland's Mateusz Baranowski 7–3 in the semi-finals, compiling the first 147 in the history of the tournament in the process. He won the title by defeating

Josh Boileau Josh Boileau (born 2 July 1995 in Newbridge, County Kildare) is an Irish former professional snooker player. He is the 2016 Under-21 European Snooker Champion. Career In 2014, Boileau entered the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships i ...

8–3 in the final.

Special dispensation for the 2014/15 season

In June 2014, Vafaei received a special dispensation to compete on the Main Tour for the 2014/15 season. In late February 2015, it was confirmed that Vafaei had gained a visa, leaving him able to enter the

2015 World Snooker Championship The 2015 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2015 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 19 April to 5 May 2015 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 39th conse ...

, where he lost 10–3 to

Anthony McGill Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus. McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He ...

in the opening qualifying round.

2015/2016 season

The

2015 Australian Goldfields Open The 2015 Australian Goldfields Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 29 June and 5 July 2015 at the Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia. It was the first ranking event of the 2015/2016 season. Judd Trump wa ...

was the first ranking event of the 2015/2016 season and Vafaei qualified for it by beating Charlie Walters 5–3,

Zak Surety Zak Surety (born 4 October 1991) is an English professional snooker player. He practises frequently with Stuart Bingham and Allan Taylor. Career As an amateur, Surety based in Basildon entered in Players Tour Championship events from their e ...

5–3,

5–4 and

Dominic Dale Dominic Dale (born Christopher Dale; 29 December 1971) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player, as well as a current snooker commentator, pundit and presenter for BBC Cymru Wales and TNT Sports (United Kingdom), TNT Sports (formerly Eur ...

5–3. In his debut at the venue stage of a ranking event, Vafaei played Michael White in the opening round where he lost 5–3. He played in the

UK Championship The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican in York, England. Ronnie O'Sull ...

for the first time (losing 6–1 to

Luca Brecel Luca Brecel (; born 8 March 1995) is a Belgian professional snooker player. A four-time snooker world rankings, ranking event winner, Brecel is a former World Snooker Championship, World Snooker Champion, having won the 2023 World Snooker Champ ...

in the first round) and the Welsh Open (losing 4–2 to

Robin Hull Robin Hull (born 16 August 1974) is a Finnish former professional snooker player. For some time, he was the sole Nordic countries, Nordic player on the game's Snooker world rankings, main tour. He is known as a solid -builder, having compiled o ...

in the first round).

2016/2017 season

Vafaei enjoyed wins over

Rod Lawler Rod Lawler (born 12 July 1971) is an English retired professional snooker player. He is noted for his slow playing style which gave rise to his nickname, "Rod the Plod". After turning professional in 1990, Lawler has reached one ranking tourna ...

Sanderson Lam Sanderson Lam () (born 28 January 1994) is an English professional snooker player. Early life Lam was born to Chinese parents in Leeds, England. His parents moved to England in the 1980s. Career In 2011, Lam started to take part in the Players ...

and Scott Donaldson at the Northern Ireland Open to reach his first ranking event quarter-final, where he lost 5–3 to Mark King. He also had a good run at the Welsh Open as he beat Lam,

Christopher Keogan Christopher Keogan (born 26 August 1992) is an English former professional snooker player. Career From the town of Doncaster, Yorkshire in England, Keogan started playing snooker at the age of 6. In his early years he was coached by Steve Pre ...

and

Ali Carter Allister Carter (born 25 July 1979) is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been a World Championship finalist, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won six ranking titles and briefly reached number t ...

to advance to the fourth round and he was defeated 4–1 by

. A month after the Welsh Open, Vafaei also had a good run of form at the China Open, defeating Joe Perry 5–2,

Ben Woollaston Ben Woollaston (born 14 May 1987) is an English professional snooker player from Leicester. His sole professional title came at the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship 2011/2012 – Event 3, third Players Tour Championship event in 2011. W ...

5–4 and Rory McLeod 5–3. This booked him a place in the second ranking event quarter-final of his career within the space of a few months. His opponent was to be

and Vafaei (the world number 74) was able to keep the world number two at bay and win by 5–3. He lost his first semi-final 6–1 to Mark Williams. After overcoming Hatem Yassen 10–1 and

Matthew Selt Matthew Selt (born 7 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player. He qualified for the professional tour by finishing seventh in the Pontin's International Open Series in 2006/2007. Selt played in his first professional final in 2014 ...

10–6, Vafaei was one win away from qualifying for the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, but narrowly lost 10–8 to Tom Ford (snooker player), Tom Ford. He finished the campaign inside the top 64 in the world rankings and retained his place on the tour.

2021/2022 season

In January 2022, Vafaei won his first ranking title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out in Leicester, defeating Mark Williams in the final. He dedicated this victory to his grandmother and mother because that day was mother's day in

. He then went on to qualify for the World Snooker Championship for the first time in his career, where he lost 10-4 to

in the first round at Crucible Theatre, The Crucible.

2022/2023 season

Vafaei completed another victory over Selby by defeating him 6–4 in the 2022 UK Championship. He made his first Masters appearance at the 2023 event, where he also defeated Selby. Vafaei defeated Ding Junhui 10–6 in the first round of the 2023 World Snooker Championship, becoming the first Iranian to win a match at the tournament. Vafaei was defeated by Mark Williams 6-3 in the semi-final of the 2023 British Open.

Performance and rankings timeline

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 title)

Pro-am finals: 1

Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vafaei, Hossein Iranian snooker players Sportspeople from Abadan, Iran Living people 1994 births Cue sports players at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Iran Competitors at the 2013 World Games