Vafaei secures spot at World Snooker Championship
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei booked his place at the upcoming Halo World Snooker Championship after back-to-back victories in the qualifiers on Tuesday.
Entering the competition in the third qualifying round, Vafaei defeated Poland’s Michał Szubarczyk 10-2, before overcoming China’s Gao Yang 10-4 to progress to the main draw, which will kick off at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, Britain, on Saturday.
“This morning I was not well at all,” Vafaei, who qualified for a fifth successive year, said after the victory over his Chinese opponent. “It wasn’t a great match. My opponent is hungry and young, and he is my practice partner – every day I practice with him and he’s such a great talent, but we didn’t play that well.
“I’m fighting as well for my country, for my family, and I’m trying my best and will give it my all. The Crucible is a fantastic place for snooker, and we love to play in front of snooker lovers, especially at the Crucible.”
The draw for the final stages of the showpiece will be made today, with the 16 top-seeded players drawn at random against the 16 qualifiers.