World Snooker Championship:
Vafaei to open Crucible campaign against Chinese Si
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei will face 15th seed Si Jiahui of China in the opening round of the Halo World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, England, on Wednesday.
The main draw of the prestigious tournament, which began at the iconic Crucible Theatre on Saturday, features 16 top-seeded players and 16 qualifiers.
Vafaei booked his place at the event after back-to-back victories in the qualifiers last week. Entering the competition in the third qualifying round, he defeated Poland’s Michał Szubarczyk 10-2 before overcoming China’s Gao Yang 10-4 on Tuesday.
The Iranian will resume the match against Si in a best-of-19-frames format on Thursday, with the winner taking on world number one and 2019 champion Judd Trump or his fellow Englishman Gary Wilson on Saturday.
Seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will open his campaign against Chinese debutant He Guoqiang on Tuesday. The Englishman, whose most recent world title triumph came in 2022, is making his 34th consecutive appearance at the World Championship.
The 50-year-old has not won a ranking title this season but made the sport’s highest-ever professional break with a 153 at the World Open in March.
English third seed Kyren Wilson – the 2024 champion – will face his teenage compatriot Stan Moody on Monday.