DOHA: Pakistan’s seasoned cueist and three-time world champion Muhammad Asif defeated China’s Pan Yaming to qualify for the knockouts of the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2025.
Pakistan cueist continued to deliver impressive performances on day three of the championship, with Asjad Iqbal and Shahid Aftab also securing victories in their matches. However, Muhammad Hasnain suffered defeat and fell short in his crucial game.
According to Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) Secretary General Naveed Kapadia, Muhammad Asif reached the knockout stage after defeating China’s Pan Yiming 4–3 in a thrilling second-round contest.
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The frame scores were 18–68, 35–74, 37–90, 76–8, 78–58, 91–26, and 28–55 in Asif’s favour.
Earlier, Asjad Iqbal edged past Iran’s Hamid Zareh Doost 4–3 in another nail-biting encounter, with frame scores of 24–61, 17–60, 53–52, 69–10, 80–11, 0–79, and 7–75.
During the match, Asjad also compiled an impressive break of 67. Meanwhile, Shahid Aftab defeated Isle of Man’s (UK) Darryl Hill 4–1, recording frame scores of 56–3, 14–66, 6–80, 4–81, and 52–61, and made a fine break of 68.
However, Muhammad Hasnain lost his match 4–3 to UAE’s Muhammad Shehab, with frame scores of 13–72, 19–73, 67–29, 80–6, 54–19, 19–53, and 62–68.
For context, the tournament, which is underway from November 3 to 13, is currently played in two stages.
According to the rules mentioned on the IBSF official site, two qualifying events will be held, each allowing a maximum of 64 players. The events will be conducted on a knock-out basis, with matches to be played over two days each, in a best-of-7 frames format.
The second stage involves 48 players, of which 32 players are pre-qualified. The Last-16 players in Stage 2 will automatically qualify for Stage 2 of the following year’s championship.
