Snooker Archives

Iran snooker trailblazer stuns Selby at British Masters

LONDON: Iranian snooker player Hossein Vafaei marked his British Masters debut with a 6-2 opening-round victory over three-time champion Mark Selby on Sunday.

Vafaei, who took Zhao Xintong’s place in the draw after the Chinese player became one of 10 players suspended amid an investigation into match-fixing, made two centuries and further breaks of 99, 52 and 65 to beat Selby for the third time in succession.

“I can’t believe it,” 28-year-old Vafaei, Iran’s first snooker professional, told Eurosport.

“He’s such a tough opponent, he never gives up. He’s such a legend and it’s such a pleasure to share the table with him.

“I’m so proud of myself to beat him again. He’s one of the greatest ambassadors we have so I’m so happy to do the hat-trick against him.”

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Fan Zhengyi beats Ronnie O’Sullivan to claim European Masters Title

MILTON KEYNES: Chinese young cueist Fan Zhengyi defeated six-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 to win the European Masters Title, here on Sunday.

Fan, who was playing his first ranking title led 8-6 before Ronnie claimed two next frames and leveled at 8-8.

Fan then won the next frame to regain his lead 9-8, only for his illustrious rival to win the next frame and send the final into a decider.

The final comprising of 19 frames, followed the same pattern before the decider, with Fan pulling ahead and O’Sullivan leveling the scores.

In the decider, however, Ronnie missed on a long-red and as a result, Fan went on to compile a 92 break to win his first ranking title.

According to the BBC, Fan remarked competing against Ronnie in a final as ‘a dream come true’, while also revealing that the 46-years-old is ‘very generous’.

“I think it’s like a dream come true to play the final against Ronnie O’ Sullivan. He is always so generous to the Chinese players and [helps] them all the time,” Fan said.

Ronnie, on the other hand, playing in his 60th ranking final, called his opponent a “fantastic player”.

“Fan is a fantastic player. He played some great safety, great break building, amazing pots, and good under pressure,” Ronnie said.

“He was the better player all day and I just tried to hang on to him. He deserved his victory,” he concluded.

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English snooker star sets world record

WALES: English cueist, Jimmy Robertson scored 178 points to set the record for the highest points scored in a single frame.

During the Scottish Open 2021 fixture, England’s Robertson outplayed Wales’ Lee Walker by handing him a humiliating defeat.

Robertson trapped Walker in fourth of the total seven frames by setting up a well-judged snooker that resulted in 44 points fouls.

Robertson then capitalized on the situation, scored an astonishing 133 points break
to thump his opposition in an emphatic fashion. He finished the frame with the score of 178-6.

Robertson’s 178 has broken the 22 year old record of Dominic Dale who racked up a mammoth 167 in a single frame.

With this record breaking effort, Robertson won the match by 4-1 and advanced into the top 32 of the tournament.

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