Hossein Vafaei

Hossein Vafaei
Born (1994-10-15) 15 October 1994 (age 30)
Abadan, Iran
Sport country Iran
NicknameThe Prince of Persia[1]
Professional2012–present
Highest ranking15 (October 2023)
Current ranking 24 (as of 11 November 2024)
Maximum breaks1
Century breaks128 (as of 26 November 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking1
Medal record
Representing  Iran
Men's Snooker
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Ashgabat Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Ashgabat Singles

Hossein Vafaei (Persian: حسین وفایی; born 15 October 1994) is an Iranian professional snooker player.[2] He is the first professional player from Iran.[3] 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,[4] where he lost 4–10 to Judd Trump in the first round.[5] He made his Masters debut at the 2023 event, replacing Zhao Xintong in the draw after the sport's governing body suspended Zhao amid a match-fixing investigation.[6] Vafaei defeated Mark Selby 6–2 in the first round,[7] but lost 4–6 to Jack Lisowski in the quarter-finals, despite equalling the tournament's highest break of 143 in the match.[8]

  1. ^ "Hossein Vafaei". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ "VAFAEI AYOURI Hossein". Asian Games. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Hossein Set For Pro Tour". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Iran's Vafaei Earns Crucible Debut". World Snooker. 13 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Trump Ends Vafaei's Historic Run". World Snooker. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Vafaei Joins Cazoo Masters Field". World Snooker. 5 January 2023. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Mark Selby knocked out of Masters by Hossein Vafaei on day of shocks". the Guardian. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Lisowski Battles Through Migraine To Beat Vafaei". World Snooker. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.