Iran’s Hossein Vafaei made history at the Crucible by becoming the first qualifier to beat a seeded player at this year’s World Championship. He beat China’s Si Jiahui 10-3 to set up a huge match with world number one Judd Trump.
Si, who made it to the semifinals in 2023, seemed to be in charge at 3-1, but Vafaei turned the tables with nine straight frames and a series of impressive breaks. Si only got 64 points in the last seven frames of the match.
Vafaei, who is ranked 32nd in the world, said nice things about his next opponent: “He is the number one player in the world, so this is the best match.” A lot of people back home are cheering me on, and they want me to do well.
The win ended a streak of 14 straight wins for seeded players in the first round.
In another match, 2005 champion Shaun Murphy took control of his match against China’s Xiao Guodong, leading 6-2. Murphy, who barely won his first-round match 10-9, was much more at ease this time, scoring breaks of 79, 103, 63, and 64.
The game starts up again on Friday at 10am.
