Hossein Vafaei (; born 15 October 1994) is an Iranian professional snooker player. The first professional player from Iran, Vafaei won his maiden ranking title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out, defeating Mark Williams in the final. He reached a career-high world ranking of 15 in October 2023. He compiled his first professional maximum break during the qualifying rounds of the 2022 European Masters.
Vafaei has a strong record in Triple Crown tournaments, reaching his first major semi-final at the 2023 UK Championship and the quarter-finals of the 2023 Masters on his debut. He was the first Iranian to compete at the World Snooker Championship in 2022 and recorded his first win at the Crucible in 2023. At the 2026 World Snooker Championship, he reached his first quarter-final after defeating world number one Judd Trump 13–12 in the second round.
As an amateur, Vafaei won both the IBSF World Snooker Championship and the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship. Although he first qualified for the professional tour in 2012, his early career was significantly hampered by recurring visa issues that prevented him from competing in the United Kingdom. He was eventually awarded a special tour card in 2014 due to the visa issues and has been a professional player since.
Amateur career Vafaei entered the 2009 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship, reaching the last 16 before losing 5–3 to Liu Chuang. The following year, he represented Iran at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, reaching the last 16 of the snooker singles before being defeated 4–1 by Dechawat Poomjaeng. In December 2010, he reached the last 16 of the IBSF World Snooker Championship, losing 5–1 to Leo Fernandez.
In April 2011, Vafaei reached the final of the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship, where he lost 3–7 to Cao Yupeng. Later in the month he participated in the ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, but did not progress past the group stage. In September 2011, he received a wildcard to participate at the professional Shanghai Masters event, but could not advance to the first round as he lost 5–1 against Fergal O'Brien. Vafaei won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in December 2011. He defeated Lee Walker 10–9 in the final to become the youngest winner of the tournament at 17 years and 81 days, breaking the record previously held by Ian Preece.
Vafaei's World Amateur victory earned him a two-year card for the professional World Snooker Tour, beginning with the 2012/2013 season. However, recurring visa issues prevented him from traveling to the United Kingdom for much of the next three seasons. During this period, he continued to compete in amateur and regional events. In April 2012, he won the ACBS Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship by defeating Zhang Anda 6–2 in the final. He also reached the semi-finals of the 2012 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, where he lost 6–3 to Aditya Mehta. He also reached the semi-finals of ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, where he lost 6–3 to Aditya Mehta. In his first season with a tour card, he was only able to compete in the Six-red World Championship in Thailand, where he lost in the last 16 to Judd Trump, and in event 2 of the Asian Players Tour in China, where he lost to Li Yuan in the last 64.
In 2013, he represented Iran at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Incheon, reaching the quarter-finals in both the snooker singles and six-red singles events. He also participated in the Snooker at the 2013 World Games – men's singles, losing 3–0 to Lyu Haotian in the first round. In May 2014, he won his second world title at the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship. During the tournament, he compiled the first 147 break in the history of the event during his 7–3 semi-final victory over Mateusz Baranowski. He defeated Josh Boileau 8–3 in the final to secure the championship.
Professional career Early years and visa issues (2014–2016) In June 2014, Vafaei received a special dispensation to compete on the Main Tour for the 2014–15 snooker season. He became the first professional player from Iran. In late February 2015, it was confirmed that Vafaei had gained a visa, allowing him to enter the 2015 World Snooker Championship, where he lost 10–3 to Anthony McGill in the opening qualifying round. Vafaei then qualified for the first ranking event of the 2015/2016 season season, the 2015 Australian Goldfields Open, by beating Charlie Walters 5–3, Zak Surety 5–3, Lee Walker 5–4 and Dominic Dale 5–3. In his debut at the venue stage of a ranking event, Vafaei played Michael White in the opening round where he lost 3–5. He also played in the UK Championship and the Welsh Open, losing 6–1 and 4–2 to Luca Brecel and Robin Hull, respectively, in the first round of each tournament.
During the 2016/17 season, Vafaei reached his first ranking quarter-final at the 2016 Northern Ireland Open, defeating Rod Lawler, Surety, Sanderson Lam, and Scott Donaldson before losing 3–5 to Mark King. At the 2017 China Open, he recorded the most significant win of his early career by defeating world number two Judd Trump 5–3 to reach his first semi-final, where he was defeated 1–6 by Mark Williams. He narrowly missed out on World Championship qualification after a 8–10 loss to Tom Ford in the final qualifying round, but his performances secured his place in the world's top 64.
Top-64 player (2017–2021) Vafaei continued to climb the rankings over the next four seasons. At the 2019 Welsh Open, he defeated Mark Selby and Scott Donaldson before losing to Neil Robertson. Later that year, at the 2019 China Championship, he reached another semi-final by defeating Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill, and Joe Perry, eventually losing a close match 6–5 to Mark Williams. He ended the 2019/20 season ranked 41st in the world.
In the 2020–21 snooker season, Vafaei reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix after wins over Zhou Yuelong and Ding Junhui. Vafaei compiled his first official professional maximum break (147) during the qualifying rounds of the 2022 European Masters in July 2022. The break was made during the sixth frame of his 5–1 victory over Ng On-yee.
Ranking event winner (2022–present)
Vafaei won his first ranking title at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out in January 2022. He defeated Mark Williams in the final with a break of 71, dedicating the win to his mother and late grandmother. He reached the semi-final of the 2022 Welsh Open, losing in a deciding frame to Judd Trump 5–6. Later that season, he became the first Iranian to play at the main stages of the World Snooker Championship by qualifying for the 2022 event, where he lost 4–10 to Judd Trump in the first round.
He recorded consecutive victories over Selby in major televised events during the 2022–23 snooker season, winning 6–4 at the 2022 UK Championship and 6–2 on his debut at the 2023 Masters. Vafaei had received a late entry into the Masters—an invitational event usually reserved for the top 16—after the suspension of Zhao Xintong during a match-fixing investigation. He reached the quarter-finals before losing 4–6 to Jack Lisowski. At the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Vafaei made history as the first Iranian to win a match at the Crucible, defeating Ding Junhui 10–6 in the first round. He was defeated in the second round by Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Vafaei reached the semi-finals of the 2023 British Open, where he was defeated by Williams, and then progressed to the semi-finals for the first time in a Triple Crown event at the 2023 UK Championship. He defeated Shaun Murphy, Matthew Selt, and Zhang Anda before being beaten 2–6 by Ronnie O'Sullivan. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 World Open, recording another win over Ronnie O'Sullivan (5–4) before losing to Ding Junhui.
Vafaei's career was hampered by a spinal injury that first surfaced in early 2024. The condition caused persistent nerve pain in his neck, shoulder, and left arm, significantly affecting his cue action. Due to the pain, he was unable to practice at his usual intensity, and his results suffered as a consequence. At the 2025 World Grand Prix, Vafaei reached the quarter-finals despite his injury, but was whitewashed by Judd Trump in a match where he managed only 31 points. His ranking had fallen as low as 32nd in the world, which forced him back into the qualifying rounds for major events. Having qualified for the 2025 World Snooker Championship, Vafaei trailed for most of his opening-round match against Barry Hawkins but fired in four centuries to force a deciding frame. During the decider, he let out an emotional roar mid-clearance after potting a difficult red, eventually winning 10–9. He was eventually defeated 10–13 by Mark Williams in the second round.
By the start of the 2025–26 snooker season, Vafaei confirmed that rest and specialized physiotherapy in Iran had allowed the injury to heal. Having fallen in the rankings, he was required to win three matches to qualify for the 2026 World Snooker Championship. He entered the tournament as the world number 32 and became the only qualifier of the year to reach the second round after winning nine consecutive frames to beat Si Jiahui 10–3. He subsequently defeated world number one Judd Trump 13–12 in the second round—his best performance at the Crucible—before losing his quarter-final match to Wu Yize.
Personal life Vafaei was born in Abadan, Iran on 15 October 1994, an oil-rich city in southwestern Iran. Within his family, he is known as the "Miracle Kid" because his father recovered from a deep coma after being declared dead by doctors years before Hossein was born. Snooker had been banned in Iran for over 20 years following the 1979 Iranian Revolution due to its association with gambling; the ban was only overturned in 2000, allowing Vafaei to take up the sport as a child shortly after it became legal again. He grew up in an environment still marked by the detritus of the Iran–Iraq War, learning to play on a "dusty table with a ripped cloth" at the age of six after his father introduced him to a local club. Vafaei has expressed frustration at the lack of official financial support or rewards from the Iranian sporting authorities, noting that he had to overcome a domestic federation that initially pressured him to remain an amateur to represent the national side.
He has frequently spoken about the emotional and professional toll of his visa struggles, noting that the inability to travel meant he "lost three years" of his prime development. In 2022, Vafaei dedicated his victory at the 2022 Snooker Shoot Out to his grandmother, who died on the eve of the tournament; he revealed he had nearly withdrawn from the event due to grief.
During the 2026 World Snooker Championship, Vafaei faced emotional strain due to the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war. In an interview with BBC Sport, he revealed that receiving "bad texts" from home made it nearly impossible to focus, stating, "No-one knows how tough it is... you get a bad text in the day and you can't focus on your job." He commented that the safety of his family was his primary concern during his World Championship campaign. Despite confirming his family was safe in Abadan, he described the period as "very, very hard," adding that he viewed his performance at the Crucible as a way to provide a "proud moment" and a "lift" for the Iranian people. This emotional burden followed a physically challenging season where he had struggled with a spinal injury that caused nerve pain in his shoulder and fingers.