Muhammad Asif (snooker player)

Muhammad Asif
Born (1982-03-17) 17 March 1982 (age 42)
Faisalabad, Pakistan
Sport country Pakistan
Professional2022–present
Highest ranking82 (June 2023)
Best ranking finishLast 32 (2023 English Open)

Muhammad Asif (Urdu: محمد آصف) is a Pakistani professional snooker player. He is a three-time winner of the amateur IBSF World Snooker Championship. He turned professional in 2022.

Career

In December 2012, Asif won the IBSF World Snooker Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria, by defeating England's Gary Wilson 10–8.[1][2]

In August 2017, Asif and Babar Masih representing Pakistan-2 defeated Muhammad Sajjad and Asjad Iqbal representing Pakistan-1 to win the IBSF World 6-Red Team Championship.[3]

In September 2018, Asif along with Babar Masih won the Asian Team Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar, by defeating India's Pankaj Advani and Malkeet Singh 3–2 in the final.[4]

In November 2019, Asif defeated Jeffrey Roda of the Philippines 8–5 in Antalya, Turkey to win his second IBSF World Snooker Championship title. He returned to a hero's welcome in Karachi.[5]

Asif earned a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour by qualifying through in the first event of the Asia-Oceania 2022 Q School, beating Asjad Iqbal.[6]

In 2023, in the British Open's qualifying round, Asif defeated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry 4-2.[7][8]

In November 2024, Asif won the IBSF World Snooker Championship held in Doha, Qatar, with a 5-3 win over Iran's Ali Gharahgozlou.[9]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 2013/
14 		2014/
15 		2015/
16 		2022/
23 		2023/
24
Ranking[10][nb 1] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 2] [nb 3] 82
Ranking tournaments
Championship League Non-Ranking Event A RR
European Masters Tournament Not Held A LQ
British Open Tournament Not Held WD 1R
English Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R
Wuhan Open Tournament Not Held LQ
Northern Ireland Open Tournament Not Held WD LQ
International Championship A A A NH LQ
UK Championship A A A LQ LQ
Shoot Out Non-Ranking Event 1R 1R
Scottish Open Tournament Not Held LQ LQ
World Grand Prix NH NR DNQ DNQ DNQ
German Masters A A A LQ LQ
Welsh Open A A A LQ WD
Players Championship[nb 4] DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
World Open A A A NH WD
Tour Championship Tournament Not Held DNQ DNQ
World Championship A A A LQ WD
Former ranking tournaments
WST Classic Tournament Not Held 2R NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
Six-red World Championship RR 2R 3R LQ NH
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held event was not held
NR / Non-Ranking Event event is/was no longer a ranking event
R / Ranking Event event is/was a ranking event
MR / Minor-Ranking Event event is/was a minor-ranking event
  1. ^ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
  2. ^ a b c He was an amateur
  3. ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking
  4. ^ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2013/2014-2015/2016)

Career finals

Team finals: 4 (3 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team/Partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Winner 1. 2013[11] IBSF Team Snooker Championships  Pakistan
Muhammad Sajjad 		 Iran
Amir Sarkhosh
Soheil Vahedi 		5–3
Runner-up 1. 2014[12] IBSF Team Snooker Championships  Pakistan
Muhammad Sajjad 		 Hong Kong 1
Fung Kwok Wai
Lee Chun Wai 		3–5
Winner 2. 2017[13] IBSF Team Snooker Championships  Pakistan 2
Babar Masih 		 Pakistan 1
Muhammad Sajjad
Asjad Iqbal 		5–4
Winner 3. 2018[14] ACBS Team Snooker Championships  Pakistan 1
Babar Masih 		 India 1
Pankaj Advani
Malkeet Singh 		3–2

Amateur finals: 7 (6 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2009 Pakistan Amateur Championship (1) Pakistan Muhammad Sajjad 6–2
Winner 2. 2012[15] World Amateur Championship (1) England Gary Wilson 10–8
Winner 3. 2013 Asian 6-Reds Championship Iran Amir Sarkhosh 7–4
Winner 4. 2018 Pakistan Amateur Championship (2) Pakistan Mohammad Bilal 8–5
Runner-up 5. 2019[16] IBSF World 6-Reds Snooker Championship India Laxman Rawat 5–6
Winner 6. 2019[17] World Amateur Championship (2) Philippines Jefrey Roda 8–5
Winner 7. 2020 Pakistan Amateur Championship (3) Pakistan Shahid Aftab 8–7
Winner 8. 2024 World Amateur Championship (3) Iran Ali Gharahgozlou 5–3

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ "Muhammad Asif victorious in World Snooker Championship final". The Express Tribune. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  2. ^ "Asif claims IBSF World Snooker Championship title". Dawn. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  3. ^ Raheel, Natasha (2017-08-11). "World 6-Red Team Championship: All-Pakistan final won by Asif, Babar". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. ^ Raheel, Natasha (2018-09-22). "Pakistan defeat India to win Asian Team Snooker Championship". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  5. ^ "Brilliant Asif tames Roda to regain IBSF World Snooker title". Dawn. 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  6. ^ "Results (Q School 1 Asia & Oceania 2022) - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  7. ^ "Pakistan's Asif beats seven-time world snooker champion". www.geosuper.tv. August 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Mehboob, Muzzammil (15 August 2023). "Asif storms past Hendry, books spot in British Open main draw". BOL News.
  9. ^ "Mohammad Asif makes history with third IBSF World Snooker title". DAWN. 7 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Ranking History - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  11. ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Carlow / Ireland 2013". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  12. ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Sharm-el-Sheikh / Egypt 2014". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  13. ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Hurghada / Egypt 2017". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  14. ^ "ACBS Team Snooker Championships Men - Doha / Qatar 2018". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  15. ^ "World Snooker Championship Men → Sofia - Bulgaria 2012". esnooker.pl.
  16. ^ "IBSF 6 reds Snooker Championships Men - Mandalay / Myanmar 2019". esnooker.pl.
  17. ^ "IBSF Snooker Championships Men - Antalya / Turkey 2019". esnooker.pl.
  18. ^ In recognition: Two women among 36 honoured for their services The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 23 March 2015, Retrieved 21 August 2023