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Hossein Vafaei becomes first Iranian to win a snooker ranking title with victory over Mark Williams | Jehu's Blog
Vafaei had reached three rankings tournament semi-finals before his victory on Sunday Hossein Vafaei became the first Iranian player to win a ranking title, beating Mark Williams in the final of the Snooker Shoot Out. Vafaei won the one-frame final with a break of 71 and dedicated the victory to his late grandmother. “That is for you grandma,” the 27-year-old told Eurosport. “It’s Mother’s Day in Iran and I am very proud I did that. “It’s a big achievement for a country like Iran. Nobody knew about snooker before. Now they know.” Wales’ Williams, the three-time world champion, only got the chance to play one shot in the final with world number 42 Vafaei sinking a tricky, long red after the break-off. “I thought I’d played a pretty good break-off shot there and what a fantastic red that was,” said Williams. “To make that break under pressure to win your first tournament, hats off to him.” Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news on the BBC app.