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'Unbelievable' – Hossein Vafaei secures Judd Trump Welsh Open snooker semi-final after 'tastiest' comeback win
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Published 05/03/2022 at 09:36 GMT
Hossein Vafaei recovered from trailing 4-1 against Zhang Anda in the Welsh Open quarter-finals to complete a memorable 5-4 victory. The Shoot Out winner looked down and out in the race to five frames, but reeled off breaks of 68, 58, 63 and 96 to progress to the last four and a semi-final meeting with World No. 3 Judd Trump on Saturday afternoon in Newport (LIVE on Eurosport at 12:45pm).
Hossein Vafaei
Image credit: Getty Images
Hossein Vafaei hit back from 4-1 behind to complete a rousing 5-4 win over Zhang Anda and secure a fascinating Welsh Open semi-final clash with fellow crowd-pleaser Judd Trump in Newport.
Iran's leading player watched as world No. 105 Zhang compiled 108 and 67 to dominate the early stages of their quarter-final at Celtic Manor on Friday night before hitting back in style with knocks of 68, 58, 63 and 96 enough to secure his progress.
“It was unbelievable. This is one of the tastiest comebacks I’ve ever had in my life,” Vafaei told reporters..
"As soon as I started this tournament I wasn’t showing good performances at all."
The Shoot Out winner is through to a fifth ranking event semi-final. He lost 6-0 to Neil Robertson in the 2019 Welsh Open semi-finals, but is clearly one of the in-form players on the circuit.
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‘Knock me over!’ – Vafaei produces ‘perfect frame’ to win Shoot Out
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He has defeated former world champions Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby this season and is provisionally up from 21 to a career-high of 19 in the world.
His last major semi-final appearance saw him lose 6-5 to Mark Williams – the player he defeated in the one-frame Shoot Out final in January – at the 2019 China Championship.
"Whatever happens, I accept it as a challenge. I am trying to enjoy it," said Vafaei, who defeated Trump 4-2 in the last 32 of last year's Welsh Open after a 5-3 triumph over the 22-time ranking event winner in the 2017 China Open quarter-finals.
"I am the kind of player that can win five or six frames in a row as soon as I get into rhythm. The Shoot Out showed me that I can do it.”
Both semi-finals are contested over the best of 11 frames with Jack Lisowski meeting Joe Perry in the second semi-final on Saturday night at 7pm.
Welsh Open 2022 semi-final schedule
WELSH OPEN 2022 QUARTER-FINALS
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Stream the 2022 Welsh Open and much more top snooker action live and on demand on discovery+
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