Muhammad Asif (snooker player)
| Born | 17 March 1982 Faisalabad, Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Sport country | Pakistan |
| Professional | 2022–2024 |
| Highest ranking | 82 (June 2023) |
| Best ranking finish | Last 32 (2023 English Open) |
Muhammad Asif (Urdu: محمد آصف) is a Pakistani former professional snooker player. He is a four-time winner of the amateur IBSF World Snooker Championship.[1] 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.[2][3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
Asif earned a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour by qualifying through the first event of the Asia-Oceania 2022 Q School, beating Asjad Iqbal.[7]
In 2023, in the British Open's qualifying round, Asif defeated seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry 4-2.[1][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]
Asif won the IBSF World Snooker Championship again in July 2025, this time at the Crowne Plaza, Bahrain.[10][11][12] He defeated India's Brijesh Damani 4-3 to clinch the title.[12]
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 2013/ 14 |
2014/ 15 |
2015/ 16 |
2022/ 23 |
2023/ 24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[13][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 82 | ||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking | A | RR | ||||||
| European Masters | Not Held | A | LQ | ||||||
| British Open | Not Held | WD | 1R | ||||||
| English Open | Not Held | 1R | 2R | ||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Not Held | WD | LQ | ||||||
| International Championship | A | A | A | NH | LQ | ||||
| UK Championship | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | ||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| Scottish Open | 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 | Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||
| World Championship | A | A | A | LQ | WD | ||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| WST Classic | 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 | |||
Career finals
Team finals: 4 (3 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/Partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2013[14] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan Muhammad Sajjad |
Iran Amir Sarkhosh Soheil Vahedi |
5–3 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2014[15] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan Muhammad Sajjad |
Hong Kong 1 Fung Kwok Wai Lee Chun Wai |
3–5 |
| Winner | 2. | 2017[16] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan 2 Babar Masih |
Pakistan 1 Muhammad Sajjad Asjad Iqbal |
5–4 |
| Winner | 3. | 2018[17] | 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) | Muhammad Sajjad | 6–2 |
| Winner | 2. | 2012[18] | World Amateur Championship (1) | Gary Wilson | 10–8 |
| Winner | 3. | 2013 | Asian 6-Reds Championship | Amir Sarkhosh | 7–4 |
| Winner | 4. | 2018 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (2) | Mohammad Bilal | 8–5 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2019[19] | IBSF World 6-Reds Snooker Championship | Laxman Rawat | 5–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 2019[20] | World Amateur Championship (2) | Jefrey Roda | 8–5 |
| Winner | 7. | 2020 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (3) | Shahid Aftab | 8–7 |
| Winner | 8. | 2024 | World Amateur Championship (3) | Ali Gharahgozlou | 5–3 |
| Winner | 9. | 2025[11] | World Amatuer Championship (4) | Brijesh Damani | 4–3 |
Awards and recognition
- Pride of Performance award by the Government of Pakistan in 2015.[21]
References
- ^ a b "Pakistan's Asif beats seven-time world snooker champion". www.geosuper.tv. August 14, 2023.
- ^ "Muhammad Asif victorious in World Snooker Championship final". The Express Tribune. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Asif claims IBSF World Snooker Championship title". Dawn. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ Raheel, Natasha (2017-08-11). "World 6-Red Team Championship: All-Pakistan final won by Asif, Babar". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ Raheel, Natasha (2018-09-22). "Pakistan defeat India to win Asian Team Snooker Championship". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Brilliant Asif tames Roda to regain IBSF World Snooker title". Dawn. 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Results (Q School 1 Asia & Oceania 2022) - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ Mehboob, Muzzammil (15 August 2023). "Asif storms past Hendry, books spot in British Open main draw". BOL News.
- ^ "Mohammad Asif makes history with third IBSF World Snooker title". DAWN. 7 November 2024.
- ^ "Muhammad Asif triumphs over India's Damani to win World Masters Snooker title". a-sports.tv. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ a b "'No one wants to lose against India,' says IBSF Masters Champion Asif". www.geosuper.tv. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ a b "President felicitates Muhammad Asif on winning World Snooker Championship". 2025-07-19. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
- ^ "Ranking History - snooker.org". www.snooker.org. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Carlow / Ireland 2013". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Sharm-el-Sheikh / Egypt 2014". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "IBSF Team Snooker Championships Men - Hurghada / Egypt 2017". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "ACBS Team Snooker Championships Men - Doha / Qatar 2018". esnooker.pl. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "World Snooker Championship Men → Sofia - Bulgaria 2012". esnooker.pl.
- ^ "IBSF 6 reds Snooker Championships Men - Mandalay / Myanmar 2019". esnooker.pl.
- ^ "IBSF Snooker Championships Men - Antalya / Turkey 2019". esnooker.pl.
- ^ In recognition: Two women among 36 honoured for their services The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 23 March 2015, Retrieved 21 August 2023
External links
- Muhammad Asif at the World Snooker Tour (archived)
- Muhammad Asif at snooker.org