Revived and believing Hossein Vafaei positive for snooker future after help from Olympic doctor

Iran’s number one cueist Vafaei has a positive outlook on this season’s professional circuit as he has nearly overcome a painful neck injury that has hampered him over the past couple of years, and is also adopting a new mental approach to believe in himself more.

The 31-year-old carried on his impressive start to the new 2026/27 top-flight campaign with a 6-0 win over amateur Liu Linhao in the wildcard round of the China Open on Saturday.

Compiling breaks of 70 and 86 in the process, Vafaei advanced through to the last 16 of the £1.2 million ranking event in Taiyuan as his scheduled first round opponent Mark Allen has withdrawn from this - and the upcoming Wuhan Open - due to personal reasons. Vafaei will face either John Higgins or Stuart Bingham in round two.

Former Snooker Shoot Out winner Vafaei was enduring a frustrating campaign on the baize last season, until his final two events.

Having not been past the last 32 stage of any tournament, he reached the quarter-finals of the World Open in Yushan, and followed up by qualifying for the World Championship for a fifth consecutive year.

At the Crucible, Vafaei became the only player to eliminate a seed in round one when he defeated Si Jiahui, before ousting world number one Judd Trump 13-12 in the second round. His run was ended by eventual champion Wu Yize in the quarter-finals, but Vafaei had broken new personal ground in snooker’s blue riband event, going further than he had ever been before.

The former world amateur and under-21 champion has continued that momentum into this season, losing just once in 14 matches, so far. He has qualified for every main venue, and he also reached the Championship League Finals Day after winning groups across the opening two phases.

Vafaei on his snooker injury, and working with Olympic doctor

Currently ranked 27th in the world, Vafaei is now looking upwards again, and is aiming to get back into the elite bracket of the top 16; he has previously been as high as 15th in the global standings, in 2023.

Speaking to the World Snooker Tour in Taiyuan, Vafaei explained that his injury is more manageable now following visits to Iran’s Olympic doctor, but how he has also gone against medical advice in order to compete on the baize.

‘The Prince of Persia’ said: "It was very painful but now it's ok. I get a bit of pain sometimes, but not as bad. The Iranian Olympic doctor helped me with physiotherapy, and in China my sponsor was taking me to acupuncture every day, that was very helpful.

“The fifth disc in my neck was turning around somehow, I had to do some exercise to get it back into place. The doctors were telling me not to play snooker, but I was still playing. I didn't want to give up just because I had pain, so I still played all of the tournaments because I love snooker.”

But it’s not only the physical side that Vafaei has been working hard on, as he admitted to a new mental strategy, too: "I am trying my best, I keep fighting. Before I didn't believe in myself enough, I had something in my head, I was letting myself down. I have come out of that and I am playing better and if I play like this then definitely a trophy is on the way.

"I am trying to get back into the top 16 where I was before and hopefully I will get that spot soon. I love playing in China, the hospitality here is always amazing."

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 China Open, visit our tournament information centre here.