Hossein Vafaei won his first ranking title at the Snooker Shoot Out in January
| Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Events: April 16-2 May |
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Hossein Vafaei becomes the first player from Iran to take part in the World Cup after winning a final frame decider against Lei Peifan in the final qualifying round.
Vafaei grabbed six breaks in half a century, including a 54 clearance to earn a 10-9 win.
China’s Lei led 61-0 in the final frame but missed a slight red down the middle to give world No. 18 some respite.
“I am so happy that I made my people proud,” Vafaei said.
“I was so nervous today, my whole body was shaking. I ate a lot of chocolate to calm myself down but it didn’t work.
“I forgot how to hold the cue. I promise I’ll play better in the Crucible, I can’t wait to get there. I hope this will inspire more people at home and get them to play snooker and make it as big as I can.”
Vafaei’s appearance at the tournament means 20 nations were represented at the Crucible, although Australia’s Neil Robertson and Ireland’s Ken Doherty are the only non-British players to have won the title since Canadian Cliff Thorburn in 1980.
Jackson Page also secured a Crucible debut, The 20-year-old Welshman grabbed breaks of 104 and 116 on his way to a 10-6 win over David Grace.
Elsewhere, world No. 19 2019 semifinalist David Gilbert bounced back from a slow start and made a century in the fourth frame as he reeled off seven straight frames before a 10-3 win over the four-timer Quarterfinalists Anthony Hamilton sealed .
Matthew Stevens had breaks of 100, 115 and 139 as he defeated Ali Carter 10-8 in a scoring clash between two former finalists.
World No. 64 Jamie Clarke completed a 10-8 win over 2006 champion Graeme Dott with a triple on black.
Noppon Saengkham won the last three frames for a 10-8 win over Robert Milkins, while Chris Wakelin grabbed four of the last five frames for a 10-7 win over Jimmy Robertson and Liam Highfield grabbed a 10-7 win over Yuan Sijun secured .
The draw for the first round of the World Championships will take place on Thursday at 11:00am BST, with the tournament starting on Saturday.
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