Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif has advanced to the final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar after a thrilling 5-3 semifinal victory over Cyprus cueist Michael Georgiou on Tuesday.
The two-time world champion initially struggled, dropping the first two frames, but mounted a strong comeback, clinching four consecutive frames with scores of 53-57, 5-71, 94-0, 111-6, 77-45, 73-9, 24-74, and ultimately sealing his win with a 58-51 score. His impressive performance included a century break in the fourth frame — his fifth in the tournament.
Although Georgiou led at first, Asif’s persistence shifted the match’s momentum, especially with strong play in the fifth and eighth frames. Despite Georgiou’s efforts to challenge, Asif’s strategic play helped him close out the match.
This marks Asif’s third appearance in an IBSF World Snooker Championship final, having previously claimed titles in 2012 and 2019. His achievement places him among an elite group of players with three or more IBSF final appearances, alongside India’s Pankaj Advani, who holds four final appearances with three titles, and Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh.
A victory in the final would secure Pakistan’s fifth world snooker title and further cement Asif’s legacy as one of the country’s most celebrated snooker champions.
