Muhammad Asif (Urdu: محمد آصف) is a Pakistani former professional snooker player. He is a two-time winner of the amateur IBSF World Snooker Championship. He turned professional in 2022.
| 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 | |
|---|---|
| Awards | Pride of Performance Award by the Government of Pakistan in 2015 |
Career
In December 2012, Asif won the IBSF World Snooker Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria, by defeating England's Gary Wilson 10–8.[1][2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
Asif earned a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour by qualifying through in the first event of the Asia-Oceania 2022 Q School, beating Asjad Iqbal.[6]
Four-time British Open champion Stephen Hendry suffered a 4-2 loss to Muhammad Asif in the first round of this year's tournament in Leicester.
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2022/ 23 | 2023/ 24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[7][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 82 | ||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | A | RR | ||||||
| European Masters | Tournament Not Held | A | LQ | ||||||
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | WD | 1R | ||||||
| English Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | 2R | ||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Tournament Not Held | WD | LQ | ||||||
| International Championship | A | A | A | NH | LQ | ||||
| UK Championship | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | ||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| Scottish Open | Tournament 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 | Tournament Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||
| World Championship | A | A | A | LQ | WD | ||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament 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[8] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan Muhammad Sajjad |  IranAmir Sarkhosh Soheil Vahedi | 5–3 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2014[9] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan Muhammad Sajjad |  Hong Kong 1Fung Kwok Wai Lee Chun Wai | 3–5 |
| Winner | 2. | 2017[10] | IBSF Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan 2 Babar Masih | Pakistan 1 Muhammad Sajjad Asjad Iqbal | 5–4 |
| Winner | 3. | 2018[11] | ACBS Team Snooker Championships | Pakistan 1 Babar Masih |  India 1Pankaj 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[12] | 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[13] | IBSF World 6-Reds Snooker Championship | Laxman Rawat | 5–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 2019[14] | World Amateur Championship (2) |  Jefrey Roda | 8–5 |
| Winner | 7. | 2020 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (3) | Shahid Aftab | 8–7 |
Awards and recognition
- Pride of Performance Award by the Government of Pakistan in 2015.[15]
