Sawt Falasteen - Vafaei hails Crucible as 'snooker's Wimbledon' after previous criticism

In 2024 the world number 32 described the venue as "smelly" and said practice facilities were "like playing in a garage".

But after last month's announcement that snooker's showpiece will remain in Sheffield until at least 2045, Vafaei highlighted the importance of the Crucible to the sport.

The 31-year-old won all four frames on Thursday to wrap up a 10-3 victory over China's Si Jiahui and become the first qualifier to reach the second round of this year's championship.

Following his victory, Vafaei said: "The Crucible is a historical place.

"You can't compare the Crucible to anywhere else because the Crucible is the home of snooker for all the snooker players.

"The Crucible for us is like the Wimbledon Championships. We have to keep the history and then we have to give it respect and hopefully we can make it bigger together, like Wimbledon, and we become like tennis as well."

Vafaei also spoke about the difficulty of playing during the ongoing conflict in his native Iran, saying: "It's very tough to be an Iranian at this time.

"It's like you lifting 10 people on your shoulders. It's very hard."

Vafaei went into Thursday's afternoon session with a 6-3 lead after winning five straight frames the previous day to come from 3-1 behind, and he picked up where he left off.

He made it nine in a row to book a last-16 meeting with world number one and 2019 world champion Judd Trump.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST