World Snooker Championship: Asjad Iqbal, Awais Muneer reach knockout rounds

Pakistan’s Asjad Iqbal and Awais Muneer have reached the knockout rounds of the IBSF World 6 Red Snooker Championship 2024 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Asjad achieved a direct spot in the pre-quarterfinals, while Awais will compete in the last-20 round.

Asjad dominated the group stage, winning all three of his matches. In his first game of the day, he defeated India's Pandurangaiah 4-1 in a strong showing. The frame scores were 41-32, 35-36, 75-08, 50-09 (with a break of 50), and 35-22.

In another thrilling match, Asjad faced Iraq’s Alijalil Ali, clinching a 4-3 victory. Despite trailing at one point, Asjad bounced back and sealed the win with frame scores of 39-23, 30-34, 66-0, 0-41, 1-54, 39-29, and 63-0 (with a break of 58 in the final frame).

Meanwhile, Awais secured a 4-1 win against Singapore's Jia Jun Ong. He delivered an impressive performance, winning two frames without allowing his opponent to pot a single ball. The scores were 63-0, 65-0, 0-56, 36-02, and 35-26.

In his second match of the day, Awais was involved in a nail-biting contest against Israel's Shachar Ruberg. Despite a strong start, Awais fell short, losing 4-3. The scores for this match were 16-43 (with a 43 break by Awais), 53-12, 43-13 (with a 43 break by Shachar), 8-64 (with a 64 break by Awais), 33-21, 12-40, and 40-10.