Ranking Snooker Championship 2018: Unseeded cueists rule the roost on day two

KARACHI: Unseeded Muhammad Shahbaz routed seventh seed Aakash Rafiq in straight frames while Asif Toba, another unseeded cueist, stunned top seed and defending champion Muhammad Asif on the second day of preliminary rounds matches in the Jubilee Insurance Ranking Snooker Championship 2018 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Wednesday.

In the other upsets of the day, Shahid Aftab toppled fourth seed Muhammad Bilal, Ali Haider edged out fifth seed Muhammad Ijaz and Sohail Shahzad overpowered eighth seed Asjad Iqbal.

Second seed Babar Ali remained the only unbeaten cueist among the top eight after a series of unexpected results on the first couple of days. Third seed Muhammad Majid Ali and sixth seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir had succumbed to defeats on the opening day of the one-week end.

All the eight seeded cueists, however, are still in the reckoning for a place in the knockout phase starting with the quarter-finals on Saturday.The 24 participating cueists have been divided equally in the preliminary rounds at the end of which the top two cueists from each of the four groups will be advancing to the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, third seed Muhammad Majid Ali earned the distinction of chalking up the first century of the championship as he compiled one of 118 in the third frame during his 4-2 victory over Muhammad Ahsan Javaid.

Unseeded Asif Toba, having rocked the top seed in the morning session, extended his brilliant form in the evening session as he fired a break of 115 in the fourth frame while hammering Agha Bilawal 4-1.

Results: Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) bt Sirbuland Khan (KPK) 4-1 (50-46, 60-16, 50-59, 73-18, 67-33); Muhammad Shahbaz (Punjab) bt Aakash Rafique (KPK) 4-0 (89-18, 77-57, 66-38, 69-32); Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) bt Umair Alam (Sindh) 4-1 (62-36, 42-65, 69-44, 54-40, 58-33); Ali Haider (Punjab) bt Muhammad Ijaz (Punjab) 4-3 (63-60, 60-14, 74-40, 56-72, 10-67, 65-67, 63-24); Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Muhammad Asif (Punjab) 4-2 (63-62, 64-09, 21-60, 72-38, 1-68, 68-12); Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK) 4-3 (89-1, 22-77, 0-75, 68-43, 59-50, 35-63, 69-47); Muhammad Majid Ali (Punjab) bt Muhammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) 4-2 (52-60, 50-51, 118-0, 59-26, 64-22, 66-40); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Muhammad Bilal (Punjab) 4-2 (61-22, 1-92, 52-2, 39-43, 59-17, 60-3); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-2 (74-48, 61-54, 23-76, 67-15, 24-64, 60-18); Aakash Rafique (KPK) bt Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh) 4-1 (81-20, 72-49, 16-52, 77-21, 67-0); Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) bt Rambail Gul (KPK) 4-2 (19-91, 55-47, 73-0, 63-30, 7-66, 78-56); Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) bt Muhammad Ijaz (Punjab) 4-2 (69-8, 6-75, 0-125, 61-47, 57-10, 94-20); Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-1 (54-38, 79-0(79), 21-67, 124-1, 74-11); Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK) bt Muhammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) 4-2 (48-82, 71-48, 33-68, 74-36, 73-48, 84-7); Muhammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-2 (43-82, 62-10, 66-1, 67-1, 8-70, 41-6); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Haris Tahir (Punjab) 4-2 (27-97, 41-59, 74-20, 66-48, 56-14, 69-30).

Today’s Fixtures: Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) v Sirbuland Khan (KPK); Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh) v Muhammad Shahbaz (Punjab); Rambail Gul (KPK) v Umair Alam (Sindh); Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) v Ali Haider (Punjab); Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) v Asif Toba (Punjab); Aakash Rafique (KPK) v Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK); Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) v Muhammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab); Muhammad Ijaz (Punjab) v Shahid Aftab (Punjab); Muhammad Asif (Punjab) v Sohail Shahzad (Sindh); Babar Masih (Punjab) v Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh); Muhammad Majid Ali (Punjab) v Rambail Gul (KPK); Muhammad Bilal (Punjab) v Sultan Muhammad (Sindh); Agha Bilawal (Sindh) v Sirbuland Khan (KPK); Muhammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) v Muhammad Shahbaz (Punjab); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) v Umair Alam (Sindh); Haris Tahir (Punjab) v Ali Haider (Punjab).