Hamza Akbar

Hamza Akbar (Urdu:حمزه اكبر ; born 12 November 1993) is a Pakistani professional snooker player who won the 31st Asian Snooker Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015.[2] He is also the Pakistan national champion 2015.

For the Pakistani cricketer, see Hamza Akbar (cricketer).
Hamza Akbar
Born (1993-11-12) November 12, 1993
Faisalabad, Pakistan
Sport country Pakistan
Professional2015–2019
Highest ranking81 (June 2016)[1]
Career winnings£26,100
Highest break135:
2019 Indian Open (qualifying)
Century breaks4
Best ranking finishLast 32 (2018 Snooker Shoot-Out, 2018 Northern Ireland Open, 2019 Gibraltar Open)

Career

Born in Faisalabad city of Pakistan, Akbar is a two-time national snooker champion. Akbar won his first major international title at the age 22, beating Pankaj Advani of India 7–6 in the final in of Asian Snooker Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April 2015 to become the third player from Pakistan in 16 years to do so.[3] The title earned him a two-year card for the main snooker tour beginning with the 2015–16 season.[4]

He threatened a comeback from 4–0 against two-time world champion Mark Williams in the first round of the 2015 UK Championship, but lost 6–4.[5] He took Michael Holt to a deciding frame in the opening round of the Welsh Open and made a break of 52, but was beaten 4–3. His most remarkable performance in his first season on the main tour came at the World Snooker Championship where he defeated world number 33 Jamie Jones 10–5 in the first qualifying round, before losing 10–3 to Ian Burns.[6]

Akbar qualified for the 2016 Indian Open by overcoming Chris Wakelin 4–1, but withdrew from the event before it began. He received a bye through to the second round of the Northern Ireland Open and lost 4–2 to Josh Boileau.[7] Akbar would have dropped off the tour at the end of the season due to being ranked world number 112, well outside the top 64 who remain, but he received special dispensation and received a new two-year tour card due to his visa problems which have forced him to miss many events in the past.[8][9]

He practices at Oldham Snooker Academy.[10]

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 2015/
16		 2016/
17		 2017/
18		 2018/
19
Ranking[11][nb 1] [nb 2] 81 [nb 3] 89
Ranking tournaments
Riga Masters MR LQ LQ A
World Open NH LQ WD A
Paul Hunter Classic MR WD WD A
China Championship NH NR LQ LQ
European Masters NH LQ WD LQ
English Open NH 1R 1R 1R
International Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ
Northern Ireland Open NH 2R 1R 3R
UK Championship 1R 1R 1R 1R
Scottish Open NH A 2R 1R
German Masters LQ A LQ LQ
World Grand Prix DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Welsh Open 1R 1R 1R 1R
Shoot-Out A 2R 3R 2R
Indian Open NH WD WD WD
Players Championship DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
Gibraltar Open MR 1R 1R 3R
Tour Championship Not Held DNQ
China Open LQ WD 1R LQ
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ
Former ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters WD LQ LQ NR
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 Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. Players qualified through special dispensation started the season without prize money ranking points.

Career finals

Amateur finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2015 Pakistan National Championship Shahram Changezi 8–4
Winner 2. 2015 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship Pankaj Advani 7–6

References
  1. "WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 Kaspersky Riga Masters". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. "Pakistans Hamza Akbar wins Asian snooker title". Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. "hamza gives the nation its first asian champion after 17 years". Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  4. "Pakistan's Hamza lifts Asian Snooker Championship title". Geo TV. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. ""I am just glad I got over the line" - two-time UK Champion Mark Williams relieved after first round battle with Hamza Akbar". The Press. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  6. "Hamza Akbar 2015/2016". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  7. "Hamza Akbar 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. "Rankings 2016/2017". Snooker.org. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  9. "Hamza Akbar Tour Card". World Snooker. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  10. Akbar back on tour, Oldham Chronicle, 26 April 2017
  11. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
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