Hossein Vafaei Earns Winners’ Group Place as the BetVictor Championship League Invitational returns

2022 Snooker Shoot Out champion Hossein Vafaei enjoyed a happy start to the New Year with Group One victory at the 2025 BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational edition, defeating World Championship runner-up Jak Jones 3-1 in the final, earning a spot in the Winners’ Group.

The Iranian, who won his only career ranking title at the Mattioli Arena, the stage of the BetVictor Championship League in Leicester, enjoyed an impressive two days of action with league wins over Jones, Elliot Slessor, Gary Wilson and Ryan Day.

Pang Junxu topped the league stage table with four wins over Vafaei, Wilson, Slessor and Chris Wakelin.

Day was subsequently defeated 3-1 in the group playoff, with a top break of 129, setting up the group showpiece with Jones – who claimed three wins in the group to secure a play-off spot.

The World Championship runner-up subsequently defeated Pang 3-1 in the second play-off.

Elliot Slessor came into the second day on the backfoot, with four defeats in Friday’s action. Win’s over Wilson and Wakelin came on Saturday, but the damage had already been done, finishing in 6th place. Fellow Geordie Wilson also had a campaign to forget, managing just one win from six – a 3-1 opening win against Wakelin. Both player’s campaign’s come to a close after finishing in the bottom two places.

Jones, Pang, Day and Wakelin will return to BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational on Monday in Group Two, where Ali Carter, Si Juihui and Robert Milkins will enter the action.