Farakh Ajaib
| Born | 3 February 1991 Blackburn, England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England (until 2021) Pakistan (since 2021)[1] |
| Professional | 2020–2022, 2024-present |
| Highest ranking | 90 (August 2021) |
| Current ranking | 112 (as of 16 December 2024) |
| Best ranking finish | Last 16 (2022 European Masters) |
Farakh Ajaib (born 3 February 1991) is a British Pakistani professional snooker player from Lancashire.
Career
In 2018, Ajaib was crowned the inaugural East Lancashire Snooker Championship winner.[2] He was a ‘top-up’ player for several main tour events in 2018/19 – reward for a solid 2018 Q School campaign.[3] At the third event of the 2020 Q School at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, Ajaib clinched a two-year Tour Card on to the 2020–21 and 2021–22 snooker seasons.[4]
At the 2020 English Open, Ajaib defeated Rod Lawler 4–0 before losing 4–3 to Zhou Yuelong in a close match described as a “marathon”.[5]
Competing at the 2022 European Masters in August, 2022 Ajaib lost to Judd Trump in a deciding frame in a last 16 match in which Ajaib had trailed 4–2 but had left Trump needing three snookers at 4–4.[6]
He was relegated from the tour in 2023 but regained his place the following year, coming through Q School with a final round win over Iulian Boiko to earn a two-year place starting from the 2024-25 snooker season.[7]
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 2010/ 11 |
2011/ 12 |
2016/ 17 |
2018/ 19 |
2020/ 21 |
2021/ 22 |
2022/ 23 |
2024/ 25 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[8][nb 1] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | 89 | [nb 2] | [nb 3] | |||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship League | Non-Ranking Event | RR | RR | RR | RR | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Xi'an Grand Prix | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saudi Arabia Masters | Tournament Not Held | 2R | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| English Open | Not Held | A | 1R | 2R | LQ | A | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| British Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | A | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wuhan Open | Tournament Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Ireland Open | Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | WD | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| International Championship | Not Held | A | A | Not Held | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | LQ | LQ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shoot Out | Non-Ranking | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Open | Not Held | A | A | 1R | LQ | A | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||
| German Masters | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | A | LQ | |||||||||||||||||
| Welsh Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| World Open | A | A | A | A | Not Held | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship[nb 4] | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championship | Not Held | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | LQ | LQ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paul Hunter Classic | Minor-Rank | LQ | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Riga Masters | Not Held | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Open | Not Held | A | LQ | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WST Pro Series | Tournament Not Held | RR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkish Masters | Tournament Not Held | LQ | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gibraltar Open | Not Held | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters | Not Held | A | A | 1R | LQ | 3R | NH | ||||||||||||||||||
| WST Classic | Tournament Not Held | 1R | NH | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 Held | means an event was not held. | |||
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
| R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. | |||
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. | |||
Career finals
Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | 2009 | PIOS – Event 5 |  Anthony McGill
|
0–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 2022 | Q Tour – Event 3 | Harvey Chandler
|
5–3 |
References
- ^ "Farakh Flies Flag For Pakistan". wst.tv. 14 January 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Farakh Ajaib crowned East Lancashire Snooker Championship winner". Lancashire Telegraph.
- ^ "Q School 2020: Event Three Qualifiers". 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Q School 3 (2020) - snooker.org". www.snooker.org.
- ^ "Accrington snooker player enjoying life on tour after English Open exit". Lancashire Telegraph.
- ^ "JUDD TRUMP FENDS OFF DRAMATIC FARAKH AJAIB COMEBACK IN INCREDIBLE MATCH TO BOOK PLACE IN EUROPEAN MASTERS QUARTER-FINAL". Eurosport.com.
- ^ "AJAIB, KOWALSKI, MANN AND TOTTEN RUN Q SCHOOL GAUNTLET". Wpbsa. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
