Hamza Akbar

{{about|the Pakistani snooker player|the Pakistani cricketer|Hamza Akbar (cricketer)}}

{{Infobox snooker player

| name = Hamza Akbar

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|11|12}}

| birth_place = Faisalabad, Pakistan

| death_date =

| death_place =

| Sport country = {{PAK}}

| Professional = 2015–2019

| High ranking = 81 (June 2016){{cite web|title=WORLD RANKINGS After 2016 Kaspersky Riga Masters|url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/rankings/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701154059/http://www.worldsnooker.com/rankings/|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2016|website=World Snooker|access-date=1 July 2016}}

| Official maximums =

| Best finish = Last 32 (x3)

| Ranking wins =

| World champ =

}}

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.{{cite web|title=Pakistans Hamza Akbar wins Asian snooker title|url=http://cnbcpakistan.com/Pakistans-Hamza-Akbar-wins-Asian-snooker-title-news-28031.html|access-date=1 May 2015|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160409064913/http://cnbcpakistan.com/Pakistans-Hamza-Akbar-wins-Asian-snooker-title-news-28031.html|archive-date=9 April 2016}} He is also the Pakistan national champion 2015.

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 win Asia's top snooker title.{{cite web|title=hamza gives the nation its first asian champion after 17 years|url=http://www.southasianmedia.net/stories/pakistan/english-language-media/hamza-gives-the-nation-its-first-asian-champion-after-16-years-story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225100810/http://www.southasianmedia.net/stories/pakistan/english-language-media/hamza-gives-the-nation-its-first-asian-champion-after-16-years-story|url-status=usurped|archive-date=25 December 2018|access-date=1 May 2015}} The title earned him a two-year card for the main snooker tour, beginning with the 2015–16 season.{{cite web | url=http://www.geo.tv/article-183238-Pakistans-Hamza-lifts-Asian-Snooker-Championship-title | title=Pakistan’s Hamza lifts Asian Snooker Championship title | publisher=Geo TV | access-date=31 May 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528032118/http://www.geo.tv/article-183238-Pakistans-Hamza-lifts-Asian-Snooker-Championship-title | archive-date=28 May 2015 }}

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.{{cite news | url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/14102432._I_am_just_glad_I_got_over_the_line____two_time_UK_Champion_Mark_Williams_relieved_after_first_round_battle_with_Hamza_Akbar/ | title="I am just glad I got over the line" - two-time UK Champion Mark Williams relieved after first round battle with Hamza Akbar | newspaper=The Press | access-date=12 March 2016}} 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=1762&season=2015 | title=Hamza Akbar 2015/2016 | publisher=Snooker.org | access-date=12 March 2016}}

Akbar qualified for the 2016 Indian Open by overcoming Chris Wakelin 4–1, but could not attend the event because India refused to grant him a visa.{{Cite web |date=2018-08-16 |title=Pakistan’s snooker player Hamza awaiting Indian visa |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/284557/pakistans-snooker-player-hamza-awaiting-indian-visa/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Daily Times |language=en-US}} He received a bye through to the second round of the Northern Ireland Open and lost 4–2 to Josh Boileau.{{cite web|title=Hamza Akbar 2016/2017|url=http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?player=1762&season=2016|publisher=Snooker.org|access-date=11 April 2017}} 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.{{cite web|title=Rankings 2016/2017|url=http://www.snooker.org/res/index.asp?season=2016&template=31|publisher=Snooker.org|access-date=3 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=Hamza Akbar Tour Card|url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/hamza-akbar-tour-card/|publisher=World Snooker|access-date=3 May 2017}}

He practices at Oldham Snooker Academy.[http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/13/local-sport-news/103243/akbar-back-on-tour Akbar back on tour], Oldham Chronicle, 26 April 2017

Performance and rankings timeline

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"

! Tournament

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Ranking{{cite web|title=Ranking History|url=http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp|publisher=Snooker.org|access-date=6 February 2011}}It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season

|align="center"|New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

|align="center"|81

|align="center"|Players qualified through special dispensation started the season without prize money ranking points

|align="center"|89

|align="center"|He was an amateur

colspan="20"|Ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Riga MastersThe event was called the Riga Open (2015/2016)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|International Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|China Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|English Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Northern Ireland Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|UK Championship

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Scottish Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|European Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|German Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Grand Prix

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Welsh Open

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shoot Out

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Players ChampionshipThe event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Final (2015/2016)

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Gibraltar Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Tour Championship

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

colspan="20"|Former ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shanghai Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Paul Hunter Classic

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|MR

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Indian Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|China Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|WD

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"

bgcolor="#efefef"

! colspan="6"|Performance Table Legend

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|LQ

| lost in the qualifying draw

| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R

| lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)

| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| lost in the quarter-finals

align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

| lost in the semi-finals

| align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;"|F

| lost in the final

| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

| won the tournament

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|DNQ

| did not qualify for the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|A

| did not participate in the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|WD

| withdrew from the tournament

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NH / Not Held	means an event was not held.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NR / Non-Ranking Event	means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|R / Ranking Event	means an event is/was a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|MR / Minor-Ranking Event	means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

=Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)=

class="sortable wikitable"
width="80"\|Outcome !width="20"\|No. !width="50"\|Year !style="width:250px;"\|Championship !style="width:200px;"\|Opponent in the final !style="text-align:center; width:50px;"\|Score
style="background:#98FB98"\|Winner \| 1. \| 2013 \| Pakistan National Championship \| {{flagicon\|PAK}} Imran Shahzad \| align="center"\|8–7
style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Runner-up \| 1. \| 2014 \| Pakistan National Championship \| {{flagicon\|PAK}} Mohammad Asif Toba \| align="center"\|5–8
style="background:#98FB98"\|Winner \| 2. \| 2015 \| Pakistan National Championship \| {{flagicon\|PAK}} Shahram Changezi \| align="center"\|8–4
style="background:#98FB98"\|Winner \| 3. \| 2015 \| ACBS Asian Snooker Championship \| {{flagicon\|IND}} Pankaj Advani \| align="center"\|7–6

class="sortable wikitable"

width="80"|Outcome

!width="20"|No.

!width="50"|Year

!style="width:250px;"|Championship

!style="width:200px;"|Opponent in the final

!style="text-align:center; width:50px;"|Score

style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 1.

| 2013

| Pakistan National Championship

| {{flagicon|PAK}} Imran Shahzad