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Matthew Stevens beats Stuart Bingham to earn place at 2026 World Snooker Championship

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Iran’s Hossein Vafaei qualified for a fifth successive year thanks to a 10-4 win over Gao Yang of China.

“This morning I was not well at all,” said Vafaei. “It wasn’t a great match, my opponent is hungry and young and he is my practice partner – every day I practise with him and he’s such a great talent, but we didn’t play that well.

“I’m fighting as well for my country, for my family and I’m trying my best and will give it my all. The Crucible is a fantastic place for snooker and we love to play in front of snooker lovers, especially at the Crucible.”

Antoni Kowalski, 22, will be the first player from Poland to play at the finals after he beat Wales’ Jamie Jones 10-8.

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Kowalski, who would have lost his tour card with defeat, was in tears after the victory.

“I never cry, so that’s the perfect explanation of what it means to me,” he said. “I’m going to realise one of my biggest dreams and play at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

“I’m not based in the UK so it is more special, and my girlfriend and my parents will come to the Crucible. At the end of the first session and beginning of the second I was absolutely gone, then I stopped thinking, turned off my brain and just played.”

Elsewhere, China’s Zhou Yuelong defeated England’s Michael Holt 10-4.

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The final eight places will be decided on Wednesday. Belgium’s Luca Brecel, the 2023 champion, plays 2024 runner-up Jak Jones of Wales in the pick of the matches.

Two-time Crucible finalist Ali Carter is also in action, as is Jack Lisowski, who won his first ranking tournament in October with victory at the Northern Ireland Open.

The first round begins on Saturday, with the final starting on Sunday, 3 May and concluding the next day – with full coverage of the tournament live on the BBC.

The draw will feature the top 16 and 16 qualifiers, and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live at 08:45 BST on Thursday.

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The NBA’s playoff blocks record has added confusion because of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell

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The NBA’s playoff blocks record has added confusion because of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Victor Wembanyama set the official single-game NBA playoffs blocks record on Monday night for the San Antonio Spurs.

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But if you look in certain sources, you’ll see that two guys actually rival Wemby in this regard: Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

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Check out this table:

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Oba Femi squashes 330-lb star in his first open challenge on WWE RAW

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Oba Femi announced last week that, due to not having an opportunity for a championship, he would be the prize and kickstart an open challenge. The first open challenge was answered by a 330-lb star, who he squashed.

This week on RAW, it was the inaugural Oba Femi open challenge in Omaha, Nebraska. As with every crowd since his debut, The Ruler got a huge reception, indicating just how big a star he has become. In fact, during a period where WWE isn’t considered at its best creatively, Femi is one of the highlights of the entire company. The fact that he retired Brock Lesnar gives him an unmatched level of aura. So to topple that would be a huge deal, and even for established superstars who have been on the roster for years, it would be a massive opportunity, albeit a risky one.

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Oba Femi’s open challenge was first answered by Akira Tozawa. When the Japanese star stepped into the ring, he was full of regret, and Otis, the 330-lb gentle giant, decided to step in instead. The match only lasted for a few minutes, and Femi would end up squashing Otis in his open challenge.

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It was a commendable effort from Otis to step up to the plate, but there is nobody in WWE, not even Roman Reigns, who has as much momentum as Femi does on RAW. It’s interesting to see that WWE has no storyline in place for him, or atleast they’re waiting for Backlash, so the directions are a lot clearer.

It’s a similar situation to what Gunther faced heading into WrestleMania 42. He was too big a star to leave out, and that’s how he ended up in a match against Seth Rollins despite having no history or relationship whatsoever with anyone in The Vision.