European Masters: Hossein Vafaei in walkover drama as he misses first-round match against Xiao Guodong

Xiao Guodong was awarded victory in the first round of the European Masters after his opponent Hossein Vafaei failed to appear for the match.

Vafaei, the reigning Shoot-Out champion, was originally docked two frames as Xiao waited past the scheduled 10am start at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.

But when it became clear Vafaei would not be in attendance, a 5-0 victory was awarded to his Chinese opponent.

There are reports that the Iranian was unable to secure a visa in time for the tournament. Li Hang, Chang Bingyu and Lei Peifan were also forced to withdraw due to visa issues.

A statement to Eurosport from World Snooker Tour said.

“We were aware that Hossein Vafaei was experiencing visa issues regarding his travel to Germany for the BetVictor European Masters.

“However, we have not received any formal withdrawal from Hossein and the match was scheduled as planned for this morning.

“As he did not arrive for his match, his opponent Xiao Guodong was given a walkover.”

Eurosport expert and former world number six Alan McManus called the result “a real shame”, while lauding Vafaei as “one of the players of last season”.

Alongisde his Shoot Out win, Vafaei reached the semi-final of the Welsh Open and the fourth round of both the British Open and the UK Championship,.

He is currently ranked 17th in the world.

Elsewhere, world number nine Luca Brecel was beaten 5-1 in his opening round match against Wu Yize.

Brecel won the season-opening Champions League tournament, adding to his Scottish Open title last season, but only narrowly avoided a whitewash as he struggled for any momentum against his Chinese opponent.