Iranian snooker player Hossain Vafaei hopes he can bring some happiness to his nation during his emotion-filled run at the world championship that has already seen him oust the sport’s No. 1 player, Judd Trump.
Vafaei, the world No. 32 nicknamed the “Prince of Persia,” said he has been “all over the place” mentally in recent months during the Iran war, questioning whether he should even be competing in tournaments.
Yet he decided he wanted to “fight for my people” and came through qualifying to reach the world championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where he thrashed former semifinalist Si Jiahui 10-3 in the biggest upset of the first round.
On Monday, Vafaei secured perhaps the biggest victory of his career by keeping his cool in a final-frame decider to beat Trump 13-12 and reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
“I don’t know (whether) to be happy. I don’t know (whether) to be sad,” Vafaei said. “I don’t know what to do.
“It’s just, this is the only thing I can do. With my cue, I can do something for them to make them happy at least. To show that the Iran flag is there ... and you still can’t raise it.”
Vafaei said he has found it hard to focus on snooker because of concerns about the safety of his family during the war.
“I was getting sometimes sad, with what’s happening,” he said. “And I don’t want to open up, but yes, I decided to fight, fight for my people, and all the Iranians all over the world.
“And hopefully I can make them happy.”
Asked how he felt about representing a wider cause than just being a sportsperson, Vafaei said: “I am not thinking about all this. Everything I am doing is from the bottom of my heart. There are lots of things going on (in Iran). Even if I win the trophy, it’s nothing.”
Vafaei will take on Wu Yize of China in the quarterfinals starting Tuesday.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Hossein Vafaei during his match against Si Jiahui on day six of the World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, Thursday April 23, 2026. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)
England's Judd Trump, left, during his match with Iran's Hossein Vafaei, right, on day ten of the World Snooker Championship 2026, in Sheffield, England, Monday April 27, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Hossein Vafaei during his match against Si Jiahui on day six of the World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, Thursday April 23, 2026. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 28, 2026--
Data traffic from cellular IoT connections is expected to rise to 218.6 exabytes (EB) by 2035, according to Omdia ’s latest research. This increase is fueled by a growing demand for data that can be analyzed, with the goal of improving operational efficiency and creating new revenue opportunities for businesses.
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The research revealed that the majority of cellular IoT data traffic will come from the automotive sector, with key use cases including infotainment services such as video and audio streaming, as well as firmware over-the-air updates. Over the forecast between 2025 to 2035, automotive data traffic will rise from 30.7 EB to 135.4 EB, driven by the integration of infotainment systems in newer vehicles and rising consumer adoption of these services, many of which are expected to rely on 5G connectivity. According to the report, transport and logistics are poised to become the next major sector for cellular IoT data traffic, while all other sectors combined will contribute less than 29% of the total traffic beyond 2025.
Alexander Thompson, Senior Analyst for IoT at Omdia stated, “The rising number of vehicles with smart features, particularly infotainment, will cause cellular IoT data traffic to boom over the next decade. Other video-based use cases will also generate significant amounts of data.”
“While cellular IoT data traffic remains dominated by use cases that require mobility, such as automotive and logistics, emerging trends like remote vision, which enables cameras to be added in a wide range of devices, from delivery robots to industrial machinery, and agentic AI, driving growth in peer-to-peer machine traffic, are increasing demand for greater edge processing power and accelerating 5G adoption. Together, these trends are creating additional data traffic demand that did not exist several years ago," added Andrew Brown, Practice Lead for IoT at Omdia.
The report also emphasizes that Asia & Oceania will produce the highest amount of cellular IoT data traffic, comprising 50.6% of global cellular IoT data traffic in 2025. The region has traditionally been an early adopter of new technology and also has a significant number of video cameras installed, which will help drive traffic growth.
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Total IoT data traffic by vertical, 2023-2035
