NEWPORT’S Andrew Pagett finished as runner-up at the International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Championships in Qatar this week.

Former professional Pagett was beaten in the final of the amateur event by Iran’s Soheil Vahedi.

His 8-1 victory means he becomes the second Iranian to capture the most prestigious amateur title after compatriot Hossein Vafaei Ayouri’s success in 2011.

The triumph will also mean a likely invitation onto the professional Main Tour for the upcoming two campaigns.

Vahedi didn’t give Pagett, who has had four stints on the pro circuit himself, much of a chance in a one-sided final showdown.

The 27-year-old won the first three frames before the Welshman finally got on the board with a run of 69 – but that was as good as it got for Pagett.

Breaks of 57, 81, 55 and 63 ensured that Vahedi romped to a win which will be regarded as a relatively big surprise.

The likes of defending champion Pankaj Advani, Yuan Sijun of China and another widely tipped player from Wales in Jamie Clarke all fell by the wayside.

Pagett accounted for Advani in a superb semi-final success over the Indian but fell flat in Tuesday’s final.

For Vahedi, after easily dispatching of Dubliner Michael Judge in the quarter-finals, he ended the wonderful run of Northern Ireland’s Declan Brennan in the last four in a nail-biting decider.

India’s Dharminder Lilly emerged victorious in the Masters tournament, beating Wales’ Elfed Evans 6-2 in the final.

Newport’s Darren Morgan was beaten 4-3 by England’s Aidan Owens in the quarter-finals.

Belgium’s Wendy Jans won the ladies edition for the fifth consecutive year.