Young prodigy Mostafa Asal has already made himself a reputation for one of the hardest players to beat on the tour. He won the PSA ‘Young Player of the Year’ award in the 2019/20 season and became the world no.1 for the first time in 2023. He was crowned the 2022 Hong Kong Open champion after beating Diego Elias of Peru in a five-game thriller of the final. Asal moved into the world’s top two for the first time in the final week of the year. The Egyptian’s rise continued into 2023, claiming the Houston Open title, the Tour’s first televised event of the year. Thanks to the victory, Asal moved to the summit of the world rankings for the first time, becoming the third-youngest man to reach the top, behind only Jansher and Jahangir Khan. Nicknamed “The Raging Bull” for his playing style and controversial on-court behavior, Asal has been suspended three times by the PSA tour. After serving a six-week suspension and losing his world no.1 spot last year, the Egyptian returned to make the semis of the World Championship and finished runner-up at the El Gouna International. He reached the 2024 World Championship final in Cairo in May but lost to Diego Elias in straight games. He also won the British Open before the season ended and has been in tremendous form since the beginning of the new season, taking two titles in the Egyptian Open and Paris Squash in September.