GG Mirzaei

Hossein Mirzaei learned on his grandfather's board in Tehran and rebuilt the whole thing alone, to world-class level, in years of late-night sessions on a cheap phone. He took an engineering degree, chose the touring circuit over the desk, and has been proving that right ever since.

No club, no coach, and no patience whatsoever for being told to wait his turn. He attacks, he doubles proudly, and he doubles at the same point whether he is ahead or behind, which unsettles people more than anything else about him. He is the hungriest player in the top tier and the least willing to pretend otherwise.