Sensational! First Polish player ever qualifies for the Snooker World Championship

22-year old Antoni Kowalski made Polish snooker history on Tuesday by becoming the first Polish player ever to reach the Snooker World Championship following a 10-8 victory over Welshman Jamie Jones. The young man struggled to contain his emotions after the match, realizing he'd become a home-town hero and the first Pole in history to play at the Crucible.

The youngster was only 69th in the World Ranking before the start of the qualifiers, and a defeat on Tuesday would have meant losing his spot on the Tour. Therefore there was far more on the line than simply making the Crucible, which alone is a historic achievement for him and his country.

Following his victory, Kowalski needed a moment to gather himself before he could complete his post-match duties to which he arrived with understandably teary eyes.

- I don't usually cry, so that should tell you everything about this moment. This was one of my biggest dreams.

- This was the first time in my life where I was on the verge of giving up in the middle of a match. At the end of the first session and start of the second I was completely lost, I just couldn't hit the ball properly. After that I stopped thinking, kind of turned my brain completely off - and it worked. I started playing faster and more freely, and my cueing came back.

- Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew all the time that I could win. I can only imagine how many people in Poland were following this match. I'm about to live one of my biggest dreams, Kowalski commented to WST after the match.

In the other matches on Tuesday Matthew Stevens of Wales secured his place at the World Championship by defeating 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham 10-7.

The 48-year old Stevens returns to the Crucible for the first time since 2022. The experienced Welshman has made the Snooker World Championship final twice (2000 & 2005), but the years since haven't been quite as illustrious.

- I showed today that I can still play. I'm really happy. It's great to be back, even if I don't play quite as much as I used to, Stevens said.

The most exciting match of the day was the clash between Jiang Jun and Stan Moody. English prospect Moody took victory in the 19th frame decider and advanced to the Crucible 10-9. This will be the first World Championship for the Englishman.

Other victors on the day included Liam Pullen, David Gilbert, Zhou Yuelong, Pang Junxu and Hossein Vafaei.

The qualifiers continue on Wednesday with eight other matches. Extra attention is to be expected for the match between Luca Brecel and Jak Jones, since the former is the 2023 World Champion and the latter a finalist from 2024. Among the other big names are Ali Carter and Jack Lisowski.

The Snooker World Championship starts on Saturday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Below are all the results from Tuesday and the schedule for Wednesday.

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