Szubarczyk, 14, beaten in World Championship qualifiers
Fourteen-year-old Michal Szubarczyk was denied a place in snooker history as he was narrowly defeated in the first round of World Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.The Polish teenager was looking to break Ronnie O'Sullivan's long-standing record by becoming the youngest player to qualify for the World Championship at the Crucible.He lost 10-8 to Scotland's Dean Young, who will face Stan Moody in the second round.Young stormed into a 4-0 lead, before Szubarczyk found his rhythm and won three of the next five frames to trail 6-3 at the interval.Szubarczyk won five of the following eight frames but could not overturn the deficit against the 23-year-old.
Seven-time winner O'Sullivan is the youngest-ever qualifier at the Crucible, doing so at the age of 16 in 1992.Szubarczyk rose to prominence last month when he reached the final of the open-age event at the European Championship, where he lost to 34-year-old Liam Highfield.The Pole has been offered a two-year card on the World Snooker Tour (WST).The World Championship will begin on 19 April at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
How qualifying works
The qualifying event at the English Institute of Sport features 144 players.They are hoping to secure one of the 16 places on offer at the 32-player tournament, with 16 players already automatically qualified via their ranking.There are four qualifying rounds and players begin their campaigns at different stages, depending on their world ranking.
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