08-04-2025
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 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 lost 10-8 to Scotland's Dean Young, who will face Stan Moody in the second 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 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 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 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 are hoping to secure one of the 16 places on offer at the 32-player tournament, with 16 players already automatically qualified via their are four qualifying rounds and players begin their campaigns at different stages, depending on their world ranking.
