Polish snooker history-maker Antoni Kowalski reveals plans and one 'pity' after Crucible debut

Last month, the 22-year-old from Zielona Góra was facing the prospect of falling off the professional circuit and having to tackle the Q School scramble in order to earn his tour card back.

But after navigating three rounds of 2026 World Snooker Championship qualifying at the English Institute of Sport - where he defeated Jamie Jones 10-8 at the final hurdle in a do-or-die assignment - Kowalski not only preserved his top-flight status but reached the Crucible.

Kowalski created history as the first Polish player to make the main draw of the Championship and perform on snooker’s grandest stage.

The confident youngster acquitted himself well on his Crucible debut against three-time world champion Mark Williams, compiling a break of 82 in the opening frame and sharing the opening six frames before the 51-year-old ran out a comfortable victor.

‘Peak of the peaks’: Kowalski describes qualification stress

Kowalski - who is one of three Poles on the World Snooker Tour alongside Michal Szubarczyk and Mateusz Baranowski - has since returned home to a hero’s welcome in recognition of his achievement.

He recently did an in-depth interview with Polish sports station TVP Sport looking back on the biggest month of his career to date.

Speaking to TVP, the former world under-16 champion - who watched the live draw with practice partner and friend Chris Wakelin - confirmed that he was very pleased to have been drawn with one of the all-time legends of the sport.

“Before the draw, people asked who I wanted to meet. I said Mark or Ronnie O'Sullivan, because I wanted to play with everyone from the golden year of '92 – John Higgins, Mark Williams and Ronnie. I had already played John in Edinburgh (Scottish Open), so I only had Mark and Ronnie left at that point” said Kowalski.

A post of an emotional Kowalski did the rounds on social media after he defeated Jones on qualifying ‘Judgement Day’ - a result that he has admitted was more important than his Crucible bow due to it keeping his professional player stripes.

“I can't compare it to anything else. What I experienced through the qualifications for the World Championships is the peak of the peaks” explained the three-time Polish national snooker champion.

“I think I will never experience something like this again. I don't wish this type of emotions on anyone. After the last qualifying match, I got into the car and after five minutes I started to have a headache. All the tension went away. It was so much concentration and nervousness. Fortunately, I managed to hold on.”

The one thing that could have made Kowalski’s Crucible experience better

Not only was it Kowalski’s first time playing at the Crucible, but it was his first visit to the hallowed venue full stop. And the experience lived up to expectations: “The atmosphere is incomparable. It's a walk through the corridor...of course, the day before I checked how it all looks. Even without the fans, I had shivers...I've only seen it on TV before.”

Kowalski enjoyed the fans at the Crucible being so close to the players, and felt a different connection with the patrons there compared to other tournaments on the circuit: “That's why this atmosphere is so wonderful. It may sound strange, but you could feel that they know the game better than the fans in other arenas.

“You just feel that they probably play snooker sometimes, or watch it year after year, the Crucible, just like other competitions. They know when to make a really big applause and when something goes wrong. They also know how to create tension – when, for example, white flies towards the pocket. Then it actually gives shivers. The atmosphere cannot be compared to anything else.”

There was only one thing that could have made the debut outing slightly better for Kowalski, and it was his walk-on music.

Unfortunately, he missed the deadline to put in his request of Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” and ended up with a ‘generic’ song for his introduction: “It's a pity they didn't play my music. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline and was late. Apart from that, the atmosphere is amazing.”

Looking ahead - with another two-year professional tour card in his pocket, albeit starting with zero ‘ranking points’ - Kowalski is looking forward to a break after a draining end to the campaign and has big plans for his next two seasons on the tour.

“Let's hope for a holiday to rest a bit. I have a month-and-a-half break before the new season and then I push as hard as I can not to repeat the previous two seasons. Let's hope that in two years I will be in the ranking at least in the top 32.”

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 World Snooker Championship, visit our tournament information centre here.