Snooker wonderkid Michal Szubarczyk, 14, accepts tour card, set to make history as youngest professional

Having only turned 14-years-old in January, the Polish cueist will become snooker's youngest-ever professional player, eclipsing the record set by Ukraine's Iulian Boiko when he came on to the World Snooker Tour in 2020, also as a 14-year-old.

Szubarczyk - who compiled a maximum 147 break in practice when he was just 12 - won last year's IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship in Bengaluru, India as a 13-year-old after defeating Germany's Alexander Widau in the final.

He became the youngest-ever winner of that title, a tournament that has been won in the past by Ronnie O'Sullivan, Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty, Ding Junhui and Neil Robertson.

At the recent European Amateur Snooker Championships in Antalya, Turkiye, Szubarczyk won both the under-16 and under-18 titles, defeating Krzysztof Czapnik (Poland) and Ethan Llewellyn (England) in those respective finals.

However, it was in the open-age European Amateur Snooker Championship where Szubarczyk made big news, eliminating a string of experienced opponents as he reached the semi-finals.

In the final four, Szubarczyk ousted 30-year-old Harvey Chandler (England) - a former winner of the title and an ex-professional player - 4-3, to reach the final of the continental competition.

Szubarczyk perhaps ran out of steam in the title match against former world number 39 Liam Highfield, who rattled in a string of breaks during a 5-0 whitewash final victory.

The winner of the European amateur title receives a two-year tour card for the professional circuit, but Highfield already had one of those after coming through the global Q Tour playoffs which were held at the same venue several days previously.

Therefore, the vacant card got offered to the runner-up, who was Szubarczyk.

Since then, there has been speculation as to whether the youngster and his family will accept the place on the sport's premier circuit. Not only is Szubarczyk's education a big factor, a sizeable portion of the competition circuit is played in the United Kingdom, so there are significant time and cost implications for a player travelling from central Europe.

Like other professional sports, life on snooker's top tier can be brutal. In the majority of tournaments, if a player loses first round, they receive nothing. Although in recent years, all tour card holders have been guaranteed at least £20,000 a year in prize money from the sport's governing body, an initiative that has been welcomed by many.

In an article online a few weeks ago, Szubarczyk's father, Kamil, talked about how this could be an issue. But it appears their decision has been made after Szubarczyk posted on his social media platforms on Saturday that he has accepted his place on the circuit.

High praise from Mark Williams, comparisons to Ronnie O’Sullivan

Szubarczyk’s progress has caught the attention of three-time World Champion Mark Williams, who in an online interview compared the teenager to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Although Szubarczyk won’t be a fully fledged professional until next season, he did get a taste of life on snooker’s top tier during the recent 2025 World Championship qualifiers for which he was invited to because of his win at the European under-18s.

Facing Scotland’s Dean Young - a professional player of several seasons - in the first qualifying round, Szubarczyk battled back from 4-0 and only narrowly lost 10-8.

The full calendar for the 2025/26 World Snooker Tour professional season has yet to be officially released, but it is likely that Szubarczyk’s first event as a pro will be at the Championship League Snooker Ranking Event over the summer months.