Three of snooker’s brightest young talents, Antoni Kowalski, Stan Moody and Liam Pullen, made it to the Crucible for the first time with outstanding victories in the final qualifying round of the Halo World Championship.
The trio head for the Theatre of Dreams in Sheffield for the televised stages, which start on Saturday.
Kowalski was in tears after coming through the biggest match of his life, beating Jamie Jones 10-8. From 6-5 down the 22-year-old won four frames in a row with a top break of 84, then Jones battled back to 9-8 before Kowalski got over the line with a run of 62 to become the first Polish player to make it to the Crucible. The result also secured his place on the tour, while defeat would have meant relegation – instead it’s Allan Taylor who loses his pro status.
“The best explanation of how much this means to me is that I never usually cry!” said Kowalski, who has won three qualifying matches. “This is the only time I will think more about saving my tour card rather than playing at the Crucible. There are so many emotions for me now. It’s so special for an overseas player like me. My parents and girlfriend are going to come to the Crucible as well so that’s going to be amazing, I can’t wait.
“This was the first time in my life I absolutely gave up in a match. At the end of the first session and the start of the second I was gone, I couldn’t cue straight. I stopped thinking, turned off my brain and it worked. I played faster and more dynamically and my cue action came back. In the back of my mind I knew I could win. I can imagine how many people in Poland are going to watch me. I will realise one of my biggest dreams.“
When he is in the UK, Kowalski stays and practises with Chris Wakelin and he added: “I wish everyone could have a friend like Chris. He has helped me so much with nothing in return. Because of him I am a better player now. Hopefully I won’t draw him.“
Moody, long touted as a star of the future, will be the first British teenager to play at the Crucible since Judd Trump in 2007. The 19-year-old from Halifax made a fantastic century in the last frame to beat Jiang Jun 10-9. From 6-5 down, world number 44 Moody fired runs of 71, 70, 113 and 127 to go 9-8 ahead, then missed match-winning chances in frame 18, but made amends with a superb 104 in the decider.
His victory was all the more remarkable given that he was in hospital with tonsilitis last night, but discharged himself and played through the discomfort to book his place on the biggest stage.
“The doctors said to me ‘we know you are going to say no but we want you to stay in.’ I said no, I’ve got a match to play. And I’m glad I did. They gave me some antibiotics and other medication. I won’t be going back there, I don’t like it!” said Moody. “Towards the end of the match, I have never felt pressure like that in my life, I am just so happy. This has been a dream of mine since I started playing.”
York’s 20-year-old Pullen enjoyed a 10-8 success against Noppon Saengkham with top breaks of 131 and 105.
“When I saw Stan win, I thought I better not lose now, I’ll let everyone down!” said Pullen, who lost to Moody in the final of the WSF Junior Championship in 2023. “I am very proud. I appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way. When it went from 8-5 to 8-8 In didn’t feel great, but I hung in there.“
In a battle between two players with 63 years professional experience between them, former UK and Masters champion Matthew Stevens beat 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham 10-7 with a top break of 86.
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei secured his fifth consecutive visit to the Crucible with a 10-4 victory over Gao Yang. From 4-1 down, Vafaei won nine frames in a row with top breaks of 60, 53, 60, 70, 57 and 86.
“I’m fighting for my family and trying my best,” said Vafaei. “The Crucible is a fantastic place and we all love to play there, I can’t wait to meet the fans there.”
Zhou Yuelong and Pang Junxu will be among at least seven Chinese players at the Crucible, alongside five of the top 16 seeds. Zhou saw off Michael Holt 10-4 with a top break of 109 while Pang enjoyed a 10-8 defeat of Jackson Page with top runs of 104, 107 and 105.
David Gilbert, a semi-finalist in 2019 and 2024, beat Aaron Hill at this stage for the second consecutive year, winning 10-6 with top breaks of 141 and 126.
I’m very happy to see young players coming through. Antoni Kowalski’s win in particular pleases me because it’s so much harder for the “non British” players who have to live as expats in the UK, coping with a different culture and language away from their families. It’s either that or traveling back and forth all the time which is costly and tiring. It’s made even worse because, unlike British players, they have no right to take a side job “outside” snooker to make ends meet if the results don’t come regularly enough.
As for Hossein Vafaei, it must be very difficult as well to concentrate on snooker given the terrible situation in his country. I do hope that his family is safe.