Four matches were played to a conclusion yesterday, and you will find the results and scores on snooker.org as always. As you can see, all matches, so far, were won by the seeded top 16 player. The story that captured WST attention though was the clash of generations, between Willo and the young Polish debutant Antoni Kowalski.
Mark Williams got the better of Poland’s top player Antoni Kowalski by a 10-4 scoreline to reach the last 16 of the Halo World Championship for the 23rd time.
Kowalski’s run was the most engaging storyline of the qualifying rounds last week as he had to reach the Crucible to save his tour card as well as becoming the first player from his country to appear at snooker’s Theatre of Dreams. However the talented 22-year-old admitted he “ran out of steam” on the main stage and was outplayed by world number six Williams.
Age 51 and despite the fact that his eyesight is gradually deteriorating, Williams must still be considered a contender for the crown as he reached the final last year, notably knocking out John Higgins and Judd Trump before losing to Zhao Xintong in the final. Earlier this season he became the oldest ever winner of a ranking title when he beat Shaun Murphy in the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix.
His next opponent is Barry Hawkins over a possible 25 frames on Friday and Saturday – a repeat of their epic 2018 semi-final which Williams won 17-15 on his way to a third world title.
This was a spirited debut from Kowalski and at 3-3 he looked capable of causing an upset, but missed too many chances in the remainder of the match.
Williams led 6-3 after the first session, but in the opening frame tonight he played a weak safety when he trailed 50-39 with two reds left, and Kowalski took advantage to narrow the gap. A break of 65 restored Williams’ three-frame cushion at 7-4, then in frame 12 the Welshman led 33-15 when he cracked in a long red to set up a run of 34 to go further ahead.
Kowalski had a scoring chance in the next but made only 15 before missing a red with the rest, and his opponent capitalised with the only century of the match, 115, to lead 9-4. The next came down to the final black and a brief safety exchange ended when Williams fired it from distance into a top corner.
“Antoni is a cracking potter, I don’t pot the long balls that he does any more,” said Williams. “I knew it would be tough for him on his debut so I tried to keep it tight and play to my strengths. He showed a bit of inexperience but he will learn from that and improve. The scoreline looks quite one sided but he could have won three or four more frames.“
Kowalski said: “The whole experience definitely lived up to my expectations. If I could I would play here every day, it’s such a special atmosphere. I put so much into the qualifying rounds and I was trying hard here but I ran out of steam.
“I couldn’t be more proud to have made my contribution as the first Polish player at the Crucible. We have been waiting for this breakthrough moment and hopefully this will make snooker more popular in my country.“
Indeed, as Mark Williams said, Antoni Kowalski could have made the match a lot closer. Of course it was a new experience for him and, also, there was a lot of attention and probably expectations on him as well. I do hope that Mark’s nice word will help the young polish player to overcome his disappointment quickly and encourage him to work even harder. He’s certainly talented and capable enough. He earned his spot at the Crucible.
