By Elliott West
Introduction
As the snooker message continues to spread across the globe, so one is constantly made aware of new, raw talent. One such country that is starting to thrive is Poland . With players such as Kacper Filipiak and Adam Stefanów already making an impression in tournaments, it is always great to see new players make the headlines. One such player, is the Polish teenager, Antoni Kowalski.
Natural Aptitude
In 2019, then fifteenth, Antoni entered the Under-16s World Championships in Russia and caught the world by surprise with his performance. The young Pole swept to the final, winning his first five matches, losing just one frame, playing out of his skin to beat Bulcsú Révész, 4-2. This win subsequently set a record for becoming the first Pole in history to win an international snooker title. Kowalski’s win was additionally special because he beat Hungary’s top seeded player.
However this victory could not have happened. The teenager arrived in Moscow, prior to the tournament and lost his cue at the airport. Nursing a bad cold, he had a shaky start in the final against the Hungarian, Révész . His 12 year old opponent made a great start to the final, taking a 2-1 lead but Kowalski, like any great player, dug deep and clawed the match back, taking the fourth frame to bring the score line to 2-2. He then went on to win the next two frames to win the match.
This classic victory in the Siberian city of Tyumen, propelled the youngster into the realms of stardom, giving him the praise of being “considered to be the most talented player of Poland’s younger generation”. A player who started started to play the game when he was a mere six year old, Antoni is also Polish Under-14 champion and a runner-up at the 2017 Under-17 Championship and the Polish Under-18 Championship. Earlier this year in March, 2020, he also won his first Polish National Snooker Championship, defeating Mateusz Baranowski, 6-4.
Conclusion
Antoni Kowalski’s victory is joyous because it shows how much brimming talent there is in Poland for snooker. The floodgates have partially opened but it will take a further leap faith before any talented, young player can make it big in the sport. Kowalski brings snooker hope and perhaps Poland could one day pride itself in being in the mainstream of this cue sport.
