The World Snooker Tour looks set to have its youngest ever professional player after nominating 14-year-old Michal Szubarczyk for a two-year card.
The Polish teenager reached the final of the European Championship after clinching the under-16 and under-18 titles earlier this week in Antalya, Turkey.
In the main event, Szubarczyk defeated Maksim Kostov, Daan Leyssen, Chris Peplow and Nicolas Mortreux before stunning former European champion Harvey Chandler 4-3 in the semi-finals.
The Polish teenager, who was looking to make it a hat-trick of titles in Antalya, was defeated 5-0 by 34-year-old Liam Highfield, who has already earned a two-year WST card via the WPBSA Q Tour Global play-offs, in Saturday’s final.
Highfield proved too strong in the final opening the best-of-nine frame contest with a break of 112 and then added contributions of 70, 54 and 63 to open up a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval.
A further half-century break in frame five proved to be enough to secure the prestigious European title.
Due to Highfield already gaining his WST card for the next two years, the governing body’s nomination will be passed on to Szubarczyk, should he wish to accept.
The 2025 World Snooker Championship runs from Saturday, April 19 to Monday, May 5. Kyren Wilson will be the defending champion, having defeated Jak Jones in the 2024 final.