Snooker prodigy Michal Szubarczyk found it tough going when he met Shaun Murphy in qualifying for the Wuhan Open on Monday. Much has been made of the 14-year-old’s incredible talent, but he was taken to the cleaners by a former world champion after admitting to having ‘doubts’ about whether he could cut it on the professional tour.
Szubarczyk, who was born in 2011, became the youngest pro in the sport’s history when he took on Murphy at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena. The teenager earned his two-year tour card by reaching the final of the European Amateur Snooker Championship in Turkey earlier this year.
The card would normally be reserved for the winner, but Liam Highfield had already secured one for himself by winning a Global Q Tour Playoff event. Szubarczyk took several weeks to stew over his next move before confirming his place on the tour.
But it was a rude awakening against world No. 14 Murphy, who hammered Szubarczyk 5-0 with breaks of 70, 91 and 102. The Polish youngster was restricted to just 60 points in the entirety of the match as his Wuhan Open qualifying hopes were ended in ruthless fashion.
On paper at least, Szubarczyk will have an easier assignment against amateur player Umut Dikme in British Open qualifying on Thursday.
Szubarczyk was open and honest about his rollercoaster of emotions ahead of his tour debut, saying: “I love playing with the audience and cameras and I hope there will many matches like that. I don’t put much pressure on myself to win, I have a lot of time to achieve my goals.
“When I got the tour card there were very mixed emotions. I had been striving for this since I was seven years old. But then suddenly doubts appeared. Whether I can do it, whether I’m too young? There were questions about finances, and what about school, what about the rest of the family, will I manage? But I am sure it is the right decision because it has always been my dream.”
Szubarczyk has a huge admirer in three-time world champion Mark Williams. But even the Welshman was under no illusion that he would find it tough on the senior circuit.
“He’s one of the best 14-year-olds I’ve seen in my life,” said Williams. “He’s up there with Ronnie O’Sullivan at that age. Maybe not as good, but not far away. Every time I watched him he was knocking in 80s, 90s, 100s. It was frightening. I told everyone about him well before he got on tour. Don’t put too much pressure on him [though], he will find it difficult on tour.”