
So enthralled by snooker was Mateusz Baranowski when he first discovered the sport at the age of eight that he would play using a mop and tennis ball on his family's kitchen table. Two decades later, he is set to play his first professional season on the World Snooker Tour.
He will be one of three Poles on the circuit in 2025/26, alongside Antoni Kowalski and 14-year-old sensation Michal Szubarczyk. Poland is certainly punching above its weight in terms of producing new talent - no country outside the UK, China and Thailand now has more tour players. Baranowski himself has been a key figure in that grassroots success as he coached the national junior team for several years.
"Polish players are good fighters, we are strong mentally," he said. "I have seen plenty of players from other countries in continental Europe with very good technique, but they don't believe they can beat professionals. We are confident. Sometimes we believe we are better than we really are, but that's a good thing. We know how to play 'clever', and we always fight, even when we are losing."
For now, Baranowski has set aside his coaching ventures and will focus completely on his own game. He earned his first tour card by coming through Q School event one, winning six consecutive matches, culminating in a 4-2 defeat of Patrick Whelan.
"I was very emotional," he recalls. "Around seven or eight years ago I felt I was good enough to turn pro, but I didn't make it and then after that I concentrated on coaching and gave up on my dream of joining the tour myself. At Q School I didn't feel much stress because I knew it was a chance to make my dream come true. I will keep the same attitude on the tour, I will be the happiest person in the world. I love the game and I will be so happy just to play, I will not be worried about results.
"I don't think there is a big difference between the best amateurs and the lower-ranked pros, as long as you are not scared. I have played to a very good standard in Polish national tournaments, making a lot of centuries. The challenge is to feel just as comfortable in pro tournaments but I think I will manage that and I work with a sports psychologist to help on that side. I showed that in the World Championship qualifiers when I beat Amir Sarkhosh 10-2."
Baranowski, Kowalski and Szubarczyk will all practise together at a club in the city of Zielona Gora. "We will all push each other and learn from each other," said the 27-year-old. "I believe we will all win matches. Antoni has already done well in his first season and he has given me advice. And there will be more Polish players following us, there are some very good juniors like Sebastian Milewski and Krzysztof Czapnik."
First introduced to snooker by his grandfather who loved watching on Eurosport, Baranowski soon graduated from his 'mop and tennis ball' version to the real thing. "We were on a bus one day when we drove past a billiards club," he recalls. "We went inside to see if there were any snooker tables and we found they had three. So I started to play and got hooked. At the time I was also into football and table tennis, but I soon forgot about those and just played snooker."
Given his expertise as a coach, Baranowski recognises that his own technique is far from perfect. "I have had trouble with that, I am working on it and getting better, but my long potting is not good," he admits. "I have really worked hard on safety and I will be happy to take on any player in tactical frames. And my break-building is at a good level. I am ready for this test."