SNOOKER referee Malgorzata Kanieska is more worried about 747s than 147s.
And although she can’t stop cuers eyeing a maximum break, she CAN halt queuers flying for a summer one.
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The World Championship official’s day job is with Polish Airlines, where she has the power to “cancel flights”.
Having been a ref on the professional tour since 2010, her career with the white gloves soared to new heights when she oversaw the Tour Championship final between Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson in 2023, then made her Crucible debut this month.
But looking over stars of the baize has nothing on her full-time profession of watching the sky in her home country.
Kanieska told Framed: The Snooker Podcast how all her time is taken up with snooker and the airline industry.
She said: “When I did my first professional event, I was studying.
“Now I’m just working full-time and I take days off to go to tournaments, that’s the biggest change.”
Her main task when at work for Polish Airlines is to make sure their systems work as well as possible over the “upcoming days”.
And as snooker legends like Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump battle under the intense spotlight of the Sheffield theatre, Kanieska then explained what real pressure is in the air.
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She said: “There is a manager on duty but when you think about all the aircrafts coming in, [if] something happens you need to know how to make the network look the best, how to avoid delays, how to avoid over-bookings and how to find the best options for the flights to perform.
“I can cancel flights. When there is industrial action, or airports can be closed, all aircrafts can be damaged, I have the power to cancel flights.
“Luckily I do not contact passengers, so that makes it easier.”
Ironically, Kanieska’s love of snooker means she can never take a ‘break’.
She said: “I use all my days off for the tournament. As much as I like snooker, it’s not a holiday.”