Austria’s first professional snooker player, Florian Nüßle, was defeated in the qualifying event for the WST UK Championship in Wigan, England, despite leading 5-1 against World Games champion Ka Wai Cheung from Hong Kong.
After the eight-time Austrian national champion appeared to be cruising towards what would have been his first match win in a Main Tour qualifying event since securing his tour card in March this year, Hong Kong’s Ka Wai Cheung, winner of the 2022 World Games in Snooker, managed a remarkable comeback. As Nüßle increasingly failed to convert the chances he created into decisive breaks, Cheung turned the match around and clinched victory 6-5, snatching UK Championship main-draw qualification from the Austrian at the last moment.
Nüßle will now turn his attention to the WST 9Club Shoot Out, taking place from 10-13 December in Blackpool, England. The Austrian is likely to arrive with positive memories, having reached the quarter-finals of the event last season, where he ultimately lost to four-time world champion Mark Selby (ENG), but not before stepping into the international media spotlight.
Title photograph: Florian Nüßle; © wpbsa