Report – Lukas Stötzer achieves second Grand Prix victory and breaks into the Top 2 for the first time

With the second Grand Prix win of his still-young career – during which Upper Austrian Lukas Stötzer has already claimed numerous titles in his age categories (U21, U18) – the 15-year-old now catapults himself into the Top 2 of the Austrian Snooker rankings for the first time.

Since Austria’s long-time rankings leader Florian Nüßle can no longer participate in domestic ASL events due to recently turning professional, a new and very exciting situation has emerged in the national Snooker rankings. Currently, four athletes still have a chance to finish the season as the top-ranked player.

In addition to tournament winner Lukas Stötzer, his mentor, PSSC clubmate, and final opponent in Heidenreichstein Paul Schopf, whom he managed to hold off this time with a 4-3 win – also has a theoretical chance at the top ranking spot.
The bigger competition, however, is currently coming from Vienna. New rankings leader Oskar Charlesworth from HSEBC and his clubmate Thomas Janzso, currently in third, alongside the young talent from Wels, all have the best points-based chances of winning the 2025 ranking.

SCAH Heidenreichstein; © SCAH/gkaschmitter

In the beautiful club facilities of Snooker Club AtCal Heidenreichstein in Lower Austria, 16 athletes competed for the fifth Grand Prix title of the season. The tournament was directed by club owner Günter Kaschmitter, who was also the final’s referee.
The semifinal between Paul Schopf and Josef Wimmer from SCBS was officiated by ÖSBV President Christian Fock, who had traveled from Vienna. In this very tight and fiercely contested match, Schopf ultimately delivered a remarkable breakthrough in the decider, making the tournament’s highest break with a score of 106.

Josef Wimmer therefore secured third place directly, as the third-place playoff was not held.

Josef Wimmer; © ÖSBV/pstegmeier

After the summer break, two more rounds remain in the Open Category of the 2025 Austrian Snooker League. The autumn season will kick off with the sixth Grand Prix, taking place on August 30–31 at the BSLZ Salzburg.

The new rankings after round 5 will be published following July 5, when the regional qualifier tournaments for the third-tier division will also be held.

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