Report – Snock from Wieselburg wins Austrian Club Championship premiere

The first Austrian Club Championship concluded with an exciting final duel, crowning the Snooker Club Mostviertel (SNOCK) as the winner. Based in Wieselburg, Lower Austria, the club was represented by top players Jérôme Liedtke and Thomas Brandl.

The tournament, held at the Austrian Snooker and Billiards Academy in Vienna, featured six participating clubs. The preliminary round followed a round-robin format, with each club facing every other club in matches consisting of two singles frames and one alternate-shot doubles frame. The top two teams from the group stage qualified for the gold medal match, while the third- and fourth-placed teams competed for bronze.

At the end of the group stage, the HSEBC team from Vienna – represented by Thomas Janzso, Christian Kasparek, Philipp Koch and Carl Walter Steiner – emerged as the clear favourite for the final. With five consecutive 3:0 victories, it seemed they were heading for a dominant gold medal match, leaving Snock, the second-placed team, as the underdog.

Carl Walter Steiner, Philipp Koch, Thomas Janzso, Christian Kasparek (HSEBC)

The TSG team from Graz, featuring Erich Haas, Nikolaus Haslmayr and Michael Peyr, secured a spot in the bronze match against the ABC team from Vienna, represented by Erik Lukatsch and brothers Emanuel and Patrick Stegmeier. Although both teams, like Snock, had won three matches, frame difference placed the Lower Austrian side in the gold medal match.

Further down the rankings, the teams finishing fifth and sixth – meaning elimination after the group stage – were the 15 Reds from Vienna (Oliver Genic, Wolfgang Kohn, Robert Lodjn and Michael Rammler) and SCAH from Heidenreichstein, Lower Austria (Erik Höller, Andreas Musatics and Jeffrey Pang). SCAH struggled to secure match wins, managing only three individual frame victories.

Austrian Snooker and Billiards Academy; © wpbsa

Having lost 3:0 to Graz in the group stage, ABC entered the best-of-seven bronze match as the underdog. The tactical battle began immediately, with captain Patrick Stegmeier strategically pairing his players against the TSG lineup chosen by Michael Peyr.

Emanuel Stegmeier secured the first frame for ABC with a break of 46, his highest of the day, but Nikolaus Haslmayr quickly equalized against Erik Lukatsch. The doubles frame that followed proved crucial, as the Stegmeier brothers managed to win despite requiring a snooker, giving ABC a 2:1 lead after the first round.

In the second singles round, Haslmayr defeated E. Stegmeier, while P. Stegmeier overcame Erich Haas in a closely contested frame. This left the match finely poised at 3:2 in ABC’s favour.

The decisive doubles frame, featuring Haslmayr/Peyr against E. Stegmeier/Lukatsch, lived up to the drama, with ABC securing victory through a 35-point alternate-shot clearance. This fourth frame win sealed the bronze medal for the Vienna club.

Erik Lukatsch, Emanuel & Patrick Stegmeier (ABC)

The gold medal match was just as dramatic. Despite a 3:0 defeat to HSEBC in the group stage, SNOCK’s duo Brandl/Liedtke entered the final, determined to turn the tables.

The best-of-seven match started with Liedtke defeating Koch and Janzso beating Brandl, but SNOCK took the doubles frame against HSEBC’s Kasparek/Steiner, leading 2:1 after the first round.

In the second round, Janzso and Koch won their singles matches against Liedtke and Brandl, respectively. However, SNOCK once again dominated the doubles, forcing a decisive singles frame to determine the champion.

HSEBC captain Koch entrusted the decider to Janzso, while SNOCK’s captain Liedtke took it upon himself to secure victory. In a tense final frame, Liedtke clinched the title with a 22-point clearance, dashing HSEBC’s hopes and securing SNOCK’s triumph in the inaugural Austrian Club Championship.

Jérôme Liedtke and Thomas Brandl claimed the championship trophy and gold medals after a grueling 22-frame tournament for SNOCK.

The tournament’s highest break in singles play came from HSEBC’s Thomas Janzso, who made an impressive 79 in the group stage. The highest alternate-shot doubles break was a remarkable 49, achieved by Haslmayr/Peyr for TSG in their opening doubles frame.

Special thanks go to tournament director Christian Fock, who managed the new and untested format seamlessly, ensuring a smooth experience for all teams and participants.

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