Austrian national champion Florian Nüßle has written another chapter of sports history for Austrian billiards. Competing at the WST Shoot Out in the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, England, the 22-year-old made an incredible run to the quarterfinals, where it took a four-time professional world champion to end the impressive streak of Austria’s number one.
After victories over Scotland’s Dean Young and Iulian Boiko from Ukraine, Nüßle truly settled into the event. The Shoot Out, similar to darts competitions, was celebrated by enthusiastic and vocal fans even during ongoing matches, creating a unique atmosphere.
Florian Nüßle; © WST
Further wins over Zhou Yuelong from China and Antoni Kowalski from Poland set up a match against England’s Mark Selby. Selby, a four-time professional Snooker World Champion, capitalized early in the single-frame, ten-minute match, seizing a “ball-in-hand” opportunity – a rule unique to the Shoot Out format – to coolly end Nüßle’s remarkable run.
Nevertheless, this performance marks the biggest international success yet for Austria’s rising snooker star on the Main Tour. Nüßle now heads back to Vienna, where the WPBSA’s Q Tour UK/Europe Event 5 will take place from December 13 to 15.
Results WST 9Club Shoot Out 2024
Title photograph: Florian Nüßle; © WST