With Swiss player Alexander Ursenbacher, currently ranked 108th on the WST World Rankings, winning the internationally renowned Vienna Snooker Open for the first time, officiated by Carinthian Class-1 Referee Erich Pließnig, he defeated former professional Craig Steadman from England in the final. Steadman, who reached the final again after 2013 (0:5), narrowly missed out on winning the iconic marble trophy this time, after constantly changing leads, ultimately losing 5:4.
The third places this year go to former professional Iulian Boiko from Ukraine, who also achieved the highest tournament break with a score of 146 points, and Mark Davis from England, ranked 57th in the world.
From an Austrian perspective, a player of the Austrian Seniors Ranking achieved the best domestic placement this time. Christian Hochmayer (FBC) reached the Last 16, securing a place in the prize money ranks, but lost to German player Felix Frede with a score of 1:3.
Defending champion Florian Nüßle faced former VSO champion and world rank 65 player Mark Joyce in the Last 32, after an impeccable preliminary round. Joyce, who suffered a defeat against Austria’s number 2, Oskar Charlesworth, who produced a break of 100 points, had to proceed to the intermediate round as the group runner-up. Surviving that, Joyce faced Austria’s most successful snooker player and eventually won a very contested match 3:2. National champion Florian Nüßle maintains the highest break scored by a domestic player with a series of 111 points.
In total, 78 players participated in 16 groups of five after two last-minute withdrawals. Notably, there were 23 century breaks and a multitude of game-deciding series, making the eleventh edition of the popular and once again highly praised Vienna Snooker Open a highly valuable sporting event, which more than ever captured the curiosity of the snooker and billiards world, focusing on Vienna for a few days.
The Austrian Snooker Association (ÖSBV) expresses its gratitude to the dedicated VSO team led by 15-Reds Sports Director Andreas Jurdak and Tournament Director Christian Fock for their efforts and commitment to annually showcasing Vienna on the international stage and thus promoting snooker in Austria.
Results | Vienna Snooker Open 2024
VSO website
title photo: © VSO/15 Reds