Report – Liam Highfield crowned European Snooker Champion; Florian Nüßle and Lukas Stötzer finish in 17th place

The EBSA European Snooker Championships concluded in the open category with a title win for Englishman Liam Highfield. Prior to the tournament in Antalya, Turkey, Highfield secured his place as a professional for the next two WST seasons through the Q Tour Global Playoff, just like Austria’s snooker ace Florian Nüßle.

Alongside Florian Nüßle, who finished in 17th place after achieving the greatest triumph of his career so far, Paul Schopf also qualified for the knockout stage in the open category. However, he was eliminated in the round of the Last 32 by former Main Tour player Robin Hull from Finland, ultimately finishing in 33rd place.

The other Austrian players in the field, Oskar Charlesworth and Mario Bodlos, each secured a win in their respective groups. However, despite finishing third in their groups, they did not advance to the next stage.

Florian Nüßle, referee Cătălin Cojoc, Aaron Busuttil; © EBSA

In the junior events, Lukas Stötzer represented Austria. After missing the U16 event due to illness, the 14-year-old managed to advance to the first knockout stage in the U18 event, securing a final ranking of 33rd. In the concluding U21 event, now seemingly fully recovered, he won all his preliminary round matches to qualify directly for the Last 32. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in a close 3-4 match against Latvia’s Filips Kalniņš, who later defeated U16 and U18 European Champion Michał Szubarczyk in the next round. The winner of the U21 event was Ukrainian Iulian Boiko, who once again secured professional status.

14-year-old Polish player Michał Szubarczyk became the standout story of this year’s European Championships. He made a sensational run to the final in the open category, and since Liam Highfield already held a professional tour card, Szubarczyk was awarded one as the runner-up. This makes him the youngest professional snooker player in history.

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