Since the founding of the Austrian Snooker and Billiards Association (ÖSBV) in 1990, the Austrian Snooker scene has never seen a younger winner in its elite series, the Austrian Snooker League Grand Prix.
At an age of just 14 years and 5 months Lukas Stötzer from Wels in Upper Austria has now made ÖSBV history, breaking the previous record held by Six Reds European Champion Florian Nüßle, who was 14 years and 10 months old when he claimed his first Grand Prix victory.
Demonstrating remarkable stamina and skill, Stötzer secured his victory through consistent play. In the semifinals, he defeated Mario Bodlos (TSG) from Graz, and then in the final match, he narrowly overcame Thomas Janzso from the HSEBC in Vienna with a score of 4-3. Notably, Janzso himself had recently celebrated his first Grand Prix-level win earlier in the season.
Thomas Janzso, Lukas Stötzer, Mario Bodlos; © HSEBC/wernerschuster
Paul Schopf, Stötzer’s coach and mentor, made it to the semifinals, where he was defeated by Thomas Janzso in a decisive 0-4 match. The battle for third place saw Mario Bodlos make a stunning comeback from a 0-3 deficit, winning the next four frames. His comeback was crowned with an impressive clearance of 95 points in the final frame, marking the tournament’s highest break.
Oskar Charlesworth, a member of the hosting HSEBC club, entered the tournament as the top seed in the absence of national champion Florian Nüßle, who was competing in Q Tour UK/Europe Event 4 in Manchester. However, Charlesworth was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the eventual winner, Stötzer.
The tournament was officiated by ÖSBV’s English Billiards tutor, Walter Kunz, who also oversaw the final match, alongside Carl Walter Steiner. Tournament direction was managed on the first day by ÖSBV President Christian Fock, and later in the afternoon by Patrick Stift from the hosting club, following his own exit from the competition. On the second day, Werner Schuster of HSEBC took over as tournament director, earning the rare honor of presenting the winner’s trophy to Lukas Stötzer, now the youngest Grand Prix champion in ÖSBV history.