A summer break on the snooker table

The final Austrian Snooker League tournaments of the past season were played in April, the opening ranking events of the new campaign will take place in September. That's a gap of five months - or four, if you are lucky enough to qualify for one of the national championships in May. We've seen non-ranking events like ISC National Open and Top Snooker Graz Open in recent years, but normally tournaments in summer are very rare. So, put your cue at rest and get back to training again in August?

No way! Three young players, Paul Schopf [1. UWBC], Maximilian Thürr [HSEBC] and Alexander Stadler [Snooker Bulls], got the idea to start a series of tournaments to fill up the summer gap. Catching up with other snooker addicts is always a pleasure, of course, but the Austrian Junior Series aims to be more than just fun. The series is open to everyone up to age 22 and will stimulate existing players to keep practicing in order to get prepared for these tournaments. And it will probably attract new players to pick up a cue and hopefully fall in love with the game as well.

... Alexander Stadler: "Young people will be the future of Austrian snooker " ...

A brilliant initiative, for various reasons. First of all, young players themselves generated this idea instead of waiting for the national federation ÖSBV, who financially backs the initiative, or their respective clubs to start something new. Also, everyone who keeps practicing on a regular basis will benefit, and a series of tournaments is the best motivation to keep your gameplay sharp. Finally, this bottom-up approach is exactly spot on: it's directed to young players who are essential to a healthy future of Austrian snooker.

Maximumbreak caught up with one of the organizers of the Austrian Junior Series, 21-year-old Alexander Stadler, who finished third in the national U21 championships in May and is currently ranked 18th in the overall ASL rankings.

> Alexander, tell us how you guys got the idea to start a whole new tournament series?

Alexander Stadler: "For many of us, the summer break is too long. So, Paul, Max and I wanted to start something to bridge that gap. Our idea is to bring young players together in the summertime and play against each other. That will motivate us to get some more training over the summer. But we also want to get other kids interested. Young people will be the future of Austrian snooker and we want to bring the game forward."

> What about the format? How many events are on, how many players will take part?

"We start off with a 16-player event in a round-robin format. This first year will feature two tournaments, in Wels and Salzburg. For upcoming years, we plan three events, one each in June, July and August. The winner of each tournament gets a trophy, but there is also a huge trophy for the overall winner of the series."

> When will the series be called a success?

"Of course, we want to have a good run of the tournament in the first place. The feedback of the players is immensely important to us. Besides that, we will be very happy if a lot of new young people start playing snooker."

> Do you think that, in general, enough is done to get more kids into snooker in Austria?

"Personally I think there is a certain basis. We have tournaments for under-16 and under-21 which you can enter for free, but there are very few practice facilities outside of Vienna. If a young guy starts playing snooker, he needs someone to show him how the game is played."

© text: Eric Willemsen / photo: Peter Mann