Bjorn Haneveer the Belgian king in Austria

The 3 Kings Snooker Open, a real classic on the Austrian snooker calender, attracts players from all over the country _ and far beyond. This year's edition saw players from, for instance, Holland and Belgium travel all the way to Rankweil to enter one of the few price money tournaments in the Alpine republic. The semifinal lineup included four different nations _ with Belgium's Bjorn Haneveer taking on Welshman Dominic Dale and Irishman Richard McHugh up against Richard Kempter, the last Austrian left in the tournament. To be fair: Dale and McHugh live in Austria, but still, the 3 Kings has established its name well beyond the Austrian borders. The organization keeps up with the event's status and provides players and public with a professional service. One of the highlights this year: a high-quality internet livestreaming of play on three tables simultaneously. Just imagine that World Snooker is still struggling to get any livestream at all going from the Main Tour qualifiers in Prestatyn...

...Dominic Dale on his way to a 4:1 quarterfinal win over Sebastian Hainzl...

In the opening round, 48 players met in a round-robin format. The favorites made no mistakes here so all players to be expected in the KO stages managed to come through and battled their way into the quarterfinals. Bjorn Haneveer, who gained experience on the professional tour over the years, dropped a frame for the first time against Nasanbat Namsrai but easily marched on, 4:1. Dominic Dale also lost his first frame of the event as he dropped one behind against Sebastian Hainzl, but then won four in a row for the same result. Richard McHugh also recorded a 4:1 win as he saw off reigning Austrian champion Chau Zi Kim. And finally, Martin Kempter had his finest hour against Dutchman Joery Reisig. Kempter, playing in his home club in Rankweil, had upset Dutchman Maurice Le Duc 3:2 in the previous round and now outplayed Reisig, who is No. 2 on the national DBSA rankings in the Netherlands. Kempter led 3:0 when he finished off his victory with a fabulous 127 clearance _ his personal best and by far the highest break of the tournament.

...Bjorn Haneveer in among the balls during his 5:4 final victory over Richard McHugh...

In the semifinals, Kempter fell 3:0 behind against McHugh before clinching a tight fourth, but the experienced Irishman booked his final spot in the next frame, 4:1. On the other table, Haneveer was on fire when he raced into a 3:0 lead before Dale could finally hit back. The Welshman, however, couldn't pot a ball in the fifth as Haneveer completed his surprise win over the world's No. 32. So, it was Belgium vs. Ireland in what would turn out to be a high-class final. After McHugh had taken the first, Haneveer looked in control when he won the next two and led in the fourth. But McHugh snatched it and got his nose in front again after winning a scrappy fifth as well: 3:2. Both players shared the next two which left McHugh one short of winning the tournament. Haneveer digged deep and although the next two frames could have gone either way, the Belgian won them both to claim the top price, 5:4. Haneveer pocketed € 1400, while McHugh earned € 800; Dale and Kempter each got € 500. No price money is at stake, but ranking points can be earned when the ASL Grand Prix kicks off again after the Christmas break on January 17-18 in Wels, the city that staged the IBSF world amateur championships in November. So, watch out this space for some more great snooker from Austria coming soon!

...Bjorn Haneveer, proud winner of the 2009 3 Kings Snooker Open in Rankweil, Austria...

3   K i n g s   S n o o k e r   O p e n
[Rankweil, January 2-5, 2009]

Q u a r t e r f i n a l s :
Bjorn Haneveer [Bel] - Nasanbat Namsrai [Mng] 4:1
Dominic Dale [Wal] - Sebastian Hainzl [Aut] 4:1
Richard McHugh [Ire] - Chau Zi Kim [Aut] 4:1
Martin Kempter [Aut] - Joery Reisig [Ned] 4:0

S e m i f i n a l s :
Haneveer - Dale 4:1
McHugh - Kempter 4:1

F i n a l :
Haneveer - McHugh 5:4

B r e a k s :
127 - Martin Kempter [Aut]
99 - Dominic Dale [Wal]
89 - Bjorn Haneveer [Bel]
83 - Kempter
79, 78, 78 - Haneveer
77, 74 - Dale
73 - Haneveer
69 - Roland Hofmann [Aut]
68, 66 - Dale
65 - Richard McHugh [Ire]
60 - Sebastian Hainzl [Aut]

Check www.3kings.at for full tournament infos.

© text: Eric Willemsen / photos: 3 Kings Snooker Open [action pictures taken from internet livestream]