Happy Hainzl and The Young Ones

A format change has made the Austrian Snooker League Grand Prix as unpredictable as ever before. This season's five events so far have been won by five different players. Quite a contrast to previous years, where the circuit was mainly dominated by one player, like Hans Nirnberger in 2007-08 or Richard McHugh in 06-07. In the new format, the round-robin phase consists of four five-player groups, with only the top two advancing to the quarterfinals. The previous system with 24 contenders had eight three-player groups, which still left 16 players in the tournament after the round-robin stage. The format change has definitely improved the circuit's appeal, although other factors added to its unpredictability as well. For instance, many of the top players skipped the Grand Prix immediately after the IBSF World Championships last November.

Five events, five winners
So, the five winners of an ASL Grand Prix event in the 2008-09 season are:
- September 2008, Vienna: Chau Zi Kim [15 Reds] - Tegshee Nyamaa 4:0
- October 2008, Vienna: Hans Nirnberger [HSEBC] - Bernhard Müllner 4:0
- November 2008, Innsbruck: Andreas Ploner [CSC] - Paul Schopf 4:3
- January 2009, Wels/Salzburg: Alexander Pichler [Snooker Bulls] - Sebastian Hainzl 4:2
- February 2009, Graz: Sebastian Hainzl [15 Reds] - Paul Schopf 4:3

...Sebastian Hainzl [15 Reds] took the fifth ASL Grand Prix title of the season...

Sebastian Hainzl defeated youngsters Maximilian Pfleger, Alexander Gauss and Emanuel Stegmeier while losing just one single frame, and draw with Tegshee Nyamaa to comfortably win his group. He went on to beat routinier Clausdieter Franschitz 3:1 in the quarterfinals and set up a semifinal clash with Andreas Ploner, who had become the youngest ever Grand Prix winner by taking the title at the age of 14 in November. Hainzl dropped a frame behind three times but leveled the score each time and ultimately won the seventh frame for his second straight final appearance.

Peaking in the semifinals
His opponent Paul Schopf did well to win his group, which included Chau Zi Kim, Georg Schlager and Joachim Gantner. Schopf beat national champion Kim 3:1 thanks to breaks of 78 and 57. In the quarters, Schopf took a 2:0 lead against Alexander Pichler, who'd won January's event. Pichler fought his way back into the match but had no chance in the decider. Schopf peaked in his semifinal against Alexander Gauss, who had upset clubmate Hans Nirnberger 3:2 in the previous round. Schopf hit a 80 clearance - the highest break of the tournament - and added a 73 on his way to a 4:2 win.

Save the best for last
While Ploner beat Gauss 3:2 to take third, Hainzl and Schopf battled it out the long way in a best-of-7 final. Schopf got the first frame on the board, but found himself 2:1 and 3:2 down afterward. He won a clean sixth to take the match into a decider, which Hainzl won thanks to a classy 52 break. Hainzl had saved his best break of the tournament until it mattered most: in the deciding frame of the final. "I was a bit surprised to win as I didn't play really well," Hainzl told Maximumbreak.com. "I had only one break over 50 and got a bit nervous toward the end, but was happy to see the young guys getting nervous as well." It was Hainzl's first Grand Prix victory. The runner-up in the 2007 national championships came close to winning last month, but lost the final to Pichler despite leading 2:0. The final Grand Prix of the season is scheduled for March 28-29 at ISC in Vienna, the same venue that will host this year's Staatsmeisterschaft in May.


5.  A S L  G R A N D  P R I X
[Graz, February 21-22, 2009]

Q u a r t e r f i n a l s :
Sebastian Hainzl [15 Reds] - Clausdieter Franschitz [Snooker Bulls] 3:1
Andreas Ploner [CSC] - Chau Zi Kim [15 Reds] 3:1
Paul Schopf [1.UWBC] - Alexander Pichler [Snooker Bulls] 3:2
Alexander Gauss [HSEBC] - Hans Nirnberger [HSEBC] 3:2

S e m i f i n a l s :
Hainzl - Ploner 4:3
Schopf - Gauss 4:2

F i n a l :
Hainzl - Schopf 4:3

B r e a k s :
80, 78 - Paul Schopf
75 - Hans Nirnberger
73 - Schopf
64 - Tegshee Nyamaa
57 - Schopf, Alexander Pichler
53, 51 - Andreas Ploner
52 - Sebastian Hainzl

Check  for full tournament infos.

© text: Eric Willemsen / photo: 15 Reds