Only one king reigns at Three Kings tournament

The traditional 3 Königs Snooker Open [Three Kings] in Rankweil marks a nice start to the new year - and to the second half of the snooker season. Austria's best players love to come here. The ambiance of Patricks Canadian Taverne makes the long trip to this picturesque village in the western province of Vorarlberg _ an almost eight-hours train journey from Vienna _  more than worthwile.

...Richard McHugh on his way to another victory...

More importantly, the players can gain some competitive match practice after the December break. There are no Austrian Snooker League ranking points at stake. But the price money is not bad, with the winner pocketing a fine EUR 1500,-, the runner-up getting EUR 900,-, and both semi-finalists earning EUR 500,-. And not to forget a highest-break bonus of EUR 1,- per point.
So, 48 players entered the draw in a first round consisting of six double-KO groups. There were no big upsets at this stage, though the early exits of Felix Pleschek and Karl-Heinz Beggel were quite unexpected. The most remarkable result, however, came from 14-year-old Kai Klien, a talented young pool player from PPC Rankweil, who surprisingly made it through to last 16. And last year's No. 1, Garry Balter from Vienna's 15Reds, was on the brink of elimination after losing his opener to Andreas Mader. Balter had to win all three remaining first-round matches _ which he did in style, without losing another frame.

...Bernhard Müllner concentrating on a rest shot...

In the last 16, all favourites got through. McHugh vs. Balter was the match to look out for in the quarter-final stage. McHugh put in a solid performance and did not give his opponent any hopes of a surprise win, 3-0.
The semi-finals got an highly interesting lineup, with probably the four best snooker players around in Austria right now. Furthermore, it was a real Ireland vs. Austria battle, as McHugh faced reigning national champion Bernhard Müllner from 15Reds, and Dermot Nulty was to play Hans Jack Nirnberger from Vienna's SEBC.
McHugh beat Müllner 5-0 in last November's ASL Grand Prix final in Innsbruck. Since then, both players share the No. 1 spot in the national rankings. The upcoming ASL Grand Prix in Vienna on Jan. 20-21 will decide who goes ahead. McHugh is strong favourite to do so, as he outplayed Müllner yet again in Rankweil, 4-1.

...Hans "Jack" Nirnberger claimed the highest-break price...

Nulty got the better of Nirnberger in the other semi [4-2] to set up an all-Irish final against close pal McHugh. As they practice a lot together at the Billard Leistungszentrum in Innsbruck, Nulty knows McHugh's game better than anyone else. But that did not mean much of a help, as McHugh never looked in trouble and needed just six frames to decide the best-of-nine contest in his favour, 5-1.
So, McHugh added another victory to his name, dropping only three frames in seven matches. This time, he just missed out on the bonus for the highest break as his best run of 71 was not enough to beat Nirnberger's top break of 73. Still, McHugh's total dominance of the game in Austria this season is underlined by the stunning fact that none of his opponents in official matches so far has been able to win more than one frame against him. Well, most opponents did not win one at all, of course.

3 KÖNIGS SNOOKER OPEN 2007
[Rankweil, 5/1 - 7/1]

Results:

quarter-finals:
Hans Nirnberger - Robert Bütof 3-0
Dermot Nulty - Robert Burda 3-1
Bernhard Müllner - Andreas Österle 3-2
Richard McHugh - Garry Balter 3-0

semi-finals:
Nulty - Nirnberger 4-2
McHugh - Müllner 4-1

final:
McHugh - Nulty 5-1

Break list:

- 73 Hans Nirnberger
- 71 Richard McHugh
- 70 Martin Kempter
- 66 McHugh
- 62, 61 Nirnberger
- 55 Peter Manser
- 46 Felix Pleschek

Click here for full tournament results.

© text: Eric Willemsen [Vienna]  /  photos: Patricks Black Seven Snooker Club [Rankweil]