Pihurik picks prime prize and more masterly Meister

> under-16 champion: MANUEL URBAN [1. LSV Linz] 
Defending champion Manuel Urban won his third straight national U16 title. Although he has dominated the U16 scene for some years now, he didn't prevail easily at the tournament in Innsbruck. In his round-robin group, he needed final-frame deciders to beat Manuel Plattner and Mateusz Piorkowski, before hammering Konstantin Hatvan 3-0 in the semifinals. His final opponent, Maximilian Pfleger, didn't concede a frame in his three group matches and defeated Plattner 3-2 in the semis. In a final that saw five breaks over 20, Urban clinched the titel with a 3-1 win over Pfleger. Urban, who advances to the U21 circuit next season, also topped the high-break board with a 59.

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> under-21 champion: ALEXANDER GAUSS [SEBC Vienna]
Alexander Gauss had to put in a lot of hard work to gain his first national U21 title in Innsbruck. He came back from a frame behind to beat Philip Junghuber in the round-robin stage, and showed his fighting spirit again when coming out on top from 0-1 and 1-2 against Markus Sallaberger in the semifinals, 3-2. In the final, Gauss met clubmate Maximilian Thürr, who had an impressive run of results, dropping only one frame on his way to the final against Sallaberger and whitewashing Junghuber in the semis. Gauss went 2-0 up in the final and closed out the match after Thürr hat pulled one back, 3-1. Sallaberger recorded the top break of the event - a 34 from his semi against Gauss.  

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> women's champion: ANDREA PIHURIK [15 Reds Vienna]

Andrea Pihurik confirmed her status as the leading lady in Austrian snooker this season. After having won three out of four ASL women's events during the year and finishing atop of the women's rankings, she claimed the national title in Vienna. Pihurik beat clubmates Therese Weihs and Hanna Schneider, and so did her main challenger Stephanie Dolezal. So, the last group match between Pihurik and Dolezal was a real final - with the winner taking away the trophy. Dolezal got her nose in front, but Pihurik took two in a row to win 2-1 and become the first ever Österreichischer Staatsmeister in snooker! The title Staatsmeister can only be awarded in officially recognized sports, a status which snooker in Austria has since this year.

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> doubles' champions: MARKUS SALLABERGER / PAUL SCHOPF [1. UWBC Wels]
Markus Sallaberger and Paul Schopf upset defending champions Hans Nirnberger and Michael Kreuziger to become the new doubles' champions. The young pair from Wels lost in the group stage to Nirnberger/Kreuziger, 2-1, but still advanced to the semifinals by winning its other matches. In the semis they beat top-ranked pair Sebastian Hainzl and Chau Zi Kim, 2-0. Nirnberger/Kreuziger made their way into the final by beating another pair of youngsters, Gaus and Thürr. Both teams shared the opening frames of the final, including Nirnberger's high break of 44, before S & S won the third frame on a respotted black and added a scrappy fourth to complete the surprise victory.

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> overall champion: ?????
To be played May 24-25, Snookerlounge Graz.

> masters' champion: ?????
To be played May 31, 1. UWBC Wels.

© text: Eric Willemsen [Vienna] / picture: 15 Reds