The new star of the scene keeps his word and invites you to the table in the intimate “Köö7” from Friday. It’s a sensation for the organizers of the Vienna Snooker Open, and it doesn’t make organizing the event any easier.
It’s a bit like Lionel Messi played his first competitive game at TSV Hartberg in the week after the World Cup triumph with Argentina. That sounds pretty absurd and borders on a miracle, but this week in Austria Snooker-Sport becomes reality.
The billiard variant popular on the British Isles has been with us since Monday night Luca Brecel a new world champion, and the Belgian, whose surprising World Cup triumph is already a sensation in the scene, is asking to be seated this Friday at the Vienna Snooker Open.
“Luca keeps his word, which of course is a real gift for us,” says Andrea Pihuriwhich organizes the tournament in the billiard bar “Köö” in the seventh district of Vienna.The 28-year-old had already made the commitment in March via WhatsApp, at that time a triumphal procession in Sheffield’s Crucible Theater, the legendary venue of the World Cup, was unthinkable. In five participations in the season highlight, Brecel had never survived the first round.
His first appearance in the preliminary round on Friday afternoon (from 4 p.m.) should be completely different, but probably just as atmospheric.
“I fear the worst,” says organizer Pihurik with a smile. The venue holds 80 to 100 visitors. The interest in the first reigning world champion, who grabs the cue in Austria, is enormous.
This is of course also due to Luca Brecel as a person. “Nobody can do as much with the cue as he does. The fans love him. You can’t learn how he plays,” says Rivale Ronnie O’Sullivan. Brecel had partially presented the most popular player of the present in the World Cup quarterfinals.
The offensive style of play is also impressive Philip Koch. The 26-year-old Austrian is one of Brecel’s group opponents on Friday in Vienna. “It’s the game of my life.” Of course, this sentence does not come from Brecel, but from Koch, number six in Austria and the reigning Viennese champion. “Of course I stood by Luca in the final. If so, then of course I want to play against the world champion and not against the runner-up.”
In terms of sport, Koch is full of admiration for the new snooker star, who often tries to find his luck with daring shots – and finds it. “You should play snooker like him if you can,” says the economist about his prominent opponent. He doesn’t have too many illusions or even hopes. “Mentally it won’t be easy for me. I’ll just try to soak up the moment and hope to even get to the table. If I’m lucky, he won’t be able to see straight ahead after all the World Cup celebrations,” jokes the Viennese.
Reward in Vienna: single room
The chances of that happening aren’t that bad. With his tattoos on his arms, Brecel is considered a colorful bird in the dusty snooker scene and a bon vivant. The Flanders pro admitted to having turned night into day in the run-up to the World Cup: “I played FIFA with my friends, drank and didn’t train.” The British and Belgian media have already described him as a “rock star of snooker”.
The organizers of the Vienna Snooker Open cannot see any attempts at airing. There is no special treatment. “We’ll think about something small, but of course our options are limited,” says Andrea Pihurik. At least the top professionals don’t have to share a double room with a second tournament participant, the entry fee is also waived. The announced prize money of 2,500 euros is now something like pocket money for Luca Brecel. Half a million pounds were transferred to him for the World Cup triumph.