Shoot-Out Drama As The PBS Continues in The ALPS – Alison Chang

Alpina Hotel, St Johann im Pongau, Austria

PLAY CONTINUED AT the Predator Pro Billiard Series in St Johann, Austria as the Billard Beckmann Men’s Open played down to the last 32 on the winner’s side, with a quartet of matches decided via the nerve-jangling shoot-out. Dennis Grabe prevailed over Miesko Fortunski by 4-2, while Daniel Maciol bested Pijus Labutis by 5-4.

The other two were more epic as firstly Ralf Souquet recorded a wonderful victory over Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, winning 13-12 with just one ball missed between them. Then shortly after Wojciech Szewczyk outlasted Mika Van Berkel 14-13 to advance.

Souquet started out as an underdog against the always classy Sanchez Ruiz but he took the opening set 4-2. The Spaniard got on level terms as he coasted through the second 4-0 and with the deciding set tied up at 3-3, it went to the spot shot.

A delighted Souquet said, “Most of the people in the arena saw that it went to the shoot-out in the last set. I didn’t miss any and he missed the last one, one bad execution on the shot and that was it. I thought he was never going to miss so I had to keep the pressure on him but you’re always hoping that once you make it, your opponent is going to miss at some point but he didn’t so it was a long way.

“In the last set I was running out and could have closed out the match but I snookered myself on the 3-ball going from the 2 to the 3. It was a just small alley that I had to land and I landed a little too long. Still had a good jump opportunity and I jumped over the ball but hit the 3 ball on the edge of the side pocket so it didn’t go in and he ran out and the rest everyone saw!”

2026 PBS Austria Mens Open - D3_Wojciech Szewczyk

©Pro Billiard Series

Not long after that, Wojciech Szweczyk went one better as the Polish star outlasted Mika Van Berkel 14-13 to claim a spot in the last 32. The shoot-out wasn’t as flawless as the previous one with both players having misses on the 10-ball but in the end, it was Szewczyk who triumphed.

He said afterwards, “I have a dry mouth, I’m shaking but I’m very happy to have pulled this off. I kept telling myself that you’ve lost this match so many times, why not win it? I felt like I was defending the score much better than attacking and whenever he gave me a window, I blew it. The first one he actually scratched and then we missed half of the short, staged shoot-out. It was 14-13 in the end but twice we both missed.

“You’re fighting some thoughts but after a few shots, you’re kind of dialled in, you see the edge of the ball clearer and it feels like none of the players are going to miss, but obviously there’s fatigue and a lot of pressure. I’m happy that I finally took advantage of his miss and closed it out.”

The Carrinho Women’s Open played down to the Winner’s Qualification round on one side of the draw and Round 2 on the one-loss side. Making a welcome return to Europe is 2024 WPA World 10-Ball Champion, Kristina Tkach, who powered through on the winner’s side with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Linnea Hjalmarstrom. The match could have gone either way before Tkach closed out the decider 4-2 from a 2-all position.

No residing in Miami, Florida, Tkatch said, “It was definitely a tough match, she played a great game and it could have gone both ways so I just tried to wait for my opportunity, if I would have one, and try to capitalise on it. I do really enjoy it here and I’m so happy to be back here in Austria, in St Johann. My last time here was in 2019 and I definitely miss this place.

“I feel like for a pool player there might be more opportunities to make money and make an actual living by playing pool in the US, unless you have a very strong federation support like some countries in Europe. Unfortunately, I don’t have that so I feel it’s a lot better for a pool player, financially, to live in America. I think I’ve been in two or three semi-finals in open PBS events so definitely having this title would complete my collection.”

Another player through on the winner’s side is Chinese Taipei’s Wei Tzu-Chien who made light work of Venus Lim (Singapore). Wei Wei competed in the PBS in Gandia, Spain at the end of 2025 and is enjoying a return to Europe.

She said, “Taipei is my home town and I love my home town but in Europe there’s a feeling of history – it’s old, it’s classic and I like it like that. I love Europe, seriously. Most of the events are in Asia or America so maybe we can bring more events to Europe.

“I have to say the conditions are a bit tough as sometimes it’s very humid but I tried to figure it out in that last game I just won and I think I’ve figured it out now. Hopefully I can carry on my good feeling. I think every player wants to win and I’m just going to turn my expectation into my motivation and hopefully everything goes smoothly and of course, I really want to win.” she added.

Play resumes on Friday morning at 10.00 with loser’s qualification in the men’s event. The women resume at loser’s round two at 12.00, while the Predator Mixed Doubles continues in the evening. The live stream for Tables 1, 2 and 3 can be found on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV

For all results, live scoring and draw visit the events’ homepage https://probilliardseries.com/event/2026-austria/

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