PLAY CONTINUED AT the Predator Austrian Open in St Johann im Pongau in both men’s and women’s tournaments. The women have half of the last 16 determined with two rounds on the one-loss side on Saturday at 9.00 and 14.00 to see who will be joining them. In the men’s event, 32 players are in place for the Winner’s Qualification round first thing with the remaining players scrapping it out through two further rounds on the losers side.
Joshua Filler is on track for his 12th Predator Euro Tour title as he defeated Wiktor Fortunski by 9-3 to advance. The German ace won his maiden championship in the Netherlands in 2019 and in a little over seven years, has cut a swathe through Europe’s premier tour.
By his own admission, Joshua is a big 9-ball fan as he explained why; “Since we play 9-ball with the break, it’s my favourite format and when you can control the break, it’s a much better game for me because I feel more comfortable.
“I think my break and run percentage is over 80 or 90 percent so when I break, I’m more than likely win the rack and that gives me a lot of confidence and puts more pressure on the opponent whereas with the 10-ball, you just hit and hope and you can’t really practice it.
“I think it’s just confidence on the table and my break – that’s the main thing especially on alternate break when you can break and run. Against Wiktor, for example, I broke and ran the first two games so I was 2-0 ahead and he had the pressure on his break and from there I won one of his breaks and then broke and ran two again so I was 5-1 ahead.
“When you make two or three balls on the break and have position it’s a game winner so that’s why I’m so dangerous,”
Wiktor Zielinski was triumphant as he won through to the Winner’s Qualification defeating Alex Kazakis (GRE) in a topsy-turvy match, ultimately emerging a 9-7 victor.
Commented Zielinski, “I’m quite happy after I started so terrible. 4-0 down, and I couldn’t make a ball. I think I missed like 4 easy shots and then somehow Alex missed something to go 5-0 and then something switched in my head! From that point I played perfect and Alex got the same thing that I got in the beginning, and started missing a lot and I took my opportunities and got the win.”
Staying on the winner’s side of the draw is Austria’s Mario He who took care of Piotr Twerdyk (POL) by 9-2 to advance to Winner’s Qualification on Saturday morning.
He pointed out, “I think it’s very important to stay on the winner’s side because if you lose on first or second round, it’s going to be tough. Most of the time strong players are gathering on the loser’s side so it might be very, very tough and there might be more pressure as well.
He admitted that he is still getting to grips with the equipment, but is taking steps; “I’m getting a ball set because I’m not used to the balls very much and I’m missing some shots that I don’t usually miss so I have to practice more with the same conditions. I’m feeling really good about my game, though, which was the important thing.”
In the Predator Austrian Women’s Open, tournament favourite Jasmin Ouschan made her way into the last 16 with a tense 7-6 victory over Daria Siranchuk (UKR) in a match which she never led until victory. London-based Siranchuk has been showing some form this year having reached both quarter and semi-finals in the opening two Euro Tour events and she looked in a great position to seal a notable win before Ouschan closed the gap and stole the match.
She said, “In tournaments you always need matches like that where it’s not going your way. I made a lot of errors and that gave her the chance to be in the lead and she took advantage of that which is what she’s supposed to do. I’m just happy that I could come back in the end and make the important shots.
“I was playing quite well and feeling good but every now and then there was this one shot that threw me off a little bit so in the end I was just totally calm and just thinking just go for one shot at a time and focus on the really important ones and that’s what I did.
“It’s part of the game; you don’t play a tournament and play flawless all the time. The most important thing was to come back and I did that and I’m happy with that,” she added.
Another Austrian player into the last 16 is Sandra Baumgartner, who defeated Linnea Hjalmarstrom 7-3 to progress. Sandra enjoyed a fine 2025 on tour and is looking to return to that level of form here in Austria.
Baumgartner commented, “I started pretty well then in the middle part I was a bit nervous but at the end I got confident again. I have been struggling these last couple of days here but before the match I felt pretty confident because I have very good statistics against Linnea and I’m probably not her favourite opponent to play against.
“The first couple of months this year were very challenging but I feel confident that I’ll come back again to be on the podium this week. I’ve been there before and know I can be there again.”
The action resumes on Friday at 9.00 in both men’s and women’s events. Play continues through Saturday with the two championship matches scheduled for 20.00 on Sunday. As of 2026, WPA World Ranking points are now available on both men’s and women’s Predator Euro Tours.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 at the Predator Austrian Open will be streamed throughout on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com
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