Why putting your cue at rest over the summertime? To fill up the gap in-between seasons, three young players set up a whole new range of tournaments, the Austrian Junior Series. Maximumbreak had a chat with one of them, 21-year-old Alexander Stadler from Salzburg's Snooker Bulls.

A long and exciting season for Austrian snooker, highlighted by the IBSF world amateur championships in November, has come to an end. The rankings are final, the championships have been played, so it's time to meet Austria's national champs of 2009!

Sebastian Hainzl, 24, was by far the oldest player in the semifinals of the 5th ASL Grand Prix event in Graz last weekend. He held off a brave challenge by teenagers Paul Schopf, Andreas Ploner and Alexander Gauss to become the fifth winner of a Grand Prix in as many tournaments this season.

Belgium's Bjorn Haneveer earned the crown at the traditional 3 Kings Snooker Open tournament in Rankweil, Austria. Haneveer upset Dominic Dale in the semis before edging Richard McHugh in a tense final on Monday, Jan 5, 2009.

The world amateur snooker title stays in Thailand: Thepchaiya Un-nooh beat Ireland's Colm Gilcreest in Saturday's final of the IBSF World Championships in Wels, Austria. Fellow Thai Atthasit Mahitthi had won the event in 2007. England's Reanne Evans succesfully defended the women's title, while Dene O'Kane took the masters' trophy to New Zealand.

No happy end to Austria's fairy tale at the IBSF World Championships: both Felix Pleschek and Robert Bütof lost their match in the preliminary K.O. round.

Robert Bütof and Felix Pleschek set new standards for Austrian snooker on Monday as they became the country's first players to reach the KO-stages of an IBSF World Championship. Several of their compatriots also came close to qualifying at the event in Wels, Austria.

Ryan Day continued his recent run of good results by winning the Austrian Snooker Open last weekend. He beat Jamie Cope in the final of a star-studded pro-am tournament, which for many players was a warmup event for the subsequent IBSF world amateur championships.

And the winner is... CHAU ZI KIM! The second-ranked player from Vienna's 15 Reds captured his first national title at the 2008 Österreichische Staatsmeisterschaft. Alexander Pichler from Salzburg's Snooker Bulls took second, Garry Balter and Robert Bütof shared third.

With the overall national snooker championship still coming up next weekend in Graz, the Österreichische Meister in some other categories [U16, U21, women, doubles] have already been crowned. Let's meet Austria's national champs of 2008!

Hans Nirnberger won his fifth ASL Grand Prix title Sunday by beating Chau Zi Kim 4-3 in the final of the season-ending tournament in Graz. Nirnberger and Kim, as well as Bernhard Müllner and Alexander Pichler, have now qualified for this year's IBSF World Snooker Championships in Wels, Austria.

Bernhard Müllner beat players like Felix Pleschek, Hans Nirnberger and Robert Bütof before defeating Graeme Fish in the final of the 6th ASL Grand Prix in Vienna. Not only his first win since the opening event of the 2006/07 season, but also an important one in his attempt to qualify for the IBSF World Snooker Championships later this year.

Vienna's Hans Nirnberger stretched his winning streak by taking the 5th ASL Grand Prix title of the season in Wels last weekend, just a week after the SEBC player made his second maximumbreak in practice.

The fourth ASL Grand Prix had a predictable winner - Vienna's Hans Nirnberger - but a surprise finalist. Christian Hackl of Graz upset a couple of title favourites in his first GP appearance of the season, last weekend at the SEBC club in Vienna.

Dominic Dale celebrated his move to Vienna with his first tournament win in Austria. The Welshman gave a trickshot exhibition before whitewashing defending champion Richard McHugh in the final of the 3 Kings Open, the annual highlight to the start of the new snooker year in Austria.

Two-time former national champion Robert Bütof made an impressive return to the big stage in Austrian snooker at the ASL Grand Prix in Salzburg last weekend. In his opening match, Bütof hit a career-best break of 108 and then made it all the way to the final, where he was edged by top-ranked teammate Hans Nirnberger.

Bernhard Müllner and Robert Burda represent Austria at this year's IBSF World Snooker Championships in Korat, Thailand. Maximumbreak stays in touch with both cueists throughout the tournament. Part 4: It's decision time.

Bernhard Müllner and Robert Burda represent Austria at this year's IBSF World Snooker Championships in Korat, Thailand. Maximumbreak stays in touch with both cueists throughout the tournament. Part 3: Close, but not close enough.

Bernhard Müllner and Robert Burda represent Austria at this year's IBSF World Snooker Championships in Korat, Thailand. Maximumbreak stays in touch with both cueists throughout the tournament. Part 2: The Comeback Kid.

Bernhard Müllner and Robert Burda represent Austria at this year's IBSF World Snooker Championships in Korat, Thailand. Maximumbreak stays in touch with both cueists throughout the tournament. Part 1: You win some, you lose some.

Not only Aberdeen saw some great Grand Prix action this weekend. In Vienna-Stadlau, Chau Zi Kim put in a magic performance to beat players like Pleschek, Müllner, Hainzl and Nirnberger en route to victory in the second ASL Grand Prix of the season.

Shanghai Masters champion Dominic Dale was in Vienna for an intimate snooker exhibition night on Tuesday evening - and the Welshman enjoyed it as much as the audience did.

Vienna's Hans Nirnberger started the new season in impressive style. Jack clinched the first ASL Grand Prix by winning five of his six matches without dropping a single frame, and by dominating the high-break board once more.

Former pro Richard McHugh has retired from competitive snooker. The Irishman, last season's No. 1 in Austria, will no longer take part in the Austrian Snooker League. Here on Maximumbreak, he explains what brought him to this decision.

Four former national snooker champions of Austria have teamed up to play a promotional exhibition tour around all of Vienna's snooker clubs. At their first date, they will be accompanied... by Dominic Dale!

Just before the start of the new season in September, Maximumbreak looks back at the 2006/07 campaign in Austria by listing some of last year's glorious winners and outstanding performers.

Austria definitely will get a new snooker champion – although the final of this year's Osterreichische Meisterschaft is still to be played. Vienna's Sebastian Hainzl and Felix Pleschek from Graz will compete for their first national title after a championship in Vienna crammed with surprising results.

Snooker in the German-speaking part of Europe will get another boost when the Main Tour visits Germany next season and the IBSF world amateur championships 2008 are staged in Austria. This month's Austria Snooker Open 2007 is more than just an appetizer.

Vienna's Ebrahim Baghi defeated national champion Bernhard Müllner as well as top-ranked Richard McHugh before leading Hans Nirnberger 3-0 in the final. But Ebi just couldn't finish off the job as Jack ultimately snatched his first ASL Grand Prix trophy since November 2005.

Garry Balter has become the first ever Austrian to beat Richard McHugh in an official snooker match. The 29-year-old from Vienna defeated the Irishman 4-3 in the final of last weekend’s ASL Grand Prix in Salzburg _ an event that had some more surprises to offer.

Richard McHugh returned to the ASL Grand Prix circuit winning the fifth event of the season last weekend in Vienna. But this time, Bernhard Müllner made him work really hard for it.

Last year's top-ranked Garry Balter from Vienna finally won his first ASL Grand Prix title of the season. In the absence of favourite Richard McHugh, he won the event in Stadlau last weekend.

Austria's snooker elite met in Rankweil last weekend for the 3 Königs Snooker Open, the first [non-ranking] event of 2007. And the winner was... right, Richard McHugh got himself another crown.

Bookmakers won't make much money with Austrian snooker these days as Richard McHugh is set to win every tournament he enters. Last weekend, he kept his reputation as he dropped just two frames in six matches on his way to a second consecutive ASL Grand Prix victory.

Richard McHugh made the headlines last week as he saw off all favourites to win the second ASL Grand Prix title of the season in Vienna. Now, the Irishman himself is the man to beat - and he knows.

Former snooker pro Richard McHugh of Ireland, currently living in Innsbruck, upset all Austrian top players as he easily claimed the second ASL Grand Prix title of the season last weekend in Vienna.

National snooker champion Bernhard Müllner won yet another trophy as he claimed the first ASL Grand Prix title of the 2006/07 season last weekend. Who is going to stop Bernie's victory streak?

The long hot summer in Vienna has't affected the superb form in which national snooker champion Bernhard Müllner ended last season. He started the new campaign by claiming the ISC National Open 2006 title in Stadlau.

Just before the new campaign gets underway, let's have a look back at some of the remarkable moments and achievements of the 2005/06 snooker season in Austria. Here are five names that made the headlines.

After four consecutive national titles, the regency of Hans Jack Nirnberger has finally been interrupted. Bernhard Bernie Müllner, a previous winner in 1998, was unbeatable at the Austrian snooker championships in Salzburg last weekend.

Salzburg saw Matthew Couch firing on all cylinders last week. Couch lost just four frames in eight matches to become the Austrian Snooker Open 2006 champion in a very comfortable way. Local favourites, like Hans Nirnberger and Garry Balter, could not make it to the quarter-finals this time.

Great to carry home a winner’s trophy, but what about pocketing some price money as well? A hot issue these days for Austrian top players, as even in official ranking tournaments, no price money is at stake anymore.

With the Austrian Snooker Open 2006 coming up soon, top players try to find their best form in time. Local favourite Hans Nirnberger might already have done so, as he recently compiled the first ever 147 maximum break in Austria.

The biggest highlight for the competitive snooker scene in Austria is coming up in just a few weeks time. This year’s 11th edition of the Austrian Snooker Open will take place from 28th April until 1st May in Salzburg, in the northwestern part of the country. The event is staged in a huge shopping mall called Europark, which is the new main sponsor of the event.

Thanks to extensive TV coverage, snooker on the continent is now regaining much of its popularity it had some ten years ago. So, what's going on in the snooker scene in Vienna, Austria?

Even in the year of celebrating the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous Mozartkugeln are not the only balls the Austrians love. Snooker is becoming more and more popular again - not yet as it was in the mid-nineties, but the game of snooker attracts a growing range of players again.