Alpina Hotel, St Johann im Pongau, Austria
THE PREDATOR PRO BILLIARD SERIES got underway in St Johann im Pongau as the BILLARD BECKMANN Men’s Open started proceedings with two rounds of matches. With eight of the top ten on the WPA World Rankings present in Austria, it’s a tough competition and there were plenty of high-quality match-ups from the off. The Carrinho Women’s Open and the Predator Mixed Doubles join the fray on Wednesday.
Off to a winning start was Spain’s David Alcaide, who defeated the ever-dangerous Emil Andre Gangflot (NOR) by 2-0. The veteran Spaniard has been plying his trade at the top level for longer than he’d care to remember but a semi-final finish at the Euro Tour’s Spanish Open as far back as 1997 highlights his incredible longevity at world level.
Alcaide explained, “It’s my passion, I love this and I try to give my best; when I’m home, when I go to practice, I try to be better every single day and try to enjoy every tournament. It’s so important, especially when you have a tough opponent in the first round, that you stay focused, don’t lose your confidence, don’t miss any easy shots and in the first round you have to check the table, and the break. But I felt so good and played so good. I had a little luck with my break but I’ve come to win.
He added, “The last 10 or 12 years, Francisco (Sanchez Ruiz) lives so close and we practice together every single day and we work so hard which is why our level has gone up. I come to win of course, but I try to stay focused every single round because right now every single opponent can beat everybody so I stay focused, give my best, and we’ll see what happens.”
Another multi-titled star off to a winning start was Austria’s Albin Ouschan as he defeated Ivica Putnik (Croatia) by 2-0. The three-time WPA World Champion reflected on his victory post-match.
He said, “It was a good start, a little bit of a rough start with lots of defensive games but I’m quite used to it with this format so it was a good match and I played some good shots. I felt it a little bit because I took some time off in the past weeks so maybe I have two more levels to get into and I’m ready for tomorrow.
Albin is also competing in the Predator Mixed Doubles, where he’s teaming up with sister Jasmin; “Pretty much my whole career we’ve pushed each other. Until I was, like 18 or 20, I was only ‘Jasmin’s brother’ which pushed me to work harder. When I got runner-up in the World Championship in 2014, I think I made myself a name and they saw that ‘alright he can play’ and we pushed each other to be one step closer to perfection.”
Emphasising the strength of the field, two-time WPA World 9-Ball Champion Fedor Gorst has made the trip across the Atlantic and was rewarded with a 2-0 victory over Robert Bartol to get his tournament up and running.
He said, “It was a good match, I felt that I played smart. It’s the first match of the tournament so you’re trying to figure out the table, figure out if you’re in stroke or not and that everything you worked on is working. Everything worked; the break was good and I broke and ran three or four games so I’m quite happy with the way I played.
Gorst has good memories of St Johann, going back years. “It’s really tough for me to get a visa or travel permit to come here (Europe) but I definitely enjoy it. I have good memories, especially with this place. I’ve been here 11 years ago when I played juniors and this was the first place that I won a European Championship as a junior. So, I definitely enjoy this place, it’s beautiful outside. In fact, I’m quite sad to be inside playing pool with views like this!
In addition to crushing it on the table, Gorst is highly industrious as he works to establish revenue streams outside of the game. He said, “I enjoy the business side of things – you can call me a salesman before a pool player now. It’s definitely a lot of work and I do have a great team behind me and it’s getting bigger and bigger. I enjoy business and my brains growing so I hope things are going the way they’re going. It’s tough for me to manage things as my schedule is so difficult and it’s a lot of work but I enjoy it,” he added.
Gorst, Alcaide and Ouschan will return to Billard Beckmann Open action with winners’ qualification matches on Thursday.
Play recommences at 10.00 on Wednesday with Round 1 of the women’s event, followed by the men’s one-loss side, with the mixed doubles competition getting underway in the day’s final session at 18.00. 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/
Predator Pro Billiard Series Equipment
- Predator ARC 9-Foot Pool Table
- Predator Arcos II Pool Balls
- Predator Aerorack Billiard Triangle
- Predator Arcadia Reserve Cloth
Predator Pro Billiard Series Sponsors
- Predator Group
- Little Monster
- Kamui Brand
- Box Billiards
- Yalin
- Iwan Simonis
- Aramith
- Billard Beckmann
- Carrinho
- VenBilliards