VIENNA - The Austrian three-cushion championship was again won by Arnim Kahofer. The 40-year-old Viennese player, who shows up in the international tournaments since a few years, extended the title in his own billiard club, the Wiener Billard Assoziation. He was in the final match a way to strong for Karl Makik, whom he defeated 40-16 in 29 innings.
In the run-up to the finals, Kahofer showed himself the most marked favorite in all matches. The highlight was the the group match against Herbert Szivacz, the vice European champion small table. The later champion played a world class match, 40 points in 18 innings.
,,I've never felt so comfortable as in this championship'', said Kahofer, ,,because actually, I've never really been in danger.''
His opponent in the final, Karl Makik, could live with his second place, despite the significant defeat. ,,My goal was to be rewarded with a medal at this championship, so this is what I wanted'', said Makik, who took several national titles at the small table.
Andreas Horvath and Andreas Kronlachner finished third, Andreas Efler was seventh in the ranking.
The final 8-ranking:
1 Arnim Kahofer, 1.237 average
2 Karl Makik 0.930
3 Andreas Horvath 0.989
Andreas Kronlachner 1.052
5 George Schmied 0.843
6 Herbert Szivacz 1.100
7 Andreas Efler 0.928
8 Alexander Weiss 0.769.