Austria’s Florian Nuessle admitted he is determined to become his country’s first ever professional, after whitewashing Welsh youngster Riley Powell 4-0 at Q School Event Two in Leicester.
Nuessle has been attempting to get on the circuit since his Q School debut in 2019, but the 21-year-old believes his game is now ready to mount a serious bid to take a place at snooker’s top table. He nearly staged a sensational fightback at World Championship qualifying back in April. After trailing 8-0 he pushed Chinese sensation Si Jiahui hard before, losing out 10-7. Si would go on to make the semi-finals.
The Graz cueman put on a strong showing this afternoon, crafting breaks of 64, 84 and 56 on his way to victory. Next up he faces India’s Lucky Vatnani in round three.
“I’ve been trying really hard to get on tour for the last three or four years. The experience is coming, that is what I need to get on. I am getting more ready each year,” said Nuessle.
“I would be the first from Austria and it would be great for the country. Like Luca Brecel did by winning the World Championship for snooker in Belgium, it would explode (in Austria), if I could do that.”
Welsh 16-year-old Liam Davies earned a third round berth with a 4-1 win over Stuart Watson.
Davies became the youngest player ever to win a match at the World Championship in 2022, when he defeated Aaron Hill at Crucible qualifying. Since then Davies has continued to showcase his potential with some notable results, including a win over Noppon Saengkham at the Welsh Open.
He made breaks of 53 and 58 on his way to this morning’s victory and will face Stephen Kershaw in the next round. Kershaw staged a surprise 4-2 win over Peter Devlin.
Recently relegated professional Steven Hallworth survived a scare to beat Malta’s Aaron Busuttil 4-3, while Hayden Pinhey continued his good form with a 4-0 win over Jordan Shepherd. Leicester’s Louis Heathcote is still in line for an immediate return to the tour after beating Paul Deaville 4-1.
Event two runs until Tuesday, with four tour cards on the professional circuit up for grabs.
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