Youth Worldchampionships in Velden/Carinthia/Austria

The Juniors and Girls World Championships 2005 took place in Velden/Carinthia/Austria. After the Men and Women European Championships 1992 in Velden, the Carinthian Billiard Federation organized the next event and it was again a big challenge. We played in Cap Wörth, which is a good youth hotel directly at the lake. The finals were played in the Casino of Velden, in a special event hall. Around the final table there was a stand for over 200 people. Mike Massey, the most famous trickshot master had a exhibiton before the finals to entertain the audience. It was my absolutely last youth tournament and the pressure was a bit higher then normally because it was in my hometown and I really wanted to win. 32 boys and 16 girls from 22 states fought against each other for the title.

With a walkover in the first round I had one more day to relax and to watch the other players. In the second round I played Anja Konstanian from the United States. I´ve never seen her at tournaments so I didn´t know what to expect. I was very concentrated and I had no problem with the new table. I played good but I made few mistakes, so she was able to take a short lead. I started making better use of my opportunities which was the key to success. I won 7:3.

My next opponent wasn´t unkown. It was the 15 year old girl from my hometown, Sabrina Naverschnig. She is a very talented girl and I had a couple of trainings with her, so I know her game. She is  natural shotmaker and can play really well. I had a rapid lead but I lost my concentration in the middle of the match. She made one rack after another but I was able to stop her early enough. I managed to win 7:5.

With this victory I entered the semi – final which was played on the next day. Again I faced Anja Konstanian from the USA. This time I had a different strategy. I played good safty shots and my re – safes were very good so I made her scratching the cueball a couple of times (can I say that?). She got a bit unconcetrated and angry which was good for me. I controlled the whole match and I entered the final with a 9:5 victory over Kostanian.

In the final I played Helen Athanasiou from Greece. I was a bit nervous of course but I was very focused. I had a really good start and she lost her concentration when I made a couple of really awesome safty shots. That was my time. I won one game after antoher til 8:0 where she won one rack til I finished it. I won the World Championships with a 9:1 score. That was my last youth tournament and I have to say thank you to the Carinthian Billiard Federation. They worked really hard and they put their hearts in it. It was a awesome event.Thank you!!!

Results:

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