The Dynamic Austrian Open 2012 starts on Thursday 31st May with first round matches commencing at 9:00am, if you are local or happen to be in the area spectators are welcome and entry is free.

The Austrian Open is the thrird stop on the 2012 EBPF Eurotour and will feature the cream of European 9-ball pool including double US Open Champion, Darren Appleton, Mosconi Cup stars, Chris Melling, Ralf Souquet and Nick van den Berg plus a whole host of other notable players including 31 entries from the home nation.

Of the home nations players Albin Ouschan is the most noted after winning the first event of the season in Sarajevo, his first Eurotour win and a result that puts him into number 7 in the European rankings.

Mosconi Cup points are awarded for the Eurotour and Britain’s Chris Melling currently tops both sets of ranking lists and will be looking for another strong showing in Sankt Johann. Interestingly he tops the ranking list without having won a Eurotour event in the last 12 months, but a series of strong finishes prove that consistency can also bring rewards.

€ 34,000 is on offer, split between the top 48 finishers, which isn’t a great deal of prize money considering the 170 entries and the travel costs incurred to reach the event. However, with the ranking points on offer and the chance to qualify for other International events the players still deem the events worthwhile.

The Eurotour is always a very difficult series of events in which to predict a winner especially as there is no protection in terms of seedings. Expect the aforementioned players to reach the latter stages with a couple of unknown names thrown into the mix as well.