Former main tour pro Simon Lichtenberg has won the 2025 German Amateur Championship in Bad Wildungen, his second national title after his prior success in 2016.
It was a sweet comeback for the 27 year-old, a main tour professional from 2018 until 2022, who narrowly lost the final here a year ago.
Bad Wildungen, a rather sleepy spa resort town in Hesse, has been the site of the German National Championships for many years now, chosen for its geographical location in the centre of the country.
The unusually high number of guest beds due to its spa operations and not least its willingness to sponsor the competitions each November have also played important factors in its hosting role.
Imagine a national congress of all manner of billiards, competitors, trainers, and officials – lasting for a good two weeks and involving some 700 people – and you get the idea.
Snooker has its corner in the Wandelhalle, where the healthy waters of the spa fountains are meant to be consumed, with four tables in play.
Six competitions are organised in sequence – the under-15, under-18, and under-21 categories followed by the seniors, ladies, and, as the closing highlight, the men’s tournament.
The standard is good for the amateur level of a country that is not exactly known as the epitome of our sport, but centuries are a somewhat rare occurrence.
Simon Lichtenberg had arrived as one of the title favourites, naturally. He plays mainly for fun these days in the German National League for Mayen-Koblenz, the strongest team, while he lives in Berlin.
Defending champion Umut Dikme was absent, likely in pursuit of international fame as he participated in the ongoing UK Championship qualifiers in Wigan.
Dikme had pipped Lichtenberg to the title last year in a dramatic final, Lichtenberg leading 3-0 and twice with opportunities for the decisive fourth in two further frames, only to lose 3-4 at the end.
This year, the final four were mostly a young bunch, Simon’s remaining competitors each also having tried their luck in the youth tournaments.
Co-favourite Richard Wienold, the 2017, 2022, and 2023 champion, suffered a shock loss to Lennart Tomei (this year’s runner-up of both the U18 and the U21 lot) in the last 16, and title-aspirant Alexander Widau drew Simon in the quarter-finals, which ended his hopes.
The final pitted Lichtenberg against Joel Fandrei from Bavaria, each having matched each other in the high break stakes for the championships with runs of 120.
Fandrei showed no excess of respect for the former pro, going to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven final that drew an audience markedly larger than what we had seen in the days before.
Frame five saw the climactic moment, when Fandrei went for an easy-looking yellow to clear the colours for the title, and missed. A shot that turned the match, and one that will likely haunt the young player for some time.
The match went to the decider, which Simon Lichtenberg won in style with a finishing century break of 102.
All were in agreement that he was a worthy winner and that the crowd had been treated to a classy final.
Officiating at the final was referee Michael Scheidel, who was one of the many referees earning higher licenses by undergoing the rather rigorous examinations on the side of the two-week competitions.
In his case, it was a successful ascent to being a Class 1 referee, the highest license in the amateur arena of snooker.
It cannot be said often enough how demanding refereeing at snooker really is. It only looks deceptively easy when done by the best on TV.
There was a curious occurrence, meanwhile, during the semi-final encounter of Simon Lichtenberg against Christian Richter, which Lichtenberg won 3-1.
It was a strange case of deja vu: both players had met at the exact same moment, the semi-final of 2024, at the same table, even with the very same referee and marker team (with their roles switched, for historic precision), all by coincidence.
Like in the year before, Lichtenberg prevailed, to crown it with the title a few hours later this time.
He does not plan to return to the pro circuit, but what he showed in Bad Wildungen was a demonstration that if he should ever change his mind, he could well fancy his chances.
And while all the limelight is on the men’s championship, the winners of the other competitions should not be omitted.
Diana Stateczny won the women’s, Miro Popovic the seniors – both serial winners who don’t seem to leave their competitors many chances.
The youthful champions were Moritz Schiehle (U15), Paul Arthur Jeroch (U18), and Marec Stachly (U21).
Photo credit: WST
From guest writer Frank B. Halfar
