Simultaneously with the Grand Prix being held in Italy, the final Grand Prix organized by the fantastic team at TSC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen took place in Naples.
As usual, the tournament was very well organized and offered optimal playing conditions, as well as a friendly atmosphere.
The Vienna Grand Prix was held on March 28th and 29th, 2026.
Open
In the quarterfinals, Steffen Despretz (Avenir Subbuteo Hennuyer/BEL) defeated Saverio Bari (F.Lli Bari Reggio Emilia/ITA) 2-1, while George Ebejer (Bormla SC/MLT) edged out Matthias Averlant (Avenir Subbuteo Hennuyer/BEL) 3-0. A duel between brothers ended with the younger brother, Sébastien Scheen (ST Stembert/BEL), defeating Pascal Scheen (ST Stembert/BEL) 2-1. Christian Haas, on the other hand, was surprised by the young and talented Noah Janssens (ST Stembert/BEL), who won the match by the narrowest of margins.
In the semifinals, Sébastien Scheen prevailed with formidable efficiency against his teammate Janssens. Meanwhile, Despretz continued his remarkable tournament. After eliminating the number 1 seed, he eliminated the ever-unpredictable Ebejer just seconds before the end of the match.
The final pitted him against Sébastien Scheen. The player from Stembert won decisively with a score of 6-3 despite a strong resistance from Despretz.
Veterans
The quarterfinals saw Jason Pisani (Bormla SC/MLT), David Busch (Bormla SC/AUT), Pasquale Torano (Subbito Gol Ferrara/ITA), and Daniel Scheen (ST Stembert/BEL) advance to the semifinals.
Busch defeated Pisani in a hard-fought semifinal that went to penalties. Meanwhile, Daniel Scheen prevailed in the other semifinal against Pasquale Torano.
The final saw David Busch, surrounded and cheered on by his family, emerge victorious against Daniel Scheen in a tense and spectacular match.
Women
Katharina Waldorf-Busch (Barcelona FT/AUT) won the competition brilliantly, having won all her matches.
U12
Eight young players participated in this competition. The semi-finals featured Johannes Haas (TSC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen/AUT) and Apollon Dimakeas (Roligans Ilioupolis TSC/GRE), who had traveled from Athens, as well as Hungarian Simon Polgar-Mayne (Budapest Subbuteo/HUN) and Louis Haas (TSC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen/AUT).
After close matches, Simon Polgar-Mayne emerged victorious in the final, winning the U12 category for the first time in his young career.
Team competition
Despite the balanced and unpredictable matches in the preliminary rounds, it was no great surprise to see the top two seeds and the two highest-ranked teams in the world rankings after the top two seeds in the semi-finals.
The FISTF-ranked number ones, Bormla SC, easily defeated the home side, TSC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen, with a resounding 4-0 victory that doesn’t reflect the true nature of the match, as each game was decided by a single goal.
Bormla SC (MLT) – SC Royal 78 Kaisermühlen (AUT): 4-0
Christian Haas – Stefan Sandner: 2-1
George Ebejer – Wolfgang Leitner: 1-0
Jason Pisani – Heinz Eder: 1-0
Wolfgang Haas – Murat Tünger: 3-2
The Belgian derby in the other semi-final, between ASH and ST Stembert, saw the former world number ones emerge victorious by the narrowest of margins.
Avenir Subbuteo Hennuyer (BEL) – ST Stembert (BEL): 0-1
Geoffrey Marain – Daniel Scheen: 2-2
Matthias Averlant – John Zammit: 2-2
Christos Angelinas – Noah Janssens: 1-1
Steffen Despretz – Sébastien Scheen: 0-5
The final, just as close, was a rematch of last season’s and ended with the same winner.
Bormla SC – ST Stembert: 2-1
Wolfgang Haas – John Zammit: 1-0
George Ebejer – Pascal Scheen: 1-0
Jason Pisani – Sébastien Scheen: 0-1
Christian Haas – Noah Janssens/Daniel Scheen: 1-1
Let’s hope that in the coming years we can once again enjoy a new organization in Vienna by this truly ROYAL club, in every sense of the word.