New format in the target competition

World Championship final in head-to-head format for the first time

At this year’s World Championships, the head-to-head format will be played in the target competition for the first time at a major international event. The mode was developed by European Championship bronze medal winner Kevin Kronewetter (AUT) with the help of world champion Simone Steiner. The preliminary round is still played in the familiar “round-system”. The top 16 qualify for the head-to-head final. The pairings for the round of 16 are determined by the placements in the preliminary round (1 against 16, 2 against 15, etc.). The player with the lower placement from the preliminary round gets to choose the order of their attempts.

Maximum excitement – more action guaranteed

How does the head-to-head mode work?

The game is played in knockout mode, with several rounds of four attempts per round. The attempts are taken alternately by both athletes. The scoring is done via round points, which are awarded after each round:

• 2 game points for winning the round
• 1 game point for a draw

The first player to reach 7 game points wins the duel and advances to the next round. If the score is a draw, the total points (sum of all points) decide the winner. If there is also a draw in the total points, it goes to the tie-break ring masses (Ringmassen), where the players take turns trying to hit the center target rings until a decision can be reached.

Photo: Eduardo Schuster Team Brazil (Target and Team play)

Premiere at European Championship in 2023 in Bad Woerishofen

The format was first introduced at the 2023 European Junior Championships in Bad Woerishofen, Germany, as a demonstration event. After his knock-out victory in the semi-final against the German Stefan Zellermayer, the Austrian Kevin Kronewetter defeated his teammate Mario Weingartmann in the final with 10:4. The women’s final was a high-class contest between the two German “target companion queens” Verena Gotzler and Alina Mayer. In the end, 2022 World Champion Gotzler wrote herself into the history books as the first female Icestock World Cup winner in target competition.

Check out the videos below of  2023.