Who will be the high-flyer at the 65th 4-Hills-Tournament? The world's elite is as tight as barely ever before before the opening event. And with youngster Domen Prevc, the younger brother of last season's winner Peter Prevc, there's a new rising star this winter.

The young Slovene leads the overall World Cup with his four wins this season and this makes him the top contender for the overall title of this 4-Hills-Tournament. If he would actually win, this would be a premiere in the 64 years long history of the event. Never before did two brothers take the overall title in two years in a row.

Last year's dominator Peter Prevc set a new record last season: The 24-year-old won seven of the eight competition rounds and scored a total of 1139.4 points – more than any other ski jumper before at the 4-Hills-Tournament. But so far the Slovene is not in this great shape yet this season.

Obviously the competition is not keen on seeing another Prevc festival this winter, this especially applies to the team of Austria. Right on time for the start of the 65th 4-Hills-Tournament, the Austrian ski jumpers are achieving top results in the World Cup: Michael Hayboeck came in first on Saturday in Engelberg and took the first win this season for Austria. With Andreas Kofler a second Austrian was on the podium. On the second day of competition in Engelberg, Stefan Kraft was third and also Manuel Fettner and Michael Hayboeck were in the Top 10. So the chances are not bad that they can follow up on the legendary winning streak at the 4-Hills-Tournament, after the Austrians were defeated last season for the first time after seven victories in a row.

The German fans are looking forward to this special ski jumping spectacle as well. Top athlete Severin Freund had a great comeback after a five-months break due to injury with a win and a second place in Kuusamo (FIN). Last year Freund won the opening event in Oberstdorf and came in second overall. Around the 28-year-old from Rastbuechl, head coach Werner Schuster has put together a strong team for the 4-Hills-Tournament. Besides Freund, Richard Freitag, Andreas Wellinger, Stephan Leyhe and Markus Eisenbichler will be among those competing for the German Ski Association. Eisenbichler was the best German in Lillehammer and Engelberg (in third, seventh and fifth).

The Norwegian ski jumpers of head coach Alexander Stoeckl are also aiming for a strong performance at the 65th 4-Hills-Tournament. Their top athlete is Daniel Andre Tande, who is second in the overall World Cup, behind high-flyer Domen Prevc. Olympic Champion Kamil Stoch (POL), winner in Lillehammer and currently fourth in the overall World Cup, is also among the favorites.

Even if the circle of favorites is clear, as always at the 4-Hills-Tournament, nothing is really predictable. Because the diva of ski jumping competitions follows its own rules and is always good for surprises. With the exception of last year, the top favorites and overall World Cup leaders could often not live up to the expectations recently. Like, for example, Anders Fannemel (NOR, 2014/15), Kamil Stoch (POL, 2013/14) or Andreas Kofler (AUT, 2011/12). Especially tragic: Swiss Simon Ammann started the 4-Hills-Tournament as World Cup leader twice in a row (2008, 2009) and returned home empty handed both times.

The 65th 4-Hills-Tournament starts with the qualification in Oberstdorf on December 29th and traditionally ends with the big final in Bischofshofen on January 6th. Tickets for this winter sports highlight are available online at www.vierschanzentournee.com.

Source: fis-ski.com