Ralf Souquet is the Player of the Year!

Ralf Souquet has been chosen the AZBilliards male Player of the Year for 2008 and he completed quite a turnaround from 2007 in order to earn the honor. In 2007 he had only one win (the Mosconi Cup) during the entire calendar period and pocketed only $43,000. But in 2008 he won ten titles and cashed checks totaling more than $170,000 to literally walk away from the rest of the field on the money list and with nearly double the victories of our second-place choice, Mika Immonen.

Souquet began his year with a win in the tough 9-Ball division of the Derby City Classic. When we interviewed Ralf after that win he said he was looking forward to a great year. His personal life had been fulfilled with his marriage to Illy and he said he just felt very good about the way his year was shaping up. He was quite correct in his assessment.

Within 90 days of that interview Souquet had won three more events and a World Championship. He won the Weert Open 10-Ball, then the Paris Open and the Gema Open and followed these with his Damas World 8-Ball World Championship title that he took down in Fujairah, UAE.

Souquet also took the top slot at both the Interpool 9-Ball and 10-Ball events, the Eurotour Swiss Open, the Eurotour Netherlands Open and finished the year with an overwhelming 12-6 victory in the Mosconi Cup. Here he capped a fantastic year the same way that he began it, with a tribute to his wife. When the players gathered for an after-victory celebration they all spoke of their inspiration and motives for winning. Souquet gave a tearful soliloquy to Illy in which he said that it was her support that always lifted him to the top.

Consistency was the keyword for Souquet in 2008. Out of 27 events that he played in he had 24 top-ten finishes, a simply stunning 90% of all the events in which he held a cue. But there is more to Ralf than his wizardry with a pool cue. Ralf Souquet is a champion in every sense of the word. He is outwardly serene even when the rolls do not go his way. He is always the gentleman and sportsman. He trains for his sport both physically and mentally and he does not leave success to chance. In short, Souquet earns his way on this pool world and does not wait for anything to come his way. He creates his own opportunities and pursues the podium finish with every move that he makes. Souquet is a thinking man’s player.

Possibly one of the most impressive things about Ralf Souquet is that he was not a natural-baron talent. He had to work hard to attain and hone his skills. He was not a child prodigy who claimed World Championship as a lad. He has had years where the winner’s circle eluded his efforts. But his tenacity, his absolute refusal to ever give up, has always pulled him through. Ralf Souquet learned and earned his skills. He is proof positive that a firm work ethic can overcome all obstacles and, with Illy, a pleasant reminder that love can lead the heart and soul to new heights. No matter how much Ralf Souquet is to be admired as a player he is equally to be admired as a man. Souquet brings the total package to the table, no matter where in the world that table sits.

- AzB

Souquet on American Mosconi Cup Team Complete

Matchroom Sport has announced that Jeremy Jones and Earl Strickland have been chosen to fill the final two spots in the American line-up at the 2008 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup.

The pair will join Shane Van Boening, Johnny Archer and Rodney Morris on the American side, which was upset by the Europeans last year in Las Vegas. The only change from 2007 team is the substitution of Jones for Corey Deuel.

The American team not be lacking in experience, with Strickland making his 13th appearance and Archer his 12th. All in all, the five Americans have a total of 35 appearances at the yearly Ryder Cup-style event.

Van Boening is by far the greenest member of Team USA, though he may also be the most feared. In his Mosconi Cup debut last year, the 25-year-old South Dakotan won three of his five matches.

Though Strickland has struggled in international singles events, he has always been a force at the Mosconi Cup. Of the 61 player to compete in the event, Strickland has the best record, winning a staggering 37 of his 56 matches.

“I’m a more intelligent player than most of these guys. I’m working hard and I think I’m close to being back to my very best," he said. "The Mosconi Cup is my kind of tournament, and I’m looking forward to doing my best for the U.S.A. in Malta.”

Looking to win a second straight Cup for the first time in the event's 15th year, Team Europe will consist of Ralf Souquet, Mark Gray, Tony Drago, Niels Feijen and Mika Immonen.

Souquet Sent West at U.S. Billiards Championship

In the 7 p.m. round, Ralf Souquet survived a 48-hour stretch without sleeping to only arrive in Chesapeake and get 7 hours of sleep before his match against Northeastern regional player Manny Chau. Souquet was flying in from Switzerland, where he just won back-to-back EuroTour events, something that has not been accomplished in years. Though he suffered from a headache and general malaise Monday evening, he experienced few troubles sending Chau west 11-3.

However, his next match against Chris Szuter did not go so well for “The Surgeon.” Leading 5-3, Souquet faltered and allowed Szuter to catch up. The Canton, OH, room owner not only caught up, he put the screws to Souquet, taking over and reaching the hill 10-6. He missed the 3 ball badly, but Souquet failed to get shape on the 5 with ball in hand and gave control back to Szuter, who won the match 11-6.

Steve Moore matched up with John Kutcher, who owns the poolroom Sharks in Las Vegas. With his break in full gear, Moore dominated the match from the beginning, going from a 5-2 lead up to a 9-4 lead before closing things out at 11-4.

Action Heats Up at U.S. Open

Putting the term "open" in the title of a major sporting event implies that anybody has a chance of lining up next to the world's finest. On Day 2 of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, three former champs were knocked out of the winners bracket by a trio of unheralded opponents.

2002 Open winner Ralf Souquet was bounced leftward by Chris Szuter. Souquet, who won the EuroTour's stop in Switzerland on Saturday, was never a serious threat to Szuter, whose best finish of '08 was 13th at August's Turning Stone event. The unheralded American easily finished off his upset over Souquet, 11-6.

Jeremy Jones and John Schmidt were also victims of the annual round of early upsets at the Open. Jones dropped a second-round hill-hill match to Mike Badsteubner after leading by as many as four games. Schmidt fell by an 11-6 score to Beau Runningen.

While former U.S. Open winners struggled, some reigning champions advanced without incident into the third round. Last year's winner Shane Van Boening topped Troy Miller, 11-7. Reigning 9-ball world champ Daryl Peach and recently crowned World 10-Ball titlist Darren Appleton also won their second-round matches.

Foreign cue artists main draw in World 10-Ball

Organizers of the World 10-Ball Championships are banking on a host of foreign cue artists to be the main draw in the week-long tournament, which will be missing the country’s top pool players.

A total of 128 players will vie for the $400,000 purse at stake, $100,000 of which goes to the champion of the tournament slated from September 29 to October 5 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Raya Sports and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) president Yen Makabenta said former Asian snooker champion Marlon Manalo and 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica will lead the country’s campaign against reigning World 9-Ball champion Daryl Peach of Great Britain, former titlists Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert of Germany, Chinese-Taipei’s Wu Chia-Ching and Americans Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening.

Jeffrey de Luna, Elvis Calasang, Elmer Kalaquian, Jerico Banares and Mario Tolentino will also carry the Philippine colors in the tournament.

The tournament will have 128 players divided into 16 groups in the winner's-break elimination format. The top four from each group will advance into the 64-man knockout stage.

A winner-take-all match for third place will be played on October 5 while the title match between the top two cue artists begins at 5pm.

Philippine Vice President Noli De Castro will be the tournament’s guest of honor during the opening ceremony on September 29 at the PICC.

Cash-rich World 10-Ball set at PICC

Its all systems go for the 2008 World 10-Ball Championships with no less than Vice President Noli de Castro as guest of honor in the inaugural opening at the Philippine International Convention Center on Sept. 29.

De Castro will grace the opening rites at 9:30 a.m. including the ceremonial breaks, which will formally usher the group stage elimination of the competition.

A total of 128 players from all over the world representing 40 countries will be vying for the total purse of $400,000 with $100,000 going to the champion.

“This is going to be the biggest international billiards tournament in the country since I believe the World 9-Ball Championship has been postponed for next year. Mabibigat ang mga darating na players dito,” said Raya Sports president Yen Makabenta.

Makabenta mentioned the likes of reigning world 9-ball champion Daryl Peach of Great Britain, former titlists Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert of Germany, Chinese-Taipei’s Wu-Chia-Ching and Americans Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening as among the top picks in the tourney.

The host country will be bannered by former Asian snooker champion Marlon Manalo, Doha Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica, Jeffrey de Luna, Elvis Calasang, Elmer Kalaquian, Jerico Banares and Mario Tolentino.

However, organizers are still uncertain if the country’s celebrated cue artists can join the competition.

“It would be good if everybody would take part. But if they don’t we can’t do anything about it,” added Makabenta obviously referring to big guns Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Ronato Alcano and Alex Pagulayan, who comprised the breakaway group that boycotted the BSCP.

In the absence of some of the country’s bests, Makabenta said it’s just anybody’s game.

The tournament will group the players into 16, seeing action in the winner’s break elimination, with the top four from each group advancing into the 64-man knockout stage.

A winner-take-all match for third place will be played during the final day, preceding the championship game that begins at 5 p.m.

Souquet Goes to Weert

Ralf Souquet has added yet another win on his 2008 belt with his victory this past week at the Weert 9-Ball Open in the Netherlands. Souquet, who earlier this year won the WPA World 8-Ball Championships,  had to defeat the newest world champion, Niels Feijen (who just won the World Straight Pool title) and did so handily with a 9-6 victory to send himself into the finals. There he met Mehmet Cankurt of Turkey whom he dispatched 9-5 to own the tournament.

Ralf had one of the toughest draws in the tournament. Once in the final 32 he first had to best Gabriele Cimmino of Italy. Gabriele may as well have stayed in Rome as Ralf destroyed him 9-1.  To prove that domination was no fluke Ralf then humbled Oliver Ortmann 9-4 before dismantling Ruslan Chinahov 9-4 to earn his place in the semi’s against Feijen.

For complete results of this event you may visit www.eurotour.nu and click on the links on the left of the page. To view the brackets click on “sheets”.

RESULTS:

1) Ralf Souquet
2) Mehmet Cankurt
3) Konstantin Stepanov, Niels Feijen
5) Chris Melling, David Alcaide, Bruno Muratore, Ruslan Chinahov
9) Thomasz Kaplan, Andreas Roschkowsky, Daryl Peach, Martin Kempter, Sandor Tot, Tony Drago, Oliver Ortmann, Imran Majid

Accu-Stats Makes PPV Broadcast Debut

Long the number one resource for archived footage of some of the greatest matches in the history of pool, Accu-Stats is trying its hand at live pay-per-view Internet broadcasts.

The Accu-Stats Invitational 14.1 Tournament will begin Thursday evening at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, N.J. A five-player field of Johnny Archer, John Schmidt, Ralf Souquet, Jose Parica and Thorsten Hohmann will play a full double round robin. Each match will be a race-to-60, with the winner having a shot at running 100-plus balls for bonus money.

The tournament will begin tonight at 7 p.m. (EST). There will be one evening session on Friday, an afternoon and evening session on Saturday, and a final Sunday session at 3 p.m. Billy Incardona and Danny DiLiberto will be the Accu-Stats commentators.

Who's Hot and who's not? Knockout draw

As Cardiff recorded the highest temperatures in the United Kingdom, several stars of the blue baize were wilting in the heat on Judgement Day.

Former world champion Nick Varner was one of several American casualties. The Hall of Fame inductee threw away a 4-1 lead over Antonio Lining and with it went his chances of qualifying for the Last 64. He'll be joined on the plane home to America by Charlie Williams, who never showed in Group 5.

Johnny Archer and Earl Strickland left it to the last minute to scrape through their groups. Archer started his campaign with three losses but came with a late run on the rails and Strickland, the defending champion, needed just one win out of three matches on the final day, but lost the first two, putting himself under pressure to win the last, which he did.

The Filipino players will be well represented in the knock out draw. Efren Reyes leads the way with a perfect record of seven wins, with 35 racks won and only 18 lost. Reyes' record is only better by Canada's Alex Pagulayan who lost only 14 racks. Marlon Manalo, better known as a snooker star also notched seven straight wins, for the loss of 21 racks and the fourth player with a perfect record was Ralf Souquet, who also lost 21 racks.

Qualifiers: Draw

Group 1: Ying-Chief Chen, Jorge Llanos, Earl Strickland, Mark Williams
Group 2: Francisco Bustamente, Thomas Engert, Evgeny Stalev, Raymond Cruz
Group 3: Ralf Souquet, Max Eberle, Fabio Petroni, Alex Lely
Group 4: Efren Reyes, Sin-Young Park, Roxton Chapman, John Horsfall
Group 5: Marlon Manalo, Mika Immonen, Haruyoshi Hinokiyama, Pascal Budo
Group 6: Akikumo Toshikawa, Ching-Shun Yang, Teddy Garrahan, Mukesh Rehani
Group 7: Hui-Kai Hsia, Rico Diks, Sten Jarledal, Johnny Archer
Group 8: Satoshi Kawabata, Niels Feijen, Steve Knight, Ernesto Dominguez
Group 9: Steve Davis, Ramil Gallego, Warren Kiamco, Tony Drago
Group 10: Lee Vann Corteza, Cory Deuel, Young-Hwa Jeong, Kevin Smith
Group 11: Alex Pagulayan, Tommy Donlon, Danny Harriman, Shintao Sugaya
Group 12: Hiroshi Takenaka, Che-Wei Fu, Oliver Ortmann, Niclas Bergendorff

World Straight Pool Final Sixteen

Phase two is complete at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship and the field has now been narrowed to just sixteen players.

The rest of the event is single elimination and all prior losses have been forgiven.

At the time of this writing, Oliver Ortmann had already defeated Thomas Engert 200-42 and was comfortably awaiting the winner between Mika Immonen and Jasmin Ouschan.

Other matches for today are Huidji See vs Corey Deuel, Danny Harriman vs Francisco Bustamante, Ignacio Chavez vs Niels Feijen, John Schmidt vs Mike Dechaine, Ralf Souquet vs Thorsten Hohmann and Nick Van Den Berg vs Dominic Jentsch.

Surprising Start in New Jersey

After one day of round-robin play at the Predator World 14.1 Championship, Mike Sigel and Allen Hopkins remain unbeaten. Sigel easily Ignacio Chavez, 100-50, while Hopkins topped defending champion Oliver Ortmann, 100-60, and Bernie Pettipiece, 100-18.

But considering the amount of straight-pool accolades these two Hall of Famers have collected over the past four decades, this first-day success shouldn't be too shocking.

What might be a little surprising is that the top four finishers from last year's championship have won just one match — 2007 runnier-up Huijdi See's 100-19 win over John Rousseau.

Danny Harriman, who finished tied for third with Martin Kempter last year, dropped his opening match to Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, 100-49. Kempter was on the wrong end of both his matches, losing to Ralf Souquet, 100-64, and Dan Wallace, 100-34

Though struggling early, these top seeds have plenty of time to climb up the group standings. The round-robin stage, with eight flights of eight players each, is far from over. After each competitor plays seven matches, the top four from each group will advance to the round of 32.

The double-elimination bracket will switch to single elimination once 16 players remain.

Ralf Souquet on Group 5 in World 14.1 Group Play

This morning in the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, N.J., the first matches of the 2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship are underway. The world-class straight pool will continue through the week, with the final scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30.

The field of 64 will first play in a round-robin, with eight groups of eight playing race-to-100 matches. The top four from each flight will advance to a double-elimination bracket of 32. Finally, once 16 players remain, the format will be single elimination, with matches extending to races to 200 points.

One subplot to watch is the large contingent of American players. It has been 18 years since an American has won the 14.1 world championship. With 39 players in this year's field, the United States is by far the most represented country.

Mixed in with young stars like Danny Harriman and John Schmidt are a few legendary 14.1 players. Hall of Famers Allen Hopkins and Mike Sigel are both ranked second in group play.

Oliver Ortmann, who won last year's title by beating Netherlander Huidji See, is the No. 1 seed. Der Maschine is joined by countrymen Thomas Engert, Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann as players likely to make late-round appearances.

Group 5

• Martin Kempter AUT
• Ralf Souquet GER
• Tony Robles USA
• Francisco Bustamante PHI
• Vincent Facquet FRA
• Dan Wallace USA
• Carmen Lombardo USA
• Jonathan Smith USA

2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship Group Pairings

East Brunswick, New Jersey-  Dragon Promotions announces the official group pairings for the 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship. The round robin stage will be held Aug 25-27, with the field narrowed to 32 in the double elimination stage races to 150 on Aug 28, and the last sixteen playing race to 200 points on Aug 29-30.

There may be last minute changes and substitutions in the schedule and the event if a player is not able to attend.
Official Group Pairings of the 2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship. Round Robin Races to 100 Points.

Group 1

Oliver Ortmann  GER
Allen Hopkins USA
Yu Ram Cha KOR
Mike Dechaine USA
Bernie Pettipiece USA
Bob Chamberlain USA
Bill Maropolous USA
Peter Burrows USA

Group 2

Thorsten Hohmann  GER
Mike Sigel USA
Jonathan Fulcher  SCO 
Charlie Williams USA
Stevie Moore USA
Jim Gottier USA
Devon Cataldi USA
Allan Cornia USA

Group 3

Huidji See NED
John Schmidt USA 
Dominic Jentsch GER
Shaun Wilkie USA
Mark Vidal SPN
Jimmy Mendoza  USA
Dan Heidrich USA USA
David Daya USA

Group 4

Danny Harriman USA
Niels Feijen  NED
Danny Barouty USA
Gerda Hofstatter AUT
Bob Maidhof USA
Chris Lynch USA
Mark Snodgrass USA
Stefan Cohen FRA

Group 5

Martin Kempter AUT
Ralf Souquet GER
Tony Robles USA
Francisco Bustamante PHI
Vincent Facquet FRA
Dan Wallace USA
Dennis Hatch USA
Jonathan Smith USA

Group 6

Thomas Engert GER
Raj Hundal  IND
Corey Deuel USA
Nick Van Denberg NED
Sebastian Staab GER
Liz Ford USA
Tom Parisian USA
Shin Young Park KOR

Group 7

Mika Immonen FIN
Bobby Hunter USA
Konstantin Stepanov RUS
Mike Davis USA
Ed Deska USA
Mark Ritter USA
Michael Yednak USA
Bob M. Cozzolino USA

Group 8

Johnny Archer USA
Jasmin Ouschan AUT
Radoslaw Babica POL
Tony Rodriguez  USA 
Calvin Coker USA
Mohammed Hakim NED 
Steve Lipsky USA
Steve Lillis USA

Fans and players can still reserve rooms at Hilton East Brunswick at 1-732-828-2000. The room code for the event is "POL"    There are still limited amount of rooms available. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at www.dragonpromotions.com or in person at the event, or at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC or Comet Billiards in NJ.

The 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Dr.Michael Fedak of NYC, Joel Schapiro of NYC, The Predator Group, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email, worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

European Champions Emerging

The European Championships is now in mid-stride and some of the disciplines have had their champions recognized.  The Men’s 8-Ball division was won by Marcus Chamat. Chamat gave the fans a family moment when he hung his gold medal around the neck of his young son. Chamat claimed the gold by defeating Serbian Zoran Svilar 8-3.  Thorsten Hohmann was the bronze medalist in this division. It appears that the schedule of play may be somewhat tiring from the remarks of Ralf Souquet who, after his loss to Darren Appleton earlier in the day, said: “I did not even have the power anymore to be nervous; I was just finished."

The ladies 8-Ball Champion for 2008 is Sylvia Buschhueter. Ms. Buschhueter defeated Brigitte Ganze 5-2 to own her gold after a very tough final road that found her having to get past a determined Pla Vahasoyrinki which she did 5-3 to gain her berth in the finals. Her opponent there, Brigitte Ganze, had to force Birgit Reimann to settle for Bronze (5-2) in order to earn the honor of the final match.

The new Senior 8-Ball Champion is Holger Gries.  This popular German bested Manuel Pereira of Portugal 7-3 to find his gold.  Finally, Jasmin Ouschan has continued her fine play by taking, almost as expected, the gold medal in the Women’s 8-Ball division. She dusted Line Kjorsvik 7-2 in the final. We must admit to some confusion here. The European Championships has 8-Ball divisions tiled “Girls”, “Ladies”, and “Women”. What is the difference between a lady and a woman? We are not sure but for now will venture the guess that ladies are amateurs and women are pros. We will clue you in as soon as we know for sure.

Ralf Souquet on 8-ball, 9-ball champs secure spots in world 10-ball affair

Two reigning world champions lead a stellar cast of cue artists in the World 10-ball Championships scheduled in September.

Daryl Peach of England, the current world 9-ball king, and Ralf Souquet of Germany, the world 8-ball titlist, are expected to participate in the tournament that will be held in Manila.

Joining Peach and Souquet are previous qualifiers Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese-Taipei and Antonio Gabica of the Philippines.

Wu and Gabica won the WTBC qualifying events through the Philippine Pool Tour.

Wu, a double world champion in 8-ball and 9-ball in 2005, won the Puerto Princesa Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last June in Puerto Princesa City.

Gabica, the reigning Philippine Open and Asian Games champion, won the Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last May in Mandaluyong City.

Europe’s no.1 lady player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria will also see action in the top-tier event.

8-ball, 9-ball champs secure spots in world 10-ball affair

Two reigning world champions lead a stellar cast of cue artists in the World 10-ball Championships scheduled in September.

Daryl Peach of England, the current world 9-ball king, and Ralf Souquet of Germany, the world 8-ball titlist, are expected to participate in the tournament that will be held in Manila.

Joining Peach and Souquet are previous qualifiers Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese-Taipei and Antonio Gabica of the Philippines.

Wu and Gabica won the WTBC qualifying events through the Philippine Pool Tour.

Wu, a double world champion in 8-ball and 9-ball in 2005, won the Puerto Princesa Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last June in Puerto Princesa City.

Gabica, the reigning Philippine Open and Asian Games champion, won the Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup of the PPT last May in Mandaluyong City.

Europe’s no.1 lady player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria will also see action in the top-tier event.

32 players take center stage in Puerto Princesa Cup

PUERTO PRINCESA – Thirty-two tough competitors, including several double world champions, world and national youth titlists, and other veteran campaigners will take center stage today, Friday, in the opening of the Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup, the second leg of the Philippine Pool Tour.

This bustling resort city, nicknamed "The City In The Forest" because of its lush vegetation, will host the three-day event to be held at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum with all eyes focusing on the big guns and rising stars from Germany, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Two-time world champions Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Chia-Ching Wu and Jung-Lin Chang of Taiwan, and reigning world junior champion Ko Pin-Yi banner the field of invaders.

But they will be tested by the formidable field of Filipino players led by Antonio Gabica, winner of the first PPT leg last month, Marlon Manalo, and Jericho Banares, 2008 Philippine junior champion and a standout in the Mandaluyong Mayor's Cup.

Souquet, currently the biggest money earner among billiard players this year with $106,786, has his eyes set on the $10,000 top prize in this event organized by the Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines and supported by San Miguel Beer and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn.

Hohmann, the 2003 World Pool titlist and winner of the IPT North American Open Championship, is also one of the favorites, along with Wu, the 2005 World 9- Ball and 8-Ball champion.

Thirteen pool players qualified for the Puerto Princesa leg Tuesday at the end of the elimination round. They were led by Ko Pin-Yi, power breaker Jeff de Luna and two-time national youth finalist Jordan Legaspi. The other players who advanced were Oliver Villafuerte, Wang Ming, Arturo Palma, Richard Alinsub, Jorge Dacer, Boots Augusto, Rocky Tullao, Edgar Acaba, Romeo Silvano and Raymund Faraon.

They join the 17 seeded players who earlier qualified for the main tournament by virtue of their performance in the Mandaluyong Cup and their standings in world pool rankings. They are: Souquet, Hohmann, Wu, Antonio Gabica, Marlon Manalo, Leonardo Andam, Jericho Bañares, Mario Tolentino, Leonardo Didal, Chien-Te Chung, Gerry Watson, Kenji Taguchi, Allan Soliman, Luis Saberdo, Junbert Ogang, Courtney Symons and Jung-Lin Chang.

Puerto Princesa will field two local bets – Jade Samson and Jonathan Corpuz – in the tournament. They won their spots by topping the qualifiers held in the Palawan capital.   

Ko, a Physical Education student in Taipei, who started playing competitive billiards at the age of 12, beat Roland Garcia, 9-7, for his third victory in the eliminations.

De Luna, who was relegated to the loser's bracket Tuesday following his loss to Jin Hu-Dang, 6-9, vented his ire on Resty Labastida, 9-1, to make the cut.

Legaspi crushed Dang, 9-6; Wang scuttled Rocky Tullao, 9-5; Dacer whipped Labastida, 9-4; Augusto nipped Romeo Silvano, 9-7; Alinsub edged Elvis Calasang, 9-8; Villafuerte outlasted Fu Jin-Bo, 9-7; and Palma squeaked past Chu Hung-Ming, 9-8.

In the loser's bracket, Tullao tripped Rollo, 9-8; Acaba defeated Silverio Tulabing, 9-7; and Silvano ripped Raymund Faraon, 9-4.

Faraon earned the last ticket to the Puerto Cup after defeating Tulabing in the playoff finals, 9-3.

Souquet stuns Vs Ko Pin-yi

A 18 year-old World Junior Champion Ko Pin-yi performed surperbly to defeat five-times Masters champion Ralf Souquet of Germany 8-3.

Belying his youth, the confident Ko played like a seasoned veteran as he dismantled an out of sorts Souquet to advance to the quarter-finals.

“Before the match I was very excited and a bit nervous. Souquet is a very good player with a great safety game, but he didn’t play so good today,” said Ko.

“I played good today though. I had three good run outs and if I play like this tomorrow I have a chance to win the tournament,” he added.

The 18 year-old, who also won the coveted Super Cup in Taiwan at the end of 2007, raced into an early 3-0 lead before Souquet stole the fourth game. Ko though, restored his three rack lead before the World 8 Ball Champion began to claw his way back.

Some skilful safety play from Souquet gave him the seventh game on the three foul rule, as the 2 ball lay aside the 8 on the long rail.

The ‘Kaiser’ scratched off the break in the next to derail his revival and with ball in hand Ko ran out to get to 5-3 ahead. The super confident Ko ran out the next rack to surge into a 6-3 lead.

Ko needed to play safe in the next but failed to tuck the cue ball behind the orange 5. Ralf though, misjudged his own attempt at a snooker and Ko banked the 2 ball across table to set up another excellent run out to reach the hill at 7-3.

Unfortunately the Taiwanese came up dry on the break but his opponent missed the 1 ball into the centre pocket. Ko tried to kick it in but also missed before Souquet had his last shot of the match as he missed an elementary pot to give Ko a great chance.

The youngster grabbed it with both hands to run out and take the match 8-3 to set up a quarter final clash with either Tony Drago or Niels Feijen.

2008 World Pool Masters Site Starts Today

Matchroom Sport is delighted to announce that www.worldpoolmasters.com , the Official Online Home of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters, is now live.

With the tournament being held for the first time ever in Las Vegas, the site will be your first port of call for news, player profiles, results, stories and pictures of what promises to be a hugely exciting event featuring some of the world’s top players.

Four World 9-ball Champions – Daryl Peach, Mika Immonen, Ralf Souquet, Alex Pagulayan – will be taking part in the event as well as some of the biggest names in the game, including Shane Van Boening, Francisco Bustamante, Niels Feijen and Corey Deuel.

All will be vying for the $20,000 top prize.

The World Pool Masters will be taking place at the Riviera Hotel and Casino from Thursday 9th to Sunday 11th May with afternoon and evening sessions daily, concluding with the final scheduled to commence around 9.15pm on Sunday evening.

www.worldpoolmasters.com will feature exclusive interviews with the stars who make up the field as well as comments and predictions from the big names of world pool.

Bookmark www.worldpoolmasters.com today for full details and information about the 16th annual running of one of pool’s most prestigious events.

Souquet Wins World 8-Ball Championship

Ronnie Alcano Reign as a WORLD champion came to an end Friday courtesy of the same man he beat to achieve full stardom two years ago. Ralf Souquet of Germany finally exacted revenge with a 13-9 conquest of defending champion Alcano in the finals of the 2008 World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah City, United Arab Emirates. The clean-shaven German, who lost to Alcano in the finals of the World Pool (9-ball) Championship in Manila in 2006, pounced on a poor start by the Filipino to grab a 3-0 lead which he skillfully protected throughout.

Souquet, who bagged the top purse of $60,000, became just the fourth cue artist -- after Efren "Bata" Reyes, Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching and Alcano -- to hold both the world 8-ball and 9-ball plums. He won his 9-ball title in 1996.

The 35-year-old Alcano, top gun of star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP), won all his previous matches in astounding fashion, while Souquet had to go through the back door after losing his opening match in the $200,000 tournament. But in the game that mattered most, Alcano started sluggishly and eventually settled for the $20,000 runner-up prize.

Alcano later apologized for failing to live up to expectations, saying the breaks went against him early. "I promise to redeem myself and give honor to our country the next time," Alcano vowed. Alcano won the lag but his two straight dry breaks had Souquet taking a 3-0 lead, which the latter stretched to five after 11 racks.

The Filipino then caught fire and pocketed five of the next six racks to close in at 9-8. He had a chance to even the match when the German broke dry in Rack 18, but he was unable to clean it up.

Souquet's victory meant the two world titles are now in Europe. The world 9-ball tiara is in the hands of Englishman Darryl Peach, who claimed it last year at the expense of Filipino Roberto Gomez.

The next best Filipino finisher was world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, who made it to the semifinals and bagged $10,000. Warren Kiamco of BMPAP and Negros Billiards Stable of Jonathan Sy finished fifth worth $6,000, while Alan Cuartero received $3,000 for reaching the Last 16.

Ralf Souquet: Paris Open 9-Ball – Title defended

For the sixth time, the Paris Open 9-Ball were organized and as the defending champion, I was seeded fort he final round of 16 players. The two Dutchmen Nick van den Berg and Niels Feijen as well as the English player Imran Majid were also directly invited to the final round.

On day one, the qualification rounds were played with 64 participants and some European top players qualified for the final round. In the previous years, this was not possible, because only French players could play the qualification stages.
The format was a KO bracket with matches in races to 10 with winner break and the venue was the private club „Clichy Montmartre“.

My first opponent was Frenchman Emmanuel Lemaire, against whom I had recently played at a EuroTour event. As before in the Netherlands, Lemaire seemed to have too much respect and made a few easy mistakes. The result was an undisputed 10-2.

In the quarter-finals, I was opposed to the next Frenchman, Stephane Cohen. This was a much tougher task and I managed to improve my game. Even if my game was all but perfect, I was in full control of the match, Cohen made a few mistakes and I won 10-5.
In the semi-final, I had to play against Niels Feijen (NED), against whom I had not always convinced in the past. I tried once more to play better and partly succeeded. I finally deserved to win 10-5 and had entered once more after 2007 the final of the Paris Open.

My opponent in the final was an old acquaintance, since I had played Yannick Beaufils (FRA) already at the IPT tour and last year at the Paris Open. Beaufils had eliminated in the first round of the final bracket Imran Majid, than last year’s runner-up Vincent Facquet (FRA) and in the semi-final Jonni Fulcher who plays for Switzerland.

As expected, the final was a thriller, even if both players did not enjoy lucky break shots. So, the match went on a quiet pace and we had a few safety battles. I had gained a small advantage right from the beginning of the match and was leading by two and three racks, but then Beaufils came back into the match and even equalled the score at 8-8. I was about to trail for the first time, when the French player made an incredible mistake by missing an easy 7 ball. I could run out the rack and re-gain the lead at 9-8 and the trophy was in reach. I ran out the last rack and had won the title at the Paris Open for the second consecutive time.

Final Names added to 2008 World Pool Masters Line-up

The final names have been added to the players’ roster for the forthcoming 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters which takes place at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from May 9 to May 11.

Filipino superstars Francisco Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan have confirmed their attendance as well as top-rated Europeans Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Niels Feijen of Holland.

With 16 players in the field competing for a $62,000 prize fund, event promoters Matchroom Sport believe they have assembled the strongest line-up yet in the 16 year history of the event.

“With four World 9 Ball Champions, six US Open Champions and a host of other title-holders in the field, I believe that this will be the toughest ever World Pool Masters,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn.

“With winner breaks, race to eight matches on the toughest equipment it will take a series of fantastic performances over the three days to lift this prestigious trophy,” he added.

Other recent confirmations include 2001 US Open Champion Corey Deuel and a quartet of stars recently qualified from the Euro Tour.

They are the latest English 9 Ball sensation Mark Gray, Germany’s dangerous Christian Reimering, up-and-coming Italian player Bruno Muratore and 2006 Mosconi Cup player Imran Majid (England).

World Junior Champion, the 18 year-old Ko Pin-Yi of Taiwan cemented his credentials to a Masters spot at the weekend by coming from 14-4 down to beat Dennis Orcollo 15-14 and lift the Brunswick Thailand 9 Ball Open.

Elsewhere, 2003 Masters Champion Tony Drago won the Paris Open at the weekend, his first Euro Tour title, after three losing finals.

2008 World Pool Masters Field:

Daryl Peach (England)
Thomas Engert (Germany)
Mika Immonen (Finland)
Tony Drago (Malta)
Shane Van Boening (USA)
Rodney Morris (USA)
Francisco Bustamante (Philippine)
Alex Pagulayan (Philippines)
Ko Pin-ye (Chinese Taipei)
Niels Feijen (Netherlands)
Ralf Souquet (Germany)
Corey Deuel (USA)
Mark Gray (England)
Christian Reimering (Germany)
Bruno Moratore (Italy)
Imran Majid (England)

Souquet over Bustamante for Derby 9-Ball Title

It took two sets to do it, but Ralf Souquet has defeated Francisco Bustamante to win the Derby City Classic 9-Ball Division.

Souquet came into the finals as the favorite with an undefeated record and two wins over John Schmidt under his belt to get him comfortable with the speed of the TV table while Bustamante had been sitting for hours taking advantage of back to back byes.

Souquet took a quick 2-0 lead, but Bustamante took complete control of the match after that and won seven straight games for a 7-2 win.

Souquet used his buyback option and the players got ready to play one more time to determine the champion. This time it was Bustamante who took a 1-0 lead, but Souquet won the next three games for a 3-1 lead. Bustamante took advantage of two missed balls in rack five to narrow Souquet's lead to one at 3-2, but then it was Souquet who took control of the match and won the next four straight games for the 7-2 win.

Souquet earned $17,500 for first place, while Bustamante settled for $8,800. Bustamante was also consoled with the $20,000 all around bonus. One pocket winner Gabe Owen took 2nd in the all around and Souquet's 9-ball win earned him third place.

Souquet vs Bustamante for Derby 9-Ball

The finals of the Derby City Classic 9-Ball Division are now underway. Ralf Souquet will face Francisco Bustamante and Bustamante will face the task of defeating Souquet twice.

With three players left in the event, Bustamante drew a bye and Souquet had to play John Schmidt. Souquet won that match 7-6, but Schmidt had a buyback available and bought back into the event.

Bustamante had the luck of the draw again and drew the bye which forced Souquet to face Schmidt again. The score was 7-5 the second time, but it was still the same winner as Souquet eliminated Schmidt.

Souquet will now face Bustamante. Souquet has a buyback available, while Bustamante does not.

Bustamante has already locked up the all around award.

Souquet beats Schmidt, faces Schmidt again

Ralf Souquet scored a 7-6 win over John Schmidt in round thirteen of the Derby City Classic 9-Ball Division; and his reward for that win was another match with Schmidt in round fourteen.

Both Schmidt and Souquet went into round thirteen with buyback options available, while Francisco Bustamante took advantage of a bye. After the Souquet won, Schmidt exercised his buyback and Bustamante drew the bye again.

Schmidt is now without a buyback, and will be eliminated from the event if he falls to Souquet in this match.