Korea International Championships, Day One
The Dragon Promotions event being held in Korea has finished a day of competition. Of the top pros in attendance, only American Mike Davis has been eliminated, defeated by Japanese player Goh Takami and then ousted by German Thorsten Hohmann.
Noteworthy players who have made it to the final 16 include Rodney Morris, Max Eberle, John Schmidt (who ran six consecutive racks against one opponent in an earlier round), young Korean player Seung-woo Ryu, Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer, and Charlie Bryant.
Many top pros who don’t often travel to Asia took this event as an opportunity to extend their trip to this area of the globe following the World Pool Championships in Taiwan last week.
European Pool Championships Wrap-up
The European Pool Championships, held April 20-30 in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, has wrapped up the last of the divisions, with 9-ball and team competitions finishing up over the weekend.
The 9-ball competitions began with double-elimination brackets, and became single-elimination showdowns in the final 32. On the men’s side, the final four were Alex Lely, Thorsten Hohmann, Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet. Lely beat Souquet, 9-8, in the final. In 9-ball, Jasmin Ouschan, Kim Shaw, Katrine Jensen and Charlotte Sörensen were the last four women in the arena. Ouschan took the title, making her a double-title winner in Veldhoven (the first being in straight pool).
In the men’s team championships, Team Germany looked like the team to beat from the start, with Souquet, Hohmann and Oliver Ortmann, among others, on board. Indeed, they beat the team from the Czech Republic, 4-0. In the women’s team event, Germany was again the victor, with The Netherlands in second.
9-Ball Finals Approach at European Pool Championships
The 8-ball and straight-pool divisions completed, and 9-ball fields are narrowing in on a champion at the European Pool Championships. The multi-part event being held in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, started April 20 and goes through tomorrow, April 30th.
Both men’s and women’s 9-ball will play a single-elimination semifinal early this evening, with a final following at 8pm, Netherlands local time.
In the women’s division, Jasmin Ouschan will play Kim Shaw and Katrine Jensen will play Charlotte Sorensen in the semifinals. The men’s semifinals pit Alex Lely against Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen against Ralf Souquet.
Team competitions are ongoing, and will wrap up tomorrow evening.
Results Rolling in for European Championships
The European Pool Championships are well underway, with winners in from many divisions. The multi-part event started April 20, in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, and goes through April 30th. An all-time high of 34 countries are represented.
The men’s and women’s straight pool and 8-ball divisions have crowned champions. On April 26, Alex Lely bested Thomas Kaplan, 8-7, in the men’s 8-ball final. The same day, Cristine Naeff took the women’s 8-ball, 6-2, over Wendy Jans. It is Naeff’s first European title.
Friday the 24th, In straight pool, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann beat countryman Nicolas Otterman to the title by a lopsided 125-3. On the women’s side, former WPBA National Amateur champion Jasmin Ouschan squeaked by Diana Stateczny, 75-60.
The 9-ball divisions, men’s and women’s, are still in progress, and will conclude on Friday. The team competitions wrap up on Saturday evening. Among those still alive in the single-elimination men’s final 32 are Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, Niels Feijen, Hohmann, and Marcus Chamat. Among the women, Ouschan and Jans are still in action, as is WPBA regular Kim Shaw.
Deuel wins UPA Championship
Corey Deuel completed an undefeated run to win the UPA Pro Tour Championship at the Bicycle Club in Bellflower California this weekend.
Deuel, known as the master of the soft break, was working that break to perfection all weekend and had wins over Charlie Williams, Mika Immonen and Efren Reyes before a 7-5 win over Danny Basavich for the hot-seat.
On the one-loss side, Basavich eliminated US Open Champion Gabe Owen 7-3 and forced Owen to settle for third place.
The finals were one race to seven on the ESPN table, and it went all the way to hill-hill before Corey put it away.
Deuel earned $10,000 for first place, while Basavich settled for $5000 in second place prize money. Owen and Efren Reyes filled out the top four places.
Complete Results:
1st Corey Deuel $10,000
2nd Danny Basavich $5,000
3rd Gabe Owen $4,000
4th Efren Reyes $3,000
5th/6th Rodney Morris, Mika Immonen $2,400
7th/8th Ralf Souquet, Santos Sambajon $1,850
9th/12th Frankie Hernandez, Mike Davis, Paul Potier, Troy Frank $1,350
13th/16th Francisco Bustamante, Johnny Archer, Tony Robles, Rodolfo Luat $900
17th/24th Charlie Williams, Neil Fujiwara, Bill Ferguson, Danny Kuykendall, Dave Hemmah, Max Eberle, Robb Saez, Charlie Bryant $400
Far From Over
Once again it looked as if the Americans were poised to shut the door on the 2004 Mosconi Cup, and once again Team Europe wedged its collective foot in the way.
As was the case Saturday night in the ballroom of the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee, Holland, Team USA posted a critical win in the opening match of the session to extend their advantage, then watched the Euros storm back with consecutive match wins. In what was then viewed as the most important match of the tournament, Rodney Morris continued his MVP play for the Americans, topping Euro ace Mika Immonen, 5-3, to give Team USA a 10-6 lead in the race-to-12 team tournament.
But Dutch national treasure Niels Feijen revived Team Europe’s hopes with a 5-2 win over mistake-prone Johnny Archer. And in a repeat of his Saturday night heroics, pint-sized Swede Marcus Chamat came through in the clutch, beating Tony Robles, 5-3, to pull the Euros to within two points at 10-8.
The Americans still have Earl Strickland, Gabe Owen and Charlie Williams for Sunday night’s session, with the Euros banking on Steve Davis, Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann. If the match reaches a 22nd and/or 23rd match, the teams will be allowed “Captain’s Choice” selections.
U.S. Triples Its Pleasure in Doubles
Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann
Hoping to recapture some of the magic that spurred Team Europe to the 2002 Mosconi title, German captain Oliver Ortmann called his own number in the opening match Saturday, tabbing himself and countryman Thomas Engert to face the American duo of Johnny Archer and first-timer Gabe Owen. After playing poorly the night before in 2002, Ortmann sent himself out first in the next session, and his spirited effort was a turning point in the Euros’ surprise win.
But the magic was missing in 2004, and the German duo dropped a heart-wrenching 5-4 decision in a match that saw some brilliant pool. The American squad received a bonus when Charlie Williams and Tony Robles, winless in two team matches this year, surprised the previously unbeaten team of Dutchman Niels Feijen and Brit Steve Davis, 5-3.
With two wins already in the bag, the Americans got to sit back and enjoy its top squad, Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris, who performed a virtual clinic in a 5-0 thrashing of Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat. The humbling loss left the European team four matches down, with the action shifting to singles play for the duration of the event.
Things will get no easier for the Euros Saturday night, with Morris and Strickland on tap for the Americans.
Unlikely Heroes Bouy U.S.
Backed by the solid play of Charlie Williams and Gabe Owen, Team U.S.A. took a 5-4 lead after Day Two of the 11th Mosconi Cup in Egmond aan Zee, Holland, Friday night.
With the race-to-12 transatlantic team 9-ball tilt tied 3-3 going into singles play, the U.S. took a calculated risk, opening with captain Johnny Archer and following with Williams and Owen. Williams had lost his previous six Mosconi Cup matches, and Owen is a Mosconi debutante. And when Archer fell, 5-3, to Team Europe’s Mika Immonen in the Friday night opener, with Dutch hero Neils Fiejen and unflappable Cup veteran Steve Davis on deck, the Euros appeared poised to take control.
But Williams played superbly in a 5-1 thrashing of Feijen and Owen looked anything but a Mosconi Cup rookie in edging Davis, 5-4, to put the Yanks in front, 5-4, entering Saturday’s matches.
Things looked grim for Owen when an unfortunate scratch off the 5 ball allowed Davis to take a 4-3 lead. But Owen broke Davis’ serve in the alternating break format after the snooker legend missed a touchy 3-6 combination to knot the match. Facing a tricky opening shot in the case rack, Owen eschewed a safety and fired his way to the win.
“Sure, I thought about the safety in the last rack,” said Owen. “But I got here playing my game. And my game told me to shoot that shot. I’d rather sell out shooting than sell out ducking. So I shot.”
The happy ending put the U.S. ahead, with the final three doubles matches slated for Saturday afternoon, followed by a trio of singles matches Saturday night.
Rodney “Freud” Rescues U.S.
Rodney and Earl Strickland
Having lost the opening two matches on the second day of the four-day, race-to-12 team tournament, the U.S. trailed Team Europe, 3-2, heading into the match pitting Morris and Strickland against the German duo of Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert. Making amends for subpar performances on the first day, the Germans played nearly perfect pool, and held a 3-2 lead in the race-to-five match. With the crowd influence growing, and annoyed by the slow playing Germans, Strickland began to grumble, drawing a warning from referee Michaela Tabb. Sensing the importance of the situation, Morris joked
about the slow play and wisecracked about the match. Having successfully reeled Strickland back in, Morris led the U.S. comeback and a 5-4 win, leaving the contest knotted at 3-3 heading into Friday night’s singles action.
“That’s me,” joked Morris. “Sigmund Freud. Keeping volatile situations under control.”
Earlier, birthday boy Mika Immonen and Swedish teammate Marcus Chamat whitewashed Charlie Williams and Tony Robles, 5-0. Williams has failed to win a Mosconi Cup match in his last six attempts.
Feeding off of the first-match win, which tied the overall score at 2-2, Steve Davis and Neils Feijen put the Euros ahead with a 5-3 win over Johnny Archer and Gabe Owen.