NEWS  08-04-06  IPT North American Open 8-Ball – Hohmann wins record prize money



Final
 

The first event of the new International Pool Tour (IPT) was played in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and the 200 participants competed for a total prize money of 2,000,000 dollars. The game was 8 Ball in a round robin format in races to 8. In round 1, 40 groups with 5 players each were played and 3 players of each group qualified for the next round.

My first opponent in group 23 was the US player George Breedlove, the husband of Jeanette Lee, against whom I had already played two months ago my opening match in Las Vegas. After a weak start and trailing 0-2, I could turn the match around and take a 5-2 lead. I defended this advantage until the final score of 8-5. My second match against old champion Jimmy Fusco (USA) was supposed to be easier, but this was not the case. Fusco played very well and, except for the black breaks, did not make any mistake until 4-7. After another black break by my opponent, I could score, but had to wait for mistakes by my opponent. He did me this favour and with a lot of luck and transpiration, I finally won 8-7 and scored my second match. Match 3 against qualifier Mark Tademy (USA) was easier and I won 8-3. The last group match against the Australian player Colin Colenso who lives in Shanghai, was also a clear thing - 8-2.

In round 2, 120 players were still in the competition. They played in 20 groups of 6 players and half of the players would make it to round 3. I played my first match in group 52 against the British player Imran Majid, and I could win 8-6. Then, I scored an undisputed 8-1 victory over Jimmy Wetch (USA), followed by a fully deserved 4-8 defeat against the Russian player Evgeny Stalev. Match 4 against the US player Cliff Joyner was a clear story - 8-1, the same result as my 5th match against Sal Butera, the son of the legendary Hall of Famer Lou „Machine Gun“ Butera.

In round 3, 60 players in 12 groups with 5 players each were still in the competition.
In group 66, I played first Yannick Beaufils, a Frenchman living in England. With a clear 8-1, I started well into the day. My next match against Shawn Putnam (USA) was first balanced, but then I won 8-5. In the third match against Johl Younger from Australia, I could already enter the next round winning 8-4. In the last match against Dennis Hatch (USA), I assured the group victory and I wanted to make sure to keep a good ratio of won matches. I won 8-6 and won the third consecutive group.  

In round 4, the remaining 36 players were seeded in 6 groups of 6 players. In group 78, I played again the Russian Evgeny Stalev and could take my revenge winning 8-4. In the second match of the dday, I had to swallow my second defeat in the tournament against the British player Raj Hundal (3-8). Right after this, I lost again to the Swedish player Marcus Chamat 5-8. Now, I was under pressure and had to win the remaining two group matches. In match 4, I played Jason Kirkwood (USA) and managed to win 8-2. In the decisive match, I was opposed to Rodney Morris (USA), winning after a fierce fight 8-5 and as the third of the group, I was qualified for round 5.
 


Ralf - Michael Buffer

18 players were left, playing in 3 groups of 6 players. In my group 80, I first played the British player Daryl Peach. I had a good start and won 8-6. In the second match against Dennis Orcollo from the Philippines I was leading 4-2 and then had a black break. Orcollo ran out all tables and did not allow me to come back to the table until the final score of 4-8. In the third match against David Matlock (USA), the match started not too well. I was trailing 1-4 and could only come slowly into the match after my opponent had a black break. Upon two more mistakes by my opponent, I finally won 8-4, but the match was tighter than the score. In match four, I was opposed to the second Philippine player in this groups, Ronnie Alcano. I was in control of the match and won 8-3. In the last match against my horror opponent Francisco Bustamante (PHI), I just played for the group victory and the better ratio, because Bustamante was already eliminated after three defeats. I could conserve my good shape and won 8-5. So, I was qualified for the final group of 6 players.

My first match was again against Dennis Orcollo (PHI). This time, I played better and was already leading 7-3. A black break brought him back into the match and he scored until 5-7. Now, I had the chance to win the match, but the third last half ball remained in the middle of the pocket, because I played it too slow. After this ball, I just had three stop balls to win the match. Orcollo won the next two racks and equalled at 7-7. But he had another black break and I had again the chance to win the match. But the table was rather complicated and I had to solve a few problems. By trying to do so, I missed again the third last ball and had to watch how my opponent won the match, a match which I had already won in my mind. This 7-8 defeat was the main reason for what happened later on. In my next match against fellow countryman Thorsten Hohmann I was trailing 5-7, but could turn the match around and won 8-7, keeping my chance to participate in the final. The match was very long und so, I just had three minutes before the next match. For the third time, I was opposed to the Russian Evgeny Stalev. After a break foul and a bad contact in the second rack, I was trailing 0-2. This went on and on and after just one hour, I had lost 2-8. Now, I had to win the remaining two matches against the two Philippine players. First, I played Marlon Manalo (PHI), and until 6-2, I was in full control of the match. A bad break and another mistake, and the score was 6-6. In the next rack, I missed the last ball before the 8 and in rack 14, I had ball in hand after Manalo had made a foul on the 8. But I felt so empty by this time that I could not run out the easiest rack anymore. So, my dreams of the final were lost with this 6-8. In the last group match against Efren Reyes (PHI), we just played for the ranks 4 and 5. However, the difference in the price money was 15,000 dollars, so, there was enough excitement. I gathered my last mental strengths, but in rack 2 at 0-1, I was punished by a bad contact. My half ball ended up almost one diamond beside the pocket and I started feeling angry. Later on, I could make use of two mistakes by the „Magician” to equal the score. At 5-6, I played with speed 2,5 (PAT) on the last full ball and again, a bad contact between cue and object ball. Instead of 6-6, the score was now 5-7. A black break brought me back into the match and I equalled at 7-7. In the decisive 15th rack, I had the break, thee cue ball ran into the head pocket on the right side. 4 balls were circling around the cue ball, but none could influence its way. Reyes ran out the table to win 7-8 and after a terrible day, I had to make do with rank 5 in the overall ranking. I think I lost the participation in the final when losing 7-8 against Orcollo.

In this group, Thorsten Hohmann (GER) and Marlon Manalo (PHI) qualified with 4-1 wins each for the final – and for a prize money of 350,000 dollars.

The next day, the big day. Michael Buffer, the most famous presenter of the boxing world, presented the players and opened the show with: „Let’s get ready to rack ’em“.

The almost sold out hall (350-400 spectators) saw a very balanced match. Manalo took the 2-0 lead. Hohmann equalled and took a 4-2 lead. Manalo came back to 4-4, but Hohmann answered - 5-4. The score evolved like 5-5, 6-5 for Hohmann, then 7-6 for Manalo. Manalo had one problem – in four racks, he did not pocket a ball upon his break, same in rack 14. Hohmann made use of this gift and equalled. In the decisive rack (which was worth 251,000 dollars), he perhaps had the easiest rack of the entire tournament in front of him. Hohmann pocketed a ball and did not think twice. He said “thank you”, ran out the table and wrote history with his 8-7 success. He won as the winner of the North American Open 8-Ball the record prize money of 350,000 dollars and Manalo could be happy with 99,000 dollars as runner-up – but most probably, he wasn’t happy at all.
This tournament was the great start into a new era of pool billiards. The future looks bright for all professionals in the billiards world!


Rebecca - Ralf