NEWS  March 24, 2008  Interpool Open – Eight consecutive finals



10-Ball Invitational without Kristiansen
 

For the fourth time, Marcus Chamat and his team of the Interpool Café in Gävle / Sweden had organized the Interpool 9-Ball Open. With 91 competitors, the event was not as booked as in the previous years. The reason fort his rather weak participation is that traditionally, several tournaments are played in various countries. Butt he weak participant numbers did not affect the quality of the event and together with me, a series of top players had found their way to Gävle: Rodney Morris (USA), Raj Hundal (GBR), Tony Drago (MLT), Marcus Chamat, Tom Storm, Christoffer Magnusson (all SWE), Vegar Kristiansen, Ronny Oldervik, Christian Johannesen (all NOR).

First, we played 9-Ball in a double KO bracket in races to 11 with a handicap system (handicap 1 to 8 racks) and winners break.

After a walk-through, I played the Swedish player Marcus Sjöberg (+2). Since my opponent had a handicap +2, he only needed to win 9 racks to win the match. After a slow start, I finally managed to win 11-5. In the next round, things were odd. My opponent Christoffer Lukowski (+5) made use of every opportunity and made things difficult for me. After a long fight, I finally won 11-9 and was already qualified for the final KO bracket with the last 32 players.

Here, my first opponent was 2006 runner-up Christoffer Magnusson from Sweden. Not exactly an easy task to start the KO bracket, but at least, I did not have to run after a handicap anymore. Until mid-match, it went back and forth and none of us could take a significant advantage. From 5-5, I took control of the match and managed to score a few racks. I finally won 11-6 and could now focus on the 10-Ball tournament which was scheduled on this evening.

Six players were seeded fort his event and the two Swedish players Christoffer Magnusson and Kevin Zarakani had won the qualifications. The format was 10-Ball with indication of the pocket in races to 8 with winners break, but with slightly different rules from the current WPA rules.

The draw made me play against Raj Hundal. First, I had major problems with the extreme noise in the playing hall, where a DJ tried to heat up the crowd.  I missed a few opportunities and was rapidly trailing 0-3 and 1-4. But the British player showed mercy and missed two pretty easy balls. I jumped on this train and managed to win 8-7. In the semi-finals, my opponent was my Mosconi Cup team mate Tony Drago (MLT) and again, I was not focused enough at the beginning. Drago played very fast, as usually, and tried to gain momentum. But I answered and could force the Maltese player to commit some mistakes. So, I finally managed to score a tight 8-7 win and had entered the final against Marcus Chamat.


Storm-Chamat-Souquet-Morris

In the final, my game was a bit better and more constant, even if I was not really satisfied by my performance. Around 2:15 a.m., I had taken my revenge for my last year’s final defeat and with the 8-4 success I confirmed my good statistics at the Gävle event.

After a few hours nap, the 9-Ball competition continued. Unfortunately, Rodney Morris had caught a bad flu and his opponent Marcus Chamat had a walk-through to the quarter-finals. My opponent in this round was David Carlsson (SWE) with handicap +2. I still was a bit tired and did not find my form from the previous night, so that my Swedish opponent stayed in the match until 6-6. But then, I warmed up and could improve my game. I did not leave any opportunities to my opponent and entered the quarter-finals against Tony Drago by winning 11-6. Just 12 hours after my semi-finals match in the 10-Ball competition, I was again opposed to the tornado from Malta. This time, Drago played even better and was already leading 5-1, before he made an easy mistake. I came back to 4-5 and then had a break foul.

Drago won this rack and then shot a black break. I could win a few racks and took the lead fort he first time. The Maltese player could only score one more rack and I won again 11-7.

In the final, my opponent was my WC final opponent from 1996, Tom Storm from Sweden, who had won his semi-final against Raj Hundal. I could improve my performance, but committed a few mistakes here and there. But Storm could not benefit from these mistakes and also missed a couple of balls. From 6-3 on, I played without committing any more mistakes, scored a 11-3 win and had won my third title at the Interpool 9-Ball Open. I had played all 8 Interpool Finals ever played and after two lost finals in the previous year, I managed to score the third double title after 2005 and 2006.


Souquet


Marcus-Ralf