Groups Announced For IPT World Open Championships

Friday, September 1, 2006

The International Pool Tour announces the official player groupings for the IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship. The tournament starts Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 10am in Reno, Nevada at the Grand Sierra Resort.

This historic event boasts the biggest prize fund in the history of the sport. $3,000,000 is the total prize purse, and the winner of the tournament will win an historic $500,000!

Here are the official groupings:

Group 1:

Hohmann, Thorsten
Moore, Steve
Jones, Loree Jon
Kiamco, Warren
Raney, Jim

Thorsten Hohmann Wins Pool's Biggest Prize

Sunday, July 30, 2006

thorsten_hohmann_26 The most historic event in pool history has just concluded with Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann winning $350,000 for his double-hill victory over "Marvelous Marlon" Manalo.

Complete with Michael Buffer announcing his trademark phrase, modified for the occasion to "Let's get ready to rack 'em!" the IPT's first major event was an unqualified success. Two of the best players in the world performed in front of a wall-to-wall crowd, and the set was classy and striking. Manalo had chosen Jose Parica as he corner man, while Charlie Williams was in Hohmann's corner.

Empty breaks seemed to plague Manalo throughout the match, but the layouts were coming up pretty cut and dried. Both were playing fluidly - Manalo missed one combo attempt, and Hohmann rattled two balls, but everything came to a head when the score reached 6-all in the race to 8. Hohmann broke and popped the cue ball into the side pocket, and Manalo chose solids and ran out to reach the hill. However, he came up empty on his last break. Hohmann opted for stripes and played a perfect out, joining Manalo on the hill. The German showed no anxiety, just determination as he approached the table for the last time. He broke and made the 9 ball. With an easy layout, he had no trouble as he swiftly cleared the table, winning the final match 8-7. In doing so, he won the biggest prize in pool history, $350,000. Manalo earned $99,000 for his second-place finish.

Tour founder Kevin Trudeau presented Hohmann with the money in a silver briefcase, as well as an enormous silver trophy. Calmly, Hohmann made a short speech, thanking Trudeau first and then praising the audience, his friends, his corner man, and his sponsors.

"I wasn't nervous at all, the entire match," Hohmann reported. "I felt really confident, I had a good night's sleep, slept eight hours, and woke up still full of confidence because of yesterday. I just enjoyed the match. I could've won even higher - I wasn't nervous, I just took my eyes off the ball. Charlie [Williams] was there for me and said just do it, you've done it so many times this week, you can do it again. I had my chance, on that last run-out, my mom could've run out that last rack, it was so easy, so I'm thankful, and maybe it was my destiny."

The IPT's next major event will be held September 2-10 at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, NV. First place will award a stunning $500,000, with a total prize fun of $3,000,000.

It's Hohmann vs Manalo for biggest prize in pool history

Saturday, July 29, 2006

thorsten_hohmann_21 LAS VEGAS, Nev. - German precision will meet Filipino steel in the final of the $2 million IPT North American 8-Ball Open on Sunday, as Thorsten Hohmann and Marlon Manalo battle for the history-making tournament?s $350,000 top prize.

Germany's Hohmann and Manalo of the Philippines rose to the top of the final round-robin stage of the tournament on Saturday night in the Venetian Hotel and Casino. Both posted records of 4-1 in the six-player bracket, besting foes Ralf Souquet, Efren Reyes, Dennis Orcollo and Evgeny Stalev.

"It's not over yet," said Manalo after coming back from a 6-2 deficit against Souquet in his fourth match, winning 8-6 and securing his spot in the final with a then-perfect 4-0 record.

Manalo then faced Hohmann in their fifth set of matches for the night. Hohmann needed to win in order to tally four victories and cement his spot in the final. In what was to be a preview of the championship match-up, Hohmann blistered Manalo, 8-1.

The winner of Sunday's race-to-8 final will skyrocket to the top of the IPT's rankings, this being the first event of the fledgling's tour's 2006 season. The winner will pocket $350,000, and the runner-up must settle for $99,000.

Hohmann, certainly the most fit of the final six, seemed to get stronger as the day wore on. The rest were visibly flagging, and missed balls and mental miscues were common.

"For next time, I will need to exercise more," said Orcollo of the Philippines, who finished third with three match wins, collecting a none-too-shabby $80,000.

Reyes and Souquet both had one win apiece by the last match of the night, putting them in the position of fighting for fourth and fifth place. In a painfully slow and often sloppy battle, Reyes squeaked out a hill-hill victory, 8-7, to take fourth and $65,000. Souquet settled for fifth and $50,000.

Stalev of Russia, the biggest surprise of the final six contenders, had trouble shaking off the debilitating effects of the previous five days of morning-to-night play. He finished sixth with a 1-4 record but happily accepted a $40,000 check, roughly $33,000 greater than his previous high-watermark for prize money.

The final will pit perfectionist Hohmann, a former world 9-ball champion and current world straight-pool champion, against rising star Manalo, whom many believe could be the heir to Reyes' throne as dominant Filipino in a country of pool giants.

As far as experience in big events and technical mastery of pool mechanics, 27-year-old Hohmann seems to have the edge. But 30-year-old Manalo had the best record in the Open, finishing the round-robin stages at 23-5 and winning 61 percent of the games played. Hohmann often found himself on the brink of elimination, only to pull through with gutty wins. His overall record was 21-7, with a games-won percentage of 57.3 percent.