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SM City North EDSA Mall
Metro Manila
Philippines
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Saturday-Monday 3-5 September 2011

Ralf Souquet - Germany
Souquet claims sixth Masters crown

GERMANY�S RALF SOUQUET claimed his sixth PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters title as he defeated the Philippines� Dennis Orcollo in front of a packed house at the SM Mall North in Quezon City, Manila. The jubilant �Kaiser� screamed with joy as he downed the final 9 ball, as he banished a succession of heart-breaking defeats in the Philippines capital city.

He lost to Ronnie Alcano in the final of the 2006 World Pool Championship in this same city and then he and Thorsten Hohmann were narrowly beaten in the final of the 2009 World Cup of Pool at the hands of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.

Following on from his recent induction into the BCA Hall of Fame, Souquet, 42, put in two stellar performances today. Earlier he came from 7-4 down to beat Darren Appleton in the semi-final and followed that up by a solid performance to derail Dennis Orcollo who had looked so good over his previous three matches.

"It seems to be my tournament for whatever reason. I've made the final eight times and won six and lost twice. It's not only a dream come true but also the icing on the cake to win it here in the Philippines,� said a delighted Souquet.

"It's the fifth final I've played in the Philippines but the first time I've won one, which makes it all the more satisfying!�

The match itself was tight is the early stages and at 3-3 it was all to play for. Neither player was making the most of the break before Orcollo nailed one in eighth game to set up a run out and establish a two rack lead at 5-3.

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Souquet is one of pool�s premier fighters and he scrapped back into contention at 5-5 and then produced a superb break shot that saw four balls drop and leave him a shot on the lowest ball. From there he cleared to move into a 6-5 lead.

Sensing the momentum was swinging in his favour, Souquet broke and ran the next to reach the hill and put Orcollo under severe pressure. The diminutive Filipino though, had potted his last ball as the clinical German broke and ran the last for a famous victory.

"At the Masters you are playing 15 of the greatest players in the world and it's very tough from the first round on and you have to play at 100 per cent and if you can't do that then you won't win,� said.

"I could've lost all of my matches and the final was my biggest winning margin as I won 8-7, 8-6, 8-7 and then 8-5.

"The Philippines is the country of pool and it's where the sport is such a big thing. There are so many great players like Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcollo, Roberto Gomez and I could go on. It's just so tough to win a tournament here.

"But it's so great here as you have so many great fans that love the sport and the players are treated the way they should be."

Dennis Orcollo - Philippines
It�s Orcollo v Souquet for the title

THE FINAL OF the 2011 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters will be between two former champions as defending champ Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines takes on five-times winner Ralf Souquet after both came through their semi final matches at the SM Mall North in Quezon City, Manila.

Orcollo, who took this title in Las Vegas last year for the first time, looks to be unstoppable as he ran through China�s dangerous Fu Jianbo in front of a packed crowd. The Filipino�s break was the least successful part of his game yesterday but he adapted it to a slower action with a little more success.

In the other semi-final, Ralf Souquet recorded nothing less than a sensational comeback as he overturned a 7-4 deficit to glide past Darren Appleton and pip him on the finish line.

It was a game of two halves as they say; the first belonging to Appleton but more importantly the second to Souquet.

Watched by a host of pool stars in the in the crowd including Tony Drago, David Alcaide, Thorsten Hohmann and Chris Melling, Appleton left his opponent looking distinctly unhappy as he enjoyed the better luck and made the most of his opportunities to lead 6-1 and leave the German looking dead and buried.

Souquet gave himself a glimmer of hope, as he won the next three to get to 4-6, but Appleton took the next to reach the hill and breaking for the match, the onus was on him.

Souquet got to the table though and won the rack, and the next, to leave the match on the hill at 7-7. Souquet then completed a steel-nerved run out to take an excellent win and give himself a shot at yet another Masters title.

I'm overwhelmed. Being 6-2 down in winners' break and race to eight is a big deficit and you have to hope he makes mistakes.

"He played awesome and did everything right at the beginning of the match and I did everything wrong. He played perfectly and I was just hoping for a chance to let my game out but eventually, luckily, he gave me a chance to get back to the table,� said Souquet.

"You just have to believe in yourself and stay focused on playing the game. If you are at the table then he can't do anything and I knew as long I was at the table I had a chance.

"There will be history made no matter what as I'm aiming to become the first six-time winner and Dennis is hoping to be first back-to-back winner.

He will have to get through Orcollo though and a big part of the Filipino�s winning game is the ability to hit his stride very early in these short format matches and today was no exception as he flew out the traps, winning the lag and running out the first.

A mistake from Fu allowed him to take the second and a couple more loose efforts from the Chinese saw Orcollo move into a 4-0 lead.

Fu won the fifth but Orcollo took the next two to move 6-1 ahead, but an illegal break from the Filipino gave Fu a chance and he took the eighth and then ran out the ninth to mount a comeback at 6-3 down.

They shared the next two which left Orcollo on the hill and he completed the victory to book his second consecutive PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters final.

"I used the soft break but I have to use more speed in the final. I was a bit nervous as I've never beaten him before. He has beaten me twice before so I had to be strong and play well,� said Orcollo.

"The crowd made a lot of noise but the only thing I can do is focus on the game and now I'm playing in the final so I'm happy."

2011 PARTYPOKER.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE LAST 16
Dennis Orcollo	8 : 2	Tony Drago
Chang Jung-lin	8 : 3	Shane Van Boening
Chris Melling	4 : 8	Fu Jianbo
Francisco Bustamante	3 : 8	Jason Klatt
Huidji See	7 : 8	Lee Van Corteza
Ralf Souquet	8 : 7	Mika Immonen
Darren Appleton	8 : 5	Efren Reyes
Yukio Akagariyama	3 : 8	Raj Hundal

2011 PARTYPOKER.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE QUARTER-FINALS
Dennis Orcollo	8 : 1	Chang Jung-lin
Fu Jianbo	8 : 5	Jason Klatt
Ralf Souquet	8 : 6	Lee Van Corteza
Darren Appleton	8 : 4	Raj Hundal

2011 PARTYPOKER.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE SEMI-FINALS
Dennis Orcollo	8 : 4	Fu Jianbo
Ralf Souquet	8 : 7	Darren Appleton

2011 PARTYPOKER.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE FINAL
Ralf Souquet	8 : 5	Dennis Orcollo

2011 PARTYPOKER.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE PRIZE FUND
1st	US $ 20,000-00
2nd	US $ 10,000-00
3rd	US $ 4,000-00
4th	US $ 4,000-00
5th	US $ 3,000-00
6th	US $ 3,000-00
7th	US $ 3,000-00
8th	US $ 3,000-00
9th	US $ 2,000-00
10th	US $ 2,000-00
11th	US $ 2,000-00
12th	US $ 2,000-00
13th	US $ 2,000-00
14th	US $ 2,000-00
15th	US $ 2,000-00
16th	US $ 2,000-00
Total Prize Fund: US $ 66,000-00

The final is at 19.00 on Monday evening. The format is race-to-8, winner breaks, and all matches will be televised live throughout on Solar Sports in the Philippines. Matchroom Sport TV will subsequently produce 15 x 1 hour highlight shows for global distribution.

Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, �I think it�s fair to say that this is one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the Masters. There will be no easy matches and every player here is a champion.

�With only 16 players we have tried to assemble the toughest field possible given the geographical spread required.

�It will be hard to back against the Filipino players in front of what will be huge crowds in Manila, but with the strength in depth of the line-up, they all have a chance.�

The 2011 World Pool Masters is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world�s leading online poker school. Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc, tables by Star Xing Pai and the Official Cue is Predator.

2011 PARTY CASINO.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
INVITED PLAYERS
1.	Yukio Akagariyama	Japan
2.	Darren Appleton	England
3.	Francisco Bustamante	Philippines
4.	Chang Jun-ling	Taiwan
5.	Lee Van Corteza	Philippines
6.	Tony Drago	Malta
7.	Fu Jianbo	China
8.	Raj Hundal	India
9.	Mika Immonen	Finland
10.	Jason Klatt	Canada
11.	Chris Melling	England
12.	Dennis Orcollo	Philippines
13.	Efren Reyes	Philippines
14.	Huidji See	Netherlands
15.	Ralf Souquet	Germany
16.	Shane Van Boening	USA

The format is race-to-8, winner breaks, and all matches will be televised live throughout on Solar Sports in the Philippines. Matchroom Sport TV will subsequently produce 15 x 1 hour highlight shows for global distribution.

Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, �I think it�s fair to say that this is one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the Masters. There will be no easy matches and every player here is a champion.

�It will be hard to back against the Filipino players in front of what will be huge crowds in Manila, but with the strength in depth of the line-up, they all have a chance.�

2011 PARTY CASINO.NET
WORLD POOL MASTERS
THE WINNER'S LIST
1993	Werner Duregger	AUT
1994	Ralf Souquet	GER
1995	Daryl Peach	ENG
1996	Ralf Souquet	GER
1997	Earl Strickland	USA
1998	Francisco Bustamante	PHI
1999	Alex Lely	NED
2000	Ralf Souquet	GER
2001	Francisco Bustamante	PHI
2002	Ralf Souquet	GER
2003	Tony Drago	MLT
2004	Thomas Engert	GER
2005	Raj Hundal	ENG
2006	Ralf Souquet	GER
2007	Thomas Engert	GER
2008	Alex Pagulayan	PHI
2009	Darren Appleton	ENG
2010	Dennis Orcollo	PHI
2011	Ralf Souquet	GER

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