Hyatt Regency
Two Albany Street
New Brunswick
New Jersey
USA
www.DragonPromotions.com
www.Worldstraightpool.com
28 August - 2 September 2011
Charlie Williams beats Oliver Ortmann again and makes the quarter finals
of the World Tournament for the third year in a row.
Photography courtesy of Charles Eames
An American Will Make the Finals: Ortmann Ousted by Williams
The USA will make the finals of the World Tournament of 14.1. Guaranteed. For the first time in over twenty years, an American will have a shot at the title that has been dominated by Europeans in modern times. And on the other side of the coin, a foreign player will also be guaranteed in the finals. Philippines, Germany, and the USA.
Johnny Archer came back on Mika Immonen to keep the Finn at a 9th place finish. Archer won the match 200-156. Steve Lipsky earlier defeated former World 14.1 winner Stephan Cohen of France and then defeated fellow New Yorker Tony Robles 200-110.
The big story of the day was the elimination of defending World Champion Oliver Ortmann. Ortmann has been the most decorated 14.1 player in the new millenium and the favorite to win this year. He eliminated Japanese champ Kunihiko Takahashi with a 120 ball run. But against Williams he could not get any runs going. Williams didn't play spectacular, but played steady. In the end, Williams capitalized on Ortmann's final mistake and won 200-151. Williams also handed Ortmann his only loss last year in the double elimination stage, but Ortmann still won the event.
"I had mixed emotions before the match. The promoter part of me wants Oliver to advance because the fans want to watch him. Including me!" explained Williams. "But I'm also a professional and have to do my very best."
Max Eberle eliminated Ray Martin in a one sided affair. But Martin got a round of applause as fans said goodbye to their former World Champion in perhaps his final 14.1 event.
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Archer looking in form !
Photography courtesy of Charles Eames
Alex Pagulayan and Rodney Morris played a lackluster quarter finals as both players suffered from fatigue. They had both pocketed 400 balls that day. After many innings, Alex closed the door and won to advance to the semi-finals. This is the third time a Filipino has made it this far. Orcullo and Bustamante also made it to the final four before.
Thorsten Hohmann seemed to be the only players not worn out. He defeated Danny Mastermaker including a 134 ball high run. Then he defeated Dennis Hatch. And next he ran another 127 balls on Lipsky, before finally winning to advance to the semi-finals against Pagulayan tomorrow.
Mike Davis got passed Earl Herring (who eliminated Hopkins) by a big leap score. Then he defeated Mike Sigel by a 100 point margin.
One quarter final match remains with Archer vs Williams. The winner will play Davis which assures USA a finals berth !(finally)
Lipsky Upsets Cohen: Hohmann Runs 134 & Out
Local New Yorker Steve Lipsky had one of his biggest matches of his career as he took down former World 14.1 Champion Stephan Cohen of France. The quiet spoken lefty kept the pressure on Cohen throughout the match and got a big ovation from the predominantly New Jersey and New York fans.
Thorsten Hohmann cruised past Amsterdam Billiards Qualifier Danny Mastermaker with a finale 134 ball run and out. He now holds the event high run thus far. Bill Austin of Utah is awarding $1000 to the player with the highest run.
In an exciting match, Mika Immonen led John Schmidt 140 to 12, when Schmidt went on a 124 ball run. Schmidt took the lead back but missed an easy side pocket shot. Immonen then ran the set out in a very high calibre match. This match was considered by many to be something to see for a semi-finals or finals, so fans will be disappointed to see Schmidt go so early. Immonen now faces Johnny Archer in the round of 16.
Ray Martin had fans on their feet when he upset the reigning
World Champion Oliver Ortmann of Germany today
Photography courtesy of Charles Eames
76 Year Old Martin Shocks World Champion Ortmann: Sigel Runs Perfect 100
Hollywood could not have scripted this any better. 76 year old retired pro pool player enters his first pro championship in over 20 years and plays against the reigning World Champion and is victorious. Today that is exactly what happened as Ray "Cool Cat" Martin gave Oliver Ortmann his very first loss at the 71st World Tournament of 14.1.
Fans packed the arena and the match was on the TV stream table. Ortmann had the lead at one point, but Martin kept the score close throughout the match. Both players engaged in several key safety exchanges, which seemed to throw the German champion off his rhythm. Martin won the bulk of these defensive exchanges using his fountain of old school knowledge.
Needing only a rack, Martin had a very difficult cut shot that would break the stack open. He made a terrific cut but the cueball got kissed into the corner as well. Ortmann could not end the set however, and Martin was given another chance. Needing less than a rack, he faced another deep cutshot as his breakshot, and made an incredible backwards cut into the sidepocket and busted the rack open, but again the cueball somehow found a pocket. Ortmann again could not wake up and erred once more and Martin ran out what he needed for the win. The audience rose to their feet in joy!
"This is something we may never ever see again. What a way to remember Ray!", said one player.
"It feels really good. I can't play like I use to, but I'm happy I can still do it", said Martin of his historic win.
Ortmann continued to have a bad day as he ran into a red hot Sigel next. Sigel talkative as always, managed to put together rack after rack. After many self oohs and ahhs, Sigel finished the match with a 100 ball run to shut Ortmann down 100-0. This is the first time anyone has shutdown Ortmann in the World Tournament. Sigel remains undefeated and looks to be prime for the top ranking for his group.
Today's new lineup on the stream table include Rodney Morris vs Brandon Shuff, Steve Lipsky vs Mike Davis, Kunihiko Takahashi (JPN) vs Charlie Williams, Allen Hopkins vs Dennis Hatch, Jose Parica vs Mike Sigel, and Zion Zvi vs Hatch. The match will be live streamed on www.insidepoolmag.com
Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event
World Tournament of 14.1 Day 1: Martin vs Sigel
Overcoming mother nature, The World Tournament went on relatively unscathed on Day 1. Dragon Promotions accommodated players stuck in traffic, floods, and disaster zones to make their matches rearranging times in the grueling round robin format.
A full field of 64 players started a full day of 14.1 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel in the World Tournament arena. Oliver Ortmann overcame two cancelled flights, a whole day delay, arrival in a far off city, car rental and 4 hour drive to make his matches at a chance to defend his title and win a 3rd World Tournament 14.1 title.
"It was unbelievable. Three days of traveling and dealing with changes in cities, planes, etc. Even last night once we got near the hotel, the roads were closed so we had to stay at another nearby hotel till it cleared in the morning. And now I goto rest, and get ready for the evening matches", said Ortmann of his arduous journey.
Most of the top seeds advanced unscathed, including Ortmann. One upset was USA's Max Eberle win over former World 14.1 winner Stephan Cohen of France. Mika Immonen will have a tougher sleep when he led 95-30 against Dennis Hatch, before Hatch ran a 70 and out for the 100-95 win. "Alex did the same ting to me last night in the Warm-Up. When you miss in straight pool, you're not sure if you will shoot again", said hatch. A glimmer of hope for the USA?
Ray Martin won his first 2 matches handily. The 76 year old super veteran ended his day on a high note to the delight and applause to the audience with his wins over Peter Burrows and Chris Riley. Tomorrow will be a tester as he faces Jose Parica, Oliver Ortmann, and a much anticipated match with Mike Sigel!
"I'm not sure if we have ever played each other straight pool. Ray was just a little before my time", said Sigel.
"It feels nice to still win. Dragon Promotions has done such a wonderful job producing this event and promoting my induction into the 14.1 Hall of Fame. I think I'm going be very teary eyed on Wednesday night," said martin.
Ray Martin won the World 14.1 Championship in 1978. Sigel won the next year. This could be history in the making tomorrow night at 8:30pm! The match will be live streamed on www.insidepoolmag.com
Insidepoolmag.com will be streaming matches starting from 10am to midnight tomorrow with many marquee matches with Ortmann, Sigel, Immonen, Martin, and many more 14.1 legends.
Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full groups and other 14.1 news from the event.
For the sixth straight year, Dragon Promotions will produce the 71st Annual World Tournament of Straight Pool August 28- September 2 . In partnership with the support of Dr.Michael Fedak, this year's event will have the biggest payout in straight pool history with $20,000 going to the champion. The event is $35,000 added , boasting a total $70,000 in the prize fund. Predator Cues will also be sponsoring the event for the sixth straight year at the luxurious Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ. Once again the greatest straight pool players from around the world will arrive on USA's east coast again to attend this prestigious event. Their common goal will be to play for the coveted World Tournament of 14.1 title and be recognized as the #1 Straight Pool Player on Earth. The World Tournament is the oldest tournament in history that still exists today. Invented by Jerome Keough and shortly after recognized as the official game of billiards. The first World 14.1 Tournament was held in 1911 and won by Alfredo DeOro. In its history due to war and economics, the World Championships had 29 tournaments that did not take place including a 15 year gap between 1990-2005 until Dragon Promotions revived the game and the World Tournament in 2006.
THE PREDATOR 71st WORLD TOURNAMENT | |
NEW JERSEY - USA | |
THE GROUPS | |
| GROUP A Oliver Ortmann GER Mike Sigel USA Ray Martin USA Jose Parica PHI Peter Burrows USA Chris Riley USA Ed Culhane USA Tom Gleich USA | GROUP B Mika Immonen FIN Allen Hopkins USA Zion Zvi ISR Dennis Hatch USA Dan Heidrich USA James Heller USA Peter Hull USA Matt Tetrault |
| GROUP C Thorsten Hohmann GER Mike Davis USA Steve Lipsky USA Jeremy Sossei USA Andy Walker USA Ron Lubas USA Michael Frank USA Matthew Hall USA | GROUP D Stephan Cohen nothing Max Eberle USA Tony Robles USA Earl Herring USA Hunter Lombardo USA Blair Levandowski USA Ben Risoli USA Mark Ritter USA |
| GROUP E Niels Feijen NET Rodney Morris USA Danny Barouty USA Brandon Shuff USA Michael Yednak USA Andy Lincoln USA Dan Mastermaker USA Randy Fawcett USA | GROUP F Johnny Archer USA Ralph Eckert GER Shaun Wilkie USA Jonathan Smith USA Chris Lynch USA Jim Gottier USA Jerry Tarrantola USA Bob Madenjian USA |
| GROUP G Charlie Williams USA Kunihiko Takahashi JPN Tobias Hoiss GER Tom Walters USA Mark Snodgrass USA Allan Waldo USA Tom Karabotsos USA Paul Bausch | GROUP H John Schmidt USA Alex Pagulayan PHI John Blacklaw GER Dave Daya USA Charles Eames USA Louis Pannullo USA Ray Robles USA Jeff Mohl USA |
THE PREDATOR 70TH WORLD TOURNAMENT | ||
NEW JERSEY - USA | ||
THE LAST 16 | ||
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THE PREDATOR 71st WORLD TOURNAMENT | ||
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THE QUARTER FINALS | ||
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THE PREDATOR 71st WORLD TOURNAMENT | ||
NEW JERSEY - USA | ||
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
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THE PREDATOR 71st WORLD TOURNAMENT | ||
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THE FINAL | ||
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