New Brunswick, New Jersey- Germany once again reigns supreme in straight pool as Thorsten Hohmann dominated the 71st World Tournament of 14.1. USA's Mike Davis had no answer for Hohmann's precision game and knowledge of 14.1. Both players played their very first match of the event against each other, and met once again in the very end.
The matches went longer than expected, and lasted to 3:00am before finished. But a large number of die hard fans stayed till the very end including for the closing ceremonies.
"I really say thanks to the fans who stayed here to watch me play to the very end", said Hohmann in his appreciation for the fans.
"There's no fans in the world like the ones that come to the World Tournament of 14.1 each year. I recognize 90% of them each year because they love the event and keep coming back", said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.
USA's Mike Davis made a valiant effort. The 9-ball player who picked up the game just a few years ago made it through the round robin with 5 wins and 2 losses. Then he defeated Shaun Wilkie 200-133, Earl Herring 200-79, demolished legendary Mike Sigel 200-79, weathered a tough 200-166 match with Charlie Williams before facing Hohmann.
Thorsten went undefeated in the round robin stages with a perfect 7-0 record and then defeated Dan Mastermaker 200-25, Dennis Hatch 200- 83, Steve Lipsky 200-116, and came back from a huge deficit to win a thrilling match with Filipino Alex Pagulayan 200-172.
In the finals, Thorsten took a commanding lead right away which included a 100+ ball run. Mike was never able to recover from this hit. Fatigue also was a factor on both players as they had already endured tough semi-final matches. They had both pocketed 1500 balls each over the 5 days. Towards the end Hohmann needed less than one rack to win the match but missed 2 times unbelievably to close it out. Davis was in no shape to put any significant numbers up anymore, and Hohmann pocketed the final balls to claim the championship once more. Hohmann won in 2006 as well.
"This is definitely one of the most significant accomplishments for me. I've won a couple big 9-ball events, but this is major for me to make it to the finals of the World Tournament", said Davis in his speech to the audience afterwards.
"I felt very good coming into the finals. I ran a hundred balls in each of my single elimination matches (5 in a row). But Mike made a very good effort, so he should be proud of himself. This title means alot to me", said Hohmann. With many 9-ball, 10-Ball, and 8-ball titles to his credit, he was asked was 14.1 his favorite game. His reply, "Oh yeahhhh!"
The 72nd World Tournament will be scheduled for summer of 2012.
Fans caught the streaming at www.insidepoolmag.com . DVDs may be manufactured if the demand is high. fans can email info@insidepoolmag.com
Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event
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The 2011 World Tournament is proudly co-sponsored by Predator Cues, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Andy Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Sandcastle Billiards and straight pool aficionados Bill Austin of UT, Dr.Louis Pannullo, Ralph Rubin of MD. Co-contributors Dennis Walsh, Dr.James Heller, Charles Eames, Mark Snodgrass, and Bill Marapolous. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.
