Defending Champ Ortmann Fallen but Not Out

Sixteen players are still fighting for the prestigious Predator World Straight Pool Championship title in New Brunswick, NJ, at the Hilton Hotel. Held this week through Sunday, this event began with 64 of the world’s top 14.1 players and will end Sunday with one in the winner’s circle.

Eight players still stake out the winners’ bracket. Mika Immonen just felled U.S. 14.1 bastion John “Mr. 403” Schmidt 150-73 and will advance to play former world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann, who just defeated fellow countryman Ralf “The Surgeon” Souquet 150-47.

Defending champion Oliver Ortmann fell to Mike Dechaine by a thin 150-140 margin and now will have to struggle through the one-loss side. Dechaine’s next opponent will be Niels “The Terminator” Feijen, fresh off a strong 150-10 victory over Ignacio Chavez.

Corey Deuel, recent Million Dollar 9-Ball Shootout champion, sent Raj Hundal to the west side 150-104 and will next play Francisco Bustamante, who just bested Danny Harriman 150-111. And German champion Thomas Engert advanced to the winners’-side final eight with a 150-50 win over Dominic Jentsch. Engert’s next opponent will be Dutch player Nick Van Den Berg, just off of a 150-103 win over Radislaw Babica.

Do or Die: 14.1 Begins Single-Elimination

Surviving three days of group play and another day in a modified double-elimination bracket, 16 players are still alive at the Predator World 14.1 Championship. Now, the players will be redrawn into a final single-elimination bracket that will produce a champion on Saturday evening.

Niels Feijen, Nick Van den Berg and Mika Immonen lead an unsurprisingly strong contingent of Europeans. All three have yet to lose a match at the Hilton East Brunswick, posting impressive 9-0 records.

The Americans, who haven't won the event in nearly two decades, have four players left in the field. Danny Harriman and John Schmidt, both considered among America's best 14.1 players, will be joined by Corey Deuel and Mike Dechaine.

Dechaine, a 21-year-old from Maine, beat Bobby Hunter and Oliver Ortmann to advance to single-elimination play. Ortmann, however, bounced back on the left-side, beating Mike Sigel, 150-105, to advance. Two rounds will be held on Friday, leaving just four players left for the semifinals and final matches on Saturday.

World Straight Pool Final Sixteen; Ortmann advances

Phase two is complete at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship and the field has now been narrowed to just sixteen players.

The rest of the event is single elimination and all prior losses have been forgiven.

At the time of this writing, Oliver Ortmann had already defeated Thomas Engert 200-42 and was comfortably awaiting the winner between Mika Immonen and Jasmin Ouschan.

Other matches for today are Huidji See vs Corey Deuel, Danny Harriman vs Francisco Bustamante, Ignacio Chavez vs Niels Feijen, John Schmidt vs Mike Dechaine, Ralf Souquet vs Thorsten Hohmann and Nick Van Den Berg vs Dominic Jentsch.

Ortmann in World 14.1: Final Day of Group Stage

After dropping his first match at the Predator World 14.1 Championship against Allen Hopkins, defending champion Oliver Ortmann responded by winning his next four matches. With one day left in the group stage, Ortmann looks assured of a spot in the final 32.

Many of the top seeds at the championship — held through Saturday at the Hilton East Brunswick (N.J.) — have themselves in position to advance.

Johnny Archer, Mika Immonen, Francisco Bustamante and Nick Van den Berg remain unbeaten in the round-robin stage.

Mike Sigel and Allen Hopkins, both legends in the discipline of straight pool, should advance if each can win one match on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jasmin Ouschan, who finished in ninth place last year, has struggled in the first two days of the world championship. Entering play Wednesday, she has a 2-3 record. Ouschan will need to finish in the top half of her eight-player group to advance.

On Thursday, the format will switch to a double-elimination field of 32 players. Once the field is halved to 16, the bracket will become single elimination, with matches extending to races-to-200. The final is set for Saturday evening.

Surprising Start in New Jersey

After one day of round-robin play at the Predator World 14.1 Championship, Mike Sigel and Allen Hopkins remain unbeaten. Sigel easily Ignacio Chavez, 100-50, while Hopkins topped defending champion Oliver Ortmann, 100-60, and Bernie Pettipiece, 100-18.

But considering the amount of straight-pool accolades these two Hall of Famers have collected over the past four decades, this first-day success shouldn't be too shocking.

What might be a little surprising is that the top four finishers from last year's championship have won just one match — 2007 runnier-up Huijdi See's 100-19 win over John Rousseau.

Danny Harriman, who finished tied for third with Martin Kempter last year, dropped his opening match to Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, 100-49. Kempter was on the wrong end of both his matches, losing to Ralf Souquet, 100-64, and Dan Wallace, 100-34

Though struggling early, these top seeds have plenty of time to climb up the group standings. The round-robin stage, with eight flights of eight players each, is far from over. After each competitor plays seven matches, the top four from each group will advance to the round of 32.

The double-elimination bracket will switch to single elimination once 16 players remain.

World 14.1 Begins Group Play

This morning in the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, N.J., the first matches of the 2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship are underway. The world-class straight pool will continue through the week, with the final scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30.

The field of 64 will first play in a round-robin, with eight groups of eight playing race-to-100 matches. The top four from each flight will advance to a double-elimination bracket of 32. Finally, once 16 players remain, the format will be single elimination, with matches extending to races to 200 points.

One subplot to watch is the large contingent of American players. It has been 18 years since an American has won the 14.1 world championship. With 39 players in this year's field, the United States is by far the most represented country.

Mixed in with young stars like Danny Harriman and John Schmidt are a few legendary 14.1 players. Hall of Famers Allen Hopkins and Mike Sigel are both ranked second in group play.

Oliver Ortmann, who won last year's title by beating Netherlander Huidji See, is the No. 1 seed. Der Maschine is joined by countrymen Thomas Engert, Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann as players likely to make late-round appearances.

2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship Group Pairings

East Brunswick, New Jersey-  Dragon Promotions announces the official group pairings for the 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship. The round robin stage will be held Aug 25-27, with the field narrowed to 32 in the double elimination stage races to 150 on Aug 28, and the last sixteen playing race to 200 points on Aug 29-30.

There may be last minute changes and substitutions in the schedule and the event if a player is not able to attend.
Official Group Pairings of the 2008 Predator World 14.1 Championship. Round Robin Races to 100 Points.

Group 1

Oliver Ortmann  GER
Allen Hopkins USA
Yu Ram Cha KOR
Mike Dechaine USA
Bernie Pettipiece USA
Bob Chamberlain USA
Bill Maropolous USA
Peter Burrows USA

Group 2

Thorsten Hohmann  GER
Mike Sigel USA
Jonathan Fulcher  SCO 
Charlie Williams USA
Stevie Moore USA
Jim Gottier USA
Devon Cataldi USA
Allan Cornia USA

Group 3

Huidji See NED
John Schmidt USA 
Dominic Jentsch GER
Shaun Wilkie USA
Mark Vidal SPN
Jimmy Mendoza  USA
Dan Heidrich USA USA
David Daya USA

Group 4

Danny Harriman USA
Niels Feijen  NED
Danny Barouty USA
Gerda Hofstatter AUT
Bob Maidhof USA
Chris Lynch USA
Mark Snodgrass USA
Stefan Cohen FRA

Group 5

Martin Kempter AUT
Ralf Souquet GER
Tony Robles USA
Francisco Bustamante PHI
Vincent Facquet FRA
Dan Wallace USA
Dennis Hatch USA
Jonathan Smith USA

Group 6

Thomas Engert GER
Raj Hundal  IND
Corey Deuel USA
Nick Van Denberg NED
Sebastian Staab GER
Liz Ford USA
Tom Parisian USA
Shin Young Park KOR

Group 7

Mika Immonen FIN
Bobby Hunter USA
Konstantin Stepanov RUS
Mike Davis USA
Ed Deska USA
Mark Ritter USA
Michael Yednak USA
Bob M. Cozzolino USA

Group 8

Johnny Archer USA
Jasmin Ouschan AUT
Radoslaw Babica POL
Tony Rodriguez  USA 
Calvin Coker USA
Mohammed Hakim NED 
Steve Lipsky USA
Steve Lillis USA

Fans and players can still reserve rooms at Hilton East Brunswick at 1-732-828-2000. The room code for the event is "POL"    There are still limited amount of rooms available. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at www.dragonpromotions.com or in person at the event, or at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC or Comet Billiards in NJ.

The 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Dr.Michael Fedak of NYC, Joel Schapiro of NYC, The Predator Group, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. 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.

World 14.1 Field Full of Big Names including Oliver Ortmann

In little more than a week, some of the biggest names in billiards will be competing in the 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship, scheduled for Aug. 25-30 at the Hilton in East Brunswick, N.J.

Mike Sigel, considered one of the top straight-pool players in the modern era, will return to the table in hopes of adding another notch to his Hall of Fame legacy.

Other 14.1 legends will be alongside Captain Hook, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Allen Hopkins. For more than a decade, Hopkins was considered a top talent in many disciplines, including straight pool.

Bobby Hunter will also compete. Hunter is the last American to hold the 14.1 world title, which he won in 1990.

But the favorites have to be the Europeans, led by reigning champion Oliver Ortmann. Last year, after winning the title by defeated Netherlander Huidji See, Ortmann predicted the 18-year drought for the Americans will continue for the foreseeable future.

"It might be a very long time before an American will get this title back," Ortmann said.

Fellow Germans Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert, Finland's Mika Immonen and two-time European 14.1 champion Niels Feijen of Holland will also be players worth keeping an eye on.

Predator World 14.1 Championship Led by Defending Champion Oliver Ortmann

East Brunswick, New Jersey - Germany, Korea, Netherlands, Russia, Canada, Japan, Finland, Poland, India, Austria, Scotland, France, Spain and the USA are some of the countries that will be represented at the 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship held at the Hilton East Brunswick, NJ from Aug 25-30,2008.

Reigning WPA World Straight Pool Champion Oliver Ortmann of Germany will be leading a mass of foreign players onto American soil once more to retain the prestigious mantle of World 14.1 Champion. The last American to win the World 14.1 title was Bobby Hunter in 1990, nearly 2 decades ago.

Early favorites will be the Europeans, especially the German contingent of Thorsten Hohmann, Ralf Souquet, Thomas Engert, Oliver Ortmann and recently World Junior 10-Ball crowned Dominic Jentsch. Hohmann a week earlier had won the Lucasi Hybrid Classic 14.1 title in dominant fashion including a 167 ball run against Mika Immonen in the finals. Jentsch had a perfect 150 and out against Filipino Santos Sambajon during that event. 2006 World 14.1 Silver Medalist Thomas Engert will be back to try to finish the job while World 8-Ball champion Ralf Souquet will look to improve on his 9th place finish last year.

Raj Hundal of India will head the Asian group of players from Korea, Japan, and India. Hundal is making his first appearance in a 14.1 competition. “I’m excited to represent India at this World Championship event, and even though straight pool is not my game, I’ve been practicing hard and I’ve already run over a hundred in practice, so I’m up for the challenge.” warns Hundal.

Other notable international stars to keep an eye on are last year’s Silver Medalist Huidji See NED, 2006 Bronze Medalist Mika Immonen FIN, 2007 European #1 Konstantin Stepanov RUS, and 2007 Derby City 9-Ball Champion and 2 time European 14.1 Champion Niels Feijen NED. “It might be a very long time before an American will get this title back.” predicted Oliver Ortmann last year.

Fans and players can still reserve rooms at Hilton East Brunswick at 1-732-828-2000. The room code for the event is “POL” There are still limited amount of rooms available. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at Dragonpromotions.com or in person at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC or Comet Billiards in NJ.

The 2008 Predator World Straight Pool Championship is proudly sponsored by Dr.Michael Fedak of NYC, Joel Schapiro of NYC, The Predator Group, Diamond Billiard Products, Aramith Balls, and Simonis Cloth. 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.

Oliver Ortmann

Personal Background

• Name: Oliver Ortmann
• Known as: "The Machine"
• Sex: Male
• Age: 40 years old
• Date of Birth: June 17, 1967
• Place of Birth: Hamburg, Germany
• Country: Germany
• Nationality: German
• Hobbies: Playing pool
• Spouse: na
• Sports: Billiard

Achievements:

• 2007 World Straight Pool Champion
• 2007 European Eight-ball Pool Champion
• 2006 European Eight-ball Pool Champion
• 2003 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 2002 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 2002 Mosconi Cup winning team captain
• 2000 International Challenge of Champions Winner
• 1999 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 1997 International Challenge of Champions Winner
• 1996 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 1996 European Eight-ball Pool Champion
• 1995 WPA Men's Nine-ball World Champion
• 1995 Mosconi Cup winning team captain
• 1994 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 1993 European Nine-ball Pool Champion
• 1989 US Open Straight Pool Champion
• 13 time European Tour Champion
• 41 German Championship medals
• 26 European Championship medals

Trivia:

• Oliver Ortmann is a German top professional pool player. He is renowned not only as a World Champion in Nine-Ball but also in the resurgent discipline of 14.1 or straight pool.

• A native-born Hamburger, Ortmann is one of the most successful European players. He first came to prominence by defeating Steve Mizerak to win the 1989 US Open 14.1 Championship. In 1995, he became the WPA Men's Nine-ball World Champion.

• In 2004, Ortmann formed Ortmann Billiards, a company which sells pool products. Two years later he joined the International Pool Tour, and also continued competing in events sanctioned by other organizations. He won the 2007 WPA World Straight Pool Championship defeating Huidji See, 200-171 in the final match. This is his second World title in 12 years. During the tournament Ortmann made the third-highest run of the tournament, 131.

Ortmann at World 8-Ball Pool Championships in Fujairah, UAE

The field at the World 8-Ball Pool Championships in Fuijairah has now been reduced to thirty-two players. On this elimination day perhaps the most surprising exit from the tournament is that of Oliver Ortmann. Ortmann lost yesterday to Farhad Shaverdi of Iran (8-7) and was eliminated today by Joven Bustamnte of the Phillipines (8-3).
The players who successfully negotiated this first stage of the event include most of the familiar names. Those include Thorsten Hohmann (GER), Hui-Kai Hsia (TPE), Nick Van Den Berg (NED), Ronnie Alcano (PHI), Dennis Orcollo (PHI), Francisco Bustamante (PHI), Marcus Chamat (SWE), and Efren Reyes (PHI). A complete list follows this report.

But first, a day off and a little celebrating. Tomorrow will be void of competition as the players will take some time off and will all be treated to a desert safari, including camel rides and a desert barbecue. This will be followed by a taste of the Dubai nightlife before returning to Fujairah to resume play on Tuesday.

Our hosts here in Fujairah have gone out of the way to make the players comfortable. Each evening a meal is catered to the tournament site by the restaurant of the five-star Meridian Al Aqah Beach Resort that includes five main courses accompanied by side dishes, salads and a huge selection of desserts. The playing conditions in the brand-new Al Bustan Centre are excellent, well-lit with lots of room between the tables and each individual match is presided over by local referees who answer ultimately to the WPA Sports Director, Thomas Overbeck, who is on-site overseeing the action.

Oliver Ortmann wins World 14.1 Title

Oliver Ortmann is your new World 14.1 Champion. Ortmann started the day with a hard fought 200-123 win over American Danny Harriman and faced off with Huidji See from the Netherlands in the finals.

See was the first to gain any control in the final match as he moved out to a quick 54-11 lead. A run by Ortmann narrowed the gap to 54-37, but See surged ahead 79-40 with a run of his own. Ortmann came back to within six at 86-80 and then answer a short run from See with a run of his own to knot the score at 97 each. Ortmann inched ahead at 118-104 but See regained the lead 142-129. Ortmann retook a small lead at 155-142.

See crept back to 157-156, but left a shot hanging in the jaws to give Ortmann a chance at the table. Ortmann capitalized on the chance, but was only able to take a 12 ball lead before See retook the lead at 170-169.

A safety battle was followed by Ortmann creeping out to a 182-171 lead while still at the table. From there, Ortmann's experience allowed him to close out the match for the win.

Ortmann earned $12,500 for first place, while See settled for $5500 in second place prize money.

World 8-Ball Pool Championships Fujairah, UAE Day Two

German hopes for another world title suffered a major setback today as three of their biggest stars all tasted defeat. Thomas Engert lost to Elvis Calasang of the Phillipines 8-3, Oliver Ortmann fell 8-7 to Farhad Shaverdi of Iran and Thorsten Hohmann came up short 8-4 against Serge Das of Belgium. None of these players is as yet out of the running as it would take another defeat to eliminate any of them, but now they are all on the proverbial tightrope for staying in the field.

Sunday will be the judgement day for the field as half of them will be eliminated by the end of the day’s play. Those that remain will fall into a single-elimination format with sixteen seeded players (seeded according to their performance thus far) and the remaining players drawn into the brackets.

That is when the suspense will kick into high gear as any match loss from then on out will mean elimination from the tournament. The players are now used to the tables and playing conditions and so excuses are at a minimum.

Play will begin at 2 PM on Sunday at the Al Bushtan Hall in Fujairah. Complete results as of the end of play Saturday are listed below. Best Wishes,
Jerry Forsyth

Results From Day Two

14:00
Fabio Petroni (ITA) v Zbyniek Vaic (RSA) 8-2
Michael Felder (AUT) v Lee Vann Corteza (PHI) 2-8
Saleem Al Juneebi (UAE) v Mohammed Asim (IND) 8-5
Rizandro Arrieta (VEN) v Efren Reyes (PHI) 2-8
Chia-Ching Wu (TPE) v Thomas Damm (GER) 8-6
Jason Klatt (CAN) v Elvis Calasang (PHI) 3-8
Carlos Alburez (GUA) v Kareem Al Gendi (EGY) 0-8

16:00
Saeed Al Mutawe (UAE) v Naif Al Jeweni (KSA) 3-8
Thomas Engert (GER) v Goran Mladenovic (SCG) 3 -8
Mario Tolentino (PHI) v Niels Feijen (NED) 4-8
Nasser Al Mujebel (KUW) v Omran Salem (UAE) 8-3
Mohammed Aseel (EGY) v Günter Geisen (GER) 5-8
Thorsten Hohmann (GER) v Serge Das (BEL) 4-8
Farhad Shaverdi (IRA) v Oliver Ortmann (GER) 8-7

18:00
Joven Bustamante (PHI) v Roberto Freitas (ANT) 8-2
Henrik Asperup (DEN) v Muhammed Al Hosani (UAE) 8-2
Hui-Kai Hsia (TPE) v Lee Vann Corteza (PHI) 8-3
Alec Evreniadis (AUS) v Nick v.d. Berg (NED) 0-8
Kevin Becker (GER) v Michael Felder (AUT) 8-5
Omar El Serkal (UAE) v Issa Al Boloshi (UAE) 3-8
Ronnie Alcano (PHI) v Joven Alba (PHI) 8-6

20:00
Table 1: Erik Hjorleifson (CAN) v Satoshi Kawabata (JPN) 8-5
Table 2: Rafath Habib (IND) v Hani Al Howri (UAE) 4-8
Table 3: Ben Nunan (AUS) v Arif Allah (PAK) 8-2
Table 4: Dennis Orcollo (PHI) v Aki Heiskanen (FIN) 8-2
Table 5: James Ortega (PHI) v Francisco Bustamante (PHI) 5-8
Table 6: Karl Boyes (GBR) v Naoyuki Ohi (JPN) 8-5
Table 7: Salah AL Rimawi (UAE) v Alexander Dremsizis (GER) 8-3

Groups Announced For IPT World Open Championships

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 22:

Adkins, Dee
Ortmann, Oliver
McCready, Keith
Schwartz, Larry
Travers, Laurent

Who's Hot and who's not? Knockout draw

As Cardiff recorded the highest temperatures in the United Kingdom, several stars of the blue baize were wilting in the heat on Judgement Day.

Former world champion Nick Varner was one of several American casualties. The Hall of Fame inductee threw away a 4-1 lead over Antonio Lining and with it went his chances of qualifying for the Last 64. He'll be joined on the plane home to America by Charlie Williams, who never showed in Group 5.

Johnny Archer and Earl Strickland left it to the last minute to scrape through their groups. Archer started his campaign with three losses but came with a late run on the rails and Strickland, the defending champion, needed just one win out of three matches on the final day, but lost the first two, putting himself under pressure to win the last, which he did.

The Filipino players will be well represented in the knock out draw. Efren Reyes leads the way with a perfect record of seven wins, with 35 racks won and only 18 lost. Reyes' record is only better by Canada's Alex Pagulayan who lost only 14 racks. Marlon Manalo, better known as a snooker star also notched seven straight wins, for the loss of 21 racks and the fourth player with a perfect record was Ralf Souquet, who also lost 21 racks.

Qualifiers: Draw

Group 1: Ying-Chief Chen, Jorge Llanos, Earl Strickland, Mark Williams
Group 2: Francisco Bustamente, Thomas Engert, Evgeny Stalev, Raymond Cruz
Group 3: Ralf Souquet, Max Eberle, Fabio Petroni, Alex Lely
Group 4: Efren Reyes, Sin-Young Park, Roxton Chapman, John Horsfall
Group 5: Marlon Manalo, Mika Immonen, Haruyoshi Hinokiyama, Pascal Budo
Group 6: Akikumo Toshikawa, Ching-Shun Yang, Teddy Garrahan, Mukesh Rehani
Group 7: Hui-Kai Hsia, Rico Diks, Sten Jarledal, Johnny Archer
Group 8: Satoshi Kawabata, Niels Feijen, Steve Knight, Ernesto Dominguez
Group 9: Steve Davis, Ramil Gallego, Warren Kiamco, Tony Drago
Group 10: Lee Vann Corteza, Cory Deuel, Young-Hwa Jeong, Kevin Smith
Group 11: Alex Pagulayan, Tommy Donlon, Danny Harriman, Shintao Sugaya
Group 12: Hiroshi Takenaka, Che-Wei Fu, Oliver Ortmann, Niclas Bergendorff