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