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.