2013 World 9-ball Championship Archive

Hohmann raises the bar!

14. September 2013 Sixpockets.de Kommentare deaktiviert

GERMANY’S THORSTEN HOHMANN WINS HIS SECOND WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A SEARING 13-7 VICTORY OVER THE PHILIPPINES ANTONIO GABICA BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos courtesy Vinod DivaKaran, Doha Stadium Sports Weekly and Richard Walker (Doha, Qatar)–Playing with a laser-like focus and an intensity that spoke of a clear desire for pool immortality, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann capped an incredible week with yet another a searing performance, and won the 2013 World 9-ball Championship, beating the Philippines Antonio Gabica, 13-7, in front of nearly 1000 highly partisan Filipino fans at Doha’s Al Arabi Sports Club. With the victory Hohmann now becomes only the second man to win the WPA World 9-ball Championship two times, matching American Earl Strickland, who won pool’s most prestigious crown in 1991 and 2002. Hohmann will now also take over as the World Number 1 ranked player. Hohmann’s second World 9-ball Championship comes exactly ten years after he burst on to the international scene with a powerful run through a stacked field in Cardiff, Wales in 2003. In the intervening years […]

The British are coming!…and so are the Filipinos and Taiwanese

11. September 2013 Sixpockets.de Kommentare deaktiviert

THREE POOL POWERHOUSES MAKE UP NEARLY HALF THE FIELD AS THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP MOVES INTO THE FINAL 64 BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy Richard Walker and Takayamo Takao/onthehill.jp (Doha, Qatar)–There’s something about Judgement Day in the World 9-ball Championship that brings out the wild drama, and the crazy pressure that is unique to professional pool at the highest levels. It makes a high stakes money game seem like child’s play. This is, after all, the world championship. And this is the moment where, with the field about to be cut in half, with all matches do or die, a player gets his chance to reach the final 64 single elimination stage. From there, in just three days with six more wins, he might just make history and win a world title. Sure, for most players this incredible dream will remain just that. But pool is a sport where the slimmest roll of the ball, even just a millimeter, can mean the difference between staying a nobody or being crowned king. As […]

The big dance starts to take shape – Day 3 Report from the 2013 World 9-ball Championship in Doha

10. September 2013 Sixpockets.de Kommentare deaktiviert

ENRIQUE ROJAS BECOMES THE FIRST EVER PLAYER FROM CHILE TO ADVANCE TO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP KNOCKOUT STAGE, JOINS 31 OTHERS IN DOHA’S FINAL 64 BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy Richard Walker, Takayama Takao/onthehill.jp (Doha, Qatar)–Relief and pure joy were two emotions on wide display on Day 3 of the 2013 World 9-ball Championship, as 32 players booked their spots into Wednesday’s Final 64, the single elimination knockout phase that signals the real start of pool’s most prestigious event. Relief came from those top players who just wanted to notch their second win and put the madness that can be the group stages behind them. Pure joy came from the other players, those that know that winning this tournament is a massive long shot, and just getting through to the big dance is a career defining moment in itself. The 128 player field that began here on Saturday was already considered by many to be the strongest ever gathered for this event. As the wannabes wither and the main stage starts to take […]

Breaking towards some big time showdowns – Day 2 Report from the 2013 World 9-ball Championship

9. September 2013 Sixpockets.de Kommentare deaktiviert

AS THE LACK OF UPSETS CONTINUES ON DAY 2 OF THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHP, POOLS BEST ARE SURELY HEADED ON A COLLISION COURSE BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy of QBSF, Takayama Takao/onthehill.jp, and Richard Walker (Doha, Qatar)–As the long, slow grind of this week-long World 9-ball championship wound its way through Day 2, perhaps the best way to try and understand where it’s all headed at this point is to listen to the words of defending champion Darren Appleton, after he won his opening match on Day 1. Said the Brit: “There are probably only 20 players who you can actually say are favorites to win this tournament, 10 more who are knocking on the door of perhaps winning it, and 20 more who can, on any given night, beat any of those top 30 players.” Add that simple equation together and you’ve got 50 top pros who can wreak massive havoc out on the blue pitch, with 30 who can realistically even consider entering the winner’s circle come September 13th. I […]

Kick off right on script – Day 1 Report from the 2013 World 9-ball Championship

8. September 2013 Sixpockets.de Kommentare deaktiviert

SHOCKERS HARD TO COME BY ON DAY 1 OF THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP AS FAVORITES ROLL BY TED LERNER WPA PRESS OFFICER Photos Courtesy of Richard Walker and Takayamo“Mathilda“ Takao/onthehill.jp (Doha, Qatar)–Fans of the World 9-ball Championship have become accustomed to the fun of shocking first day upsets that send great players scrambling over to the do-or-die losers side and, at the same time, introduce us to new names from far flung nations that we had no idea produced such talented pool players. Saturday in blazing hot Doha, Qatar was, except for one match right at the end, not one of those days. 96 players out of the 128 in the field vying for 9-ball supremacy saw action today inside the icy cold Al Arabi Sports Club, and by and large the story line for the eight hours of play hardly veered from a predictable script. This is not to suggest that some of pool’s biggest names didn’t taste defeat. Or that we didn’t see some great new talent. But in those matches which featured […]