Maybe so. He appeared to have his mind made up well before the Philippine Open.
Agreed 100% here, Jay. I'm sure the decision was already in place long before then.
Thorsten became a US citizen in 2025. He found himself in the top 3 Team USA Mosconi Cup rankings for virtually the entire year in 2026, so it always looked like he'd probably qualify on points, and many threads this year took note of it. Whatever the facts are here, Thorsten has, and will continue to handle it with dignity because, like Ralf Souquet, the German World 9ball Champion who came before him, he holds himself to the highest possible standards of professionalism. Still, he would have done everyone (Matchroom, Team USA aspirants, and the game's fans) a greater service if he had announced his unwillingness to accept a spot months ago.
It is a shame that fans have been blindsided twice this year in the Team USA qualification race. At the US Open 9ball two months ago, Billy Thorpe was, to his astonishment, advised just before his round of sixteen match that he was ineligible for Team USA based on an unmet participation minimum at the WNT majors. This minimum had, similarly, not been publicly announced by Matchroom, so fans were in the dark. Now, we have Hohmann declaring himself ineligible at the end of the WNT year, a second surprise. Only four managed a top ten finish in a WNT major this year (SVB, Styer, Hohmann, Gorst) and Team USA will now have to go to bat with two players that failed to have even one good tournament this year in WNT play. It is a shame.
Matchroom has always promoted the Mosconi Cup as the highlight of the pool year, the crowning event for those who, through their play, have earned a free roll at $40,000, the same amount that is typical for first prize at a Matchroom major. The Mosconi race is one of the things that keeps fans engaged during the WNT year, but the 2026 Mosconi race, from a fan standpoint, has been a blur. I hope we'll see some big improvements in 2027.
