Thorsten Hohmann
- Thread starter JAM
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Iwishiwasrich
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And he is playing strong. Welcome Thorsten
i'm a big fan, and while he has displayed some occasional form the last year, toastie is pushing 50.. twitches more than he used to, gets up on the follow through etc. team USA should build for the future and pick a youngster next year
He could be an asset to team USA from a German training/coaching standpoint. As a player, he’s simply too old imo.
Then again, if he gets in on points…
Then again, if he gets in on points…
Alcaide, a Team Europe member this year, is older than Hohmann, which might inspire the hitman.
I really hope the US Mosconi Cup team doesn't become a bunch of new Americans, who are chasing a Mosconi Cup payday.
I'm glad Matchroom made an exception for Fedor, as the circumstances surrounding that were very different.
Matchroom need to add a stipulation that any players eligible for Team USA in the Mosconi Cup must be born in the USA, unless the country that individual is leaving is involved in a war.
I'm glad Matchroom made an exception for Fedor, as the circumstances surrounding that were very different.
Matchroom need to add a stipulation that any players eligible for Team USA in the Mosconi Cup must be born in the USA, unless the country that individual is leaving is involved in a war.
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Nonsense. Emily Frazer justified the addition of Fedor to Team USA by virtue of "permanent American residency" and not because he was a refugee. Thorsten is a US citizen and has lived in America for nearly twenty years now, but you would have him excluded from possible Team USA qualification. That, to be fair, is pretty far out there.
America is a nation of immigrants, and countless American citizens are not American born. Every single one of them is allowed to represent America in the Olympics, but you'd selectively exclude them from Team USA at the Mosconi on the basis of where they were born.
FYI, the World Confederation of Pocket Billiards (WCBS) is the governing body of pool. It is also an arm of the International Olympic Committee. In the past, Matchroom has allowed itself to be guided by WCBS policy. Fedor himself offers a good example. When WCBS, the parent organization of WPA, decreed a few years ago that Russians could no longer play in sanctioned events (which included all the Matchroom majors), Matchroom went along with it, and Fedor was forced to sit out the Matchroom majors for much of that season.
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I think WNT should just open up America to the entire North American continent and let Canadian players play. I'm sure they would love to see Alex P play as it would mean his social media followers would watch. And John Morra is always a solid player in any event he enters. And I'm sure it would open up the eyes of any top level Mexican player to try their hand at being part of the team.
The Skins Billiards Championship, promoted by Allen Hopkins Productions and Billiards International (the late Matt Braun), unlike most pool tournaments that pit two players head-to-head, featured four players at the table. It was patterned after the “skins” game in golf, designed to tap into the public’s then-booming fascination with gambling-style competition. Think the early-2000s Texas Hold ’Em craze with Chris Moneymaker. Each player put up a $5,000 entry fee, with the promoters adding $50,000 to the pot. The total purse came to $130,000, which was big money in 2004.
The top three payouts from that event: Niels Feijen; $42,500, Rodney Morris, $25,000; and Thorsten Hohmann, $22,000. Keith McCready won about 5- or $6,000, if memory serves me right.
At the conclusion of the event, I noticed a young, rather shy Thorsten Hohmann from Germany sitting alone in the distance. I remember admiring his blond hair. I got the nerve to walk over and sit next to him because I wanted to ask him a question about whether there was much money in pool back in Europe. He shook his head no. I thought that would be the end of the conversation, thinking maybe he didn't speak English well. But then he spoke. He told me he preferred competing in the United States because there were simply more opportunities here for a professional player like himself. I asked him about the big, often whispered-about Asian money tournaments, the ones frequented by Alex Pagulayan, Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, and so many of the Filipino greats. Thorsten said most of those were restricted to Asian players, something that surprised me at the time. Well, times sure have changed in 2025.
Photo of Thorsten Hohmann at the Skins tourney. If my math is right, he'd have been 25 years young.
The top three payouts from that event: Niels Feijen; $42,500, Rodney Morris, $25,000; and Thorsten Hohmann, $22,000. Keith McCready won about 5- or $6,000, if memory serves me right.
At the conclusion of the event, I noticed a young, rather shy Thorsten Hohmann from Germany sitting alone in the distance. I remember admiring his blond hair. I got the nerve to walk over and sit next to him because I wanted to ask him a question about whether there was much money in pool back in Europe. He shook his head no. I thought that would be the end of the conversation, thinking maybe he didn't speak English well. But then he spoke. He told me he preferred competing in the United States because there were simply more opportunities here for a professional player like himself. I asked him about the big, often whispered-about Asian money tournaments, the ones frequented by Alex Pagulayan, Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, and so many of the Filipino greats. Thorsten said most of those were restricted to Asian players, something that surprised me at the time. Well, times sure have changed in 2025.
Photo of Thorsten Hohmann at the Skins tourney. If my math is right, he'd have been 25 years young.
To bad they didn't include Thorsten on this years Team USA. I'd pick him over at least three of the others chosen. If green card Gorst is on the team, then why not a real American citizen!
It was tough pickings this year, Jay.
Other than Fedor, just two Americans reached the final day of a Matchroom major. Tyler Styer had a super-impressive third place finish at the UK Open that included a win over Filler in the quarterfinals and that performance alone makes him a logical choice. Also, Tyler played well at the 2024 Mosconi. SVB came second at the Florida Open, a new Matchroom major, losing a hotly contested final to Yapp, the hottest player on the planet. Gorst's inclusion is somewhat obvious. Not sure how you leave any of these three out.
Admittedly, neither Woodward nor Thorpe posted a Top 16 finish in a Matchroom major this year, but Skyler, surely by virtue of being America's best Mosconi Cup performer over the past decade, was named captain and did not have many good options for the fifth pick. FYI, Hohmann's Fargo rate is is not much higher than Thorpe's. I wish he'd gone young with Lukas to build for the future, but it's hard to fault Skyler for the Billy pick.
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To be fair, this is the first time Thorsten has looked in form in a very, very long time. I enjoy watching him play but let's not pretend as if he's been lighting the pool world on fire like he was about 10-15 years ago. Although I will agree with you, I would take him over a few of the players on the team.
And since we are on the subject, I have to ask. Is it just these five guys on the team with Woodward being player-captain? Do they not have a captain only role?
Thanks for sharing that. He was very shy when he moved to the United States nearly twenty years ago. I recall a time when Jennifer Barretta and I were practicing together one night in 2006 at Amsterdam Billiards, intending to go out to dinner when we had finished. I noticed Thorsten practicing in another corner of the room and suggested to Jennifer that we invite him to dinner. He seemed to know almost nobody in the New York city pool scene at that point, and he accepted the invitation to join us for dinner. Just a few weeks later, he won $350,000 at IPT Las Vegas.
The three of us are still close friends all these years later, but like you, I well remember just how shy he was in those early years. As we both found out, however, he is very approachable and he's a really good guy once you get to know him, not to mention a consummate professional.
Yes, Sky is a playing captain. Just five guys.