Finals:300 Points-Tony Robles vs. Thorsten Hohmann
The Silent Assassin vs. The Hitman
Yesterday, I went to The Spot to photograph the final 8 players competing for the "World 14.1" title. There were three tables in use: two Diamonds and a Connolly as the featured table. The Connolly had shorter pocket shelves, so it played a bit easier than the Diamonds.
7 of these 8 players were expected to survive after the round robin and double elimination phases. The lone casualty was Johnny Archer, who fell victim to Michael Badsteubner, a non-ranked amateur who gained entrance because he won the qualifier at Sandcastle Billiards.
The Saturday 11:00am matches began on time. Badsteubner, known as Mikey Fingers, knocked out John Schmidt by consistently running between 8 and 25 balls, playing safe, smart, and generally frustrating Schmidt. Mr.400 never really got into his rhythm and missed many opportunities. It surprised me that Mike controlled the pace and the match. Final score was 200 to 150, as I recall.
At the same time, Mika and Tony Robles faced each other on the featured table and after a back and forth battle when the scores were almost even in the mid-30's, Tony completely controlled the match. Mika reached 60 while Tony was just a rack or two ahead. Then a safety/intentional scratch battle ensued, with Mika eventually taking 3 consecutive fouls, reducing his score to 44. That's where he ended up. Mika made a mistake on his opening safety break shot after the 3 fouls, allowing Tony to put together some nice runs and safeties, and Robles closed out the match, 200 to 60, as I recall.
The two 1:30 pm matches began on time.
SVB, who always dominates Warren Kiamco in 9-Ball and 10-Ball, lost this match. Shane's huge break shot doesn't factor at all in 14.1, and Warren played at a steady pace, wearing down Shane. SVB had some chances, but his straight pool pattern play was not consistent. Warren played a couple of nice combinations, banks and caroms at key moments to extend his innings. Shane is not fond of safety play and missed a few opportunities to win by taking risky shots and giving Warren too many chances.
Thorsten Hohmann and Petri Makkonen from Finland faced each other on the featured table (a Connolly, not a Diamond) and it was a 150 and out route for Thor. Final score 200 to 4, as I recall. Petri had couple of chances on the outset, but could not string together any run at all. Thorsten's patterns are classic and his power breaks are awesome. Once he gets on a roll, Thorsten's confidence soars, and his pace is quite fast. He's the best straight pool player of the 21st century, in my opinion.
I left during the next round, the semi-finals, which began around 5pm.
Tony Robles beat Mikey Fingers, which ended Mike's sensational performance in this event. Tony knows Mike's game very well, so I felt that Tony would win, which he did.
Thorsten faced Warren in the other semi-final and ran 95 balls, which propelled him to the finals. Kiamco is a quiet, consistent player, but not a straight pool player in Thor's class. The longer the match, in this case 200 points, the greater the odds that the best player will win.
So, at 1:00PM this Sunday afternoon, we will have the final 300 point match between Tony Robles and Thorsten Hohmann. These two gentlemen are two of the nicest pro pool players on the planet. Tony and Thorsten are disciplined straight pool players, and each carries himself with dignity and class.
To my knowledge, Tony has never won this event or any other 14.1 major championship. Thorsten has previously won this event 4 (?) times, and holds many other 14.1 titles, so I guess he's the favorite.
The Silent Assassin vs. The Hitman
Yesterday, I went to The Spot to photograph the final 8 players competing for the "World 14.1" title. There were three tables in use: two Diamonds and a Connolly as the featured table. The Connolly had shorter pocket shelves, so it played a bit easier than the Diamonds.
7 of these 8 players were expected to survive after the round robin and double elimination phases. The lone casualty was Johnny Archer, who fell victim to Michael Badsteubner, a non-ranked amateur who gained entrance because he won the qualifier at Sandcastle Billiards.
The Saturday 11:00am matches began on time. Badsteubner, known as Mikey Fingers, knocked out John Schmidt by consistently running between 8 and 25 balls, playing safe, smart, and generally frustrating Schmidt. Mr.400 never really got into his rhythm and missed many opportunities. It surprised me that Mike controlled the pace and the match. Final score was 200 to 150, as I recall.
At the same time, Mika and Tony Robles faced each other on the featured table and after a back and forth battle when the scores were almost even in the mid-30's, Tony completely controlled the match. Mika reached 60 while Tony was just a rack or two ahead. Then a safety/intentional scratch battle ensued, with Mika eventually taking 3 consecutive fouls, reducing his score to 44. That's where he ended up. Mika made a mistake on his opening safety break shot after the 3 fouls, allowing Tony to put together some nice runs and safeties, and Robles closed out the match, 200 to 60, as I recall.
The two 1:30 pm matches began on time.
SVB, who always dominates Warren Kiamco in 9-Ball and 10-Ball, lost this match. Shane's huge break shot doesn't factor at all in 14.1, and Warren played at a steady pace, wearing down Shane. SVB had some chances, but his straight pool pattern play was not consistent. Warren played a couple of nice combinations, banks and caroms at key moments to extend his innings. Shane is not fond of safety play and missed a few opportunities to win by taking risky shots and giving Warren too many chances.
Thorsten Hohmann and Petri Makkonen from Finland faced each other on the featured table (a Connolly, not a Diamond) and it was a 150 and out route for Thor. Final score 200 to 4, as I recall. Petri had couple of chances on the outset, but could not string together any run at all. Thorsten's patterns are classic and his power breaks are awesome. Once he gets on a roll, Thorsten's confidence soars, and his pace is quite fast. He's the best straight pool player of the 21st century, in my opinion.
I left during the next round, the semi-finals, which began around 5pm.
Tony Robles beat Mikey Fingers, which ended Mike's sensational performance in this event. Tony knows Mike's game very well, so I felt that Tony would win, which he did.
Thorsten faced Warren in the other semi-final and ran 95 balls, which propelled him to the finals. Kiamco is a quiet, consistent player, but not a straight pool player in Thor's class. The longer the match, in this case 200 points, the greater the odds that the best player will win.
So, at 1:00PM this Sunday afternoon, we will have the final 300 point match between Tony Robles and Thorsten Hohmann. These two gentlemen are two of the nicest pro pool players on the planet. Tony and Thorsten are disciplined straight pool players, and each carries himself with dignity and class.
To my knowledge, Tony has never won this event or any other 14.1 major championship. Thorsten has previously won this event 4 (?) times, and holds many other 14.1 titles, so I guess he's the favorite.
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