 | Oliver Ortmann New 14.1 World Champion!
Oliver Ortmann has done almost everything you can do in the game with European titles galore, US Open Straight Pool titles, and even a World 9-Ball crown. Almost. And today he has fulfilled a full circle of dreams by conquering the field in the most grueling test of straight pool in history.
 The day began with Huidji See matched up again with Austria's Martin Kempter in the first semi-final. See demolished Kempter in the round of 32 and the second time would be the same as See cruised through Kempter 200-41.
Next, Ortmann was looking to prove Germany as the absolute 14.1 powerhouse of the world by getting to the finals once again , but would need all his skills to defeat the determined American Danny Harriman. Harriman was the only USA player to make it to the semis. "I practiced hard for this event. Six hours a day of only straight pool, and I'm a much better player this year for it," warned Harriman.
Ortmann looked like he would cruise at the onset, but Harriman came back with a 70 ball run and gave the German second thoughts. But Ortmann would not be denied and closed the match out 200-123.
"The way Ortmann is playing, might as well write his name on that trophy now." said one of the top players watching.
"I was rooting for Ortmann from the beginning. He's become my favorite player because he is so intense. He looks like the most serious player out there" commented one of the new fans at the event.
Though See was the underdog, he was determined to put up a fight.
The match see-sawed as neither player could post runs more than 25 balls at a time. The nerves were showing. "The first player to run 40 balls is going to win this match" observed Niels Feijen, speculating that kind of momentum would dishearten the opposing player.
In the end, Ortmann began a cat and mouse safety battle which eventually led to an open length of the table chance for Ortmann. "The Machine" from Germany made the shot and ran a nervy 18 balls to claim the title 200-171.
"This title means alot to me. The fans here watching as well as myself understand what straight pool means. We all love straight pool," said Ortmann in his champion speech to the fans.
"This is by far the best event Dragon Promotions produces in my opinion." claimed Danny Harriman.
John Schmidt concurred, "I'd trade any of my titles to win this event and be the World Straight Pool Champion. You just can't win this by being lucky, you really need the skills to back it up here from beginning to end. There's probably less than ten guys in the world who can really win this event."
Schmidt added, "Oliver plays straight pool the way I think it should be played. Flowing, confident and natural. He outplayed everyone here this week. He really is a World Champion."
Stunning Upsets by See, Kempter, & Harriman
One thing is for certain, there will be a new World Straight Pool Champion in the history books. The day was filled with drama and surprises!
#1 seed in the last 16 Warren Kiamco obliterated Ouschan 200-81, though Ouschan looked strong with a 28-0 lead at the onset. Hohmann and Hopkins was well anticipated but Hohmann blew the lid off with a 100+ run that Hopkins could not recover from and lost 200-87. Nico Otterman had his chances but couldn't shake off the red hot Martin Kempter 200-37. Then Filipino terror Orcullo dismantled NYC's Danny Barouty 200-56. Finally a determined Ortmann destroyed Poland's hope Babica 200-44 in less than 90 minutes.
 Now the upsets. A small one to start was Harriman's win over Van Den Berg. John Schmidt (pictured) trailed Germany's Engert 160-80 in their second re-match Schmidt dug deep and ran 99 to take over the match and eventually put enough pressure on the German to cause some unforced errors and won the match 200-174. "It's very, very hard to defeat the same great player twice in straight pool. I knew Engert was going to be gunning for me. That's why I'm very proud of this win." said a gleeful Schmidt.
The big surprise came from the Dutch match pairing of Huidji See and Neils Feijen. Feijen a 4 time European 14.1 Champ. See, an unheralded player new to the international stage. See controlled the match to overcome the odds against Feijen 200-149.
The quarter finals got even steamier with See continuing his momentum in a blowout aginst Kiamco. Schmidt and Harriman played a hard match filled with leads exchanged back and forth in the fight to see what USA player would represent in the semi-finals. In the end, Schmidt had a golden opportunity that slipped away on a miss and Harriman would win 200-165. Ortmann was a man on a mission and put away all doubts on if Filipino talent could overcome German straight pool knowledge. Ortmann won the match in an unprecedented 2 innings with a 107 and a 93 run to close the match 200-7 against Orcullo.
Austrian Martin Kempter loooked as if he would run away with the match against Hohmann as he once led 152-53. Hohmann ran a 112 to overtake the lead 165-152. Hohmann would get another chance but scratched off a routine break shot and Kempter with arms raised in a shout eliminated World Champion Hohmann 200-174.
"Thorsten's birthday is the day of the finals. It would have been a nice ending if he got there and won," said friend Tony Robles.
Tomorrow's first semi finals will be See v Kempter at 12:30 followed by Ortmann v Harriman at 3. Finals are at 6:30pm.
Matches will be aired online for free at www.dragonpromotions.com in a week and later aired on www.propoolvideo.com
Predator World 14.1- USA Hanging Tough with Europe:Filipinos Hopeful
The event has narrowed down to the last 16 players. Only the strong have survived. The two biggest giants are USA with 4 hopefuls and Germany with 4 cannons. Netherlands is close behind though with 3 players, Austria and the Phillippines have 2, and the dark horse Poland has a single entry in Babica.
 The smart money today was on Hohmann, Feijen, Ortmann, Engert, Souquet, Immonen, and Schmidt. The European tanks got hit hard though, with all taking a loss while USA's Schmidt came through unscathed in some tough matches. USA's Danny Barouty (pictured) had the whole room in a stir as he was controlling the World Champion Hohmann in the match 142 to 60. Danny faced an off angle but makeable break shot to take the last 10 balls. "This is where Danny usually misses, unfortunately" one onlooker commented. The prediction proved accurate as Danny missed leaving Hohmann the open table. "Hey, I got closer than I thought!" Danny laughed. Hohmann then mounted an admirable comeback to 104 before missing. Barouty needed 8 balls and then proceeded to run the easy layout only to miss an easy 6-ball . "I can't believe it" said Barouty in disbelief after only needing 2 balls for the win. Fortune was against Hohmann though as he made a terrific cut shot into the side on the breakshot but scratched cross side. Barouty then won the match with the final two balls to the ovation of the audience who had all congregated to the corner of the room where they were playing.
Babica of Poland has been surprising fans and players with his superb play and took down the feared Immonen 150-100 and then defeated European 14.1 Champ Niels Feijen 150-140. Hopkins avenged his round robin lost to Stepanov of Russia with a 150-71 win. Hunter also avenged himself with a 150-60 win over Robles.
The bad beat of the event has to go to Dennis Hatch. Hatch had played some great 14.1 so far including a 84 ball run. Against Orcullo, Dennis ran 92 balls but Orcullo answered with a 117. Dennis eventually lost the match. Later, with Dennis missing and after one rack scoring 8 points, he watched Austria's Martin Kempter run 150 and out .
Tomorrow's marquee matches include USA's shining hopeful Schmidt re-matched against Engert. Ouschan will take on current #1 seed Kiamco. The big match will be Hohmann vs Hopkins in a hopefully legendary match .
Today was the day of high runs as players streamed in hundred ball(or close) runs left and right on the very challenging Diamond Tables. Players with high runs included Kempter (160), Orcullo 117, Hohmann 102.
Matches begin at 12:30 pm, and continue 3:00pm, 6:30 om and then 9:00 pm.
Tickets can be bought at the door or online at www.dragonpromotions.com
Predator World 14.1: Ouschan's Revenge Over Hopkins
The non-stop straight pool continued today with all the players fighting hard to stay alive or gain pole position for the final 32 player board.
One of the anticipated matches of the evening was Jasmin Ouschan versus Allen Hopkins. Both players complete opposites in almost every aspect  including age, sex, country, and stroke style. Last year's World 14.1 Championship had the two players playing in the round robin with Hopkins coming out on top 100- 52. This year Ouschan sought her revenge with a 52 ball run and out to win 100-59 against the former World 14.1 Champion. Hopkins showed exemplary class and clapped at the end of her run when she closed the match.
While there are a few undefeated players and leaders in each group, Thorsten Hohmann has been super dominant in his group. Hohmann ran two of the highest runs thus far with a 100 and today with 97. He also defeated the formidable Tony Robles 100-20(Yesterday Hohmann kept former World 14.1 Champion Bobby Hunter to 5 balls). Hohmann did have a close call though against Hungary's Miko Balasz and squeaked by a nailbiter match 100-91 when Balasz missed a shot in the final rack. Currently Hohmann is leading the tournament for the #1 seed spot in the final 32 board on Thursday and has already guaranteed his spot.
Other match highlights included Immonen stopping USA hopeful Schmidt 100-42 . "The tables play really great when we polished the balls with wax. John really knows what he's talking about...unfortunately it helped me beat him tonight!" smiled Immonen after his win.
Schmidt was willing to clue the players and staff on improving straight pool conditions. "Oh waxing the balls is the nuts. Bobby(Hunter) used to tell me that even Mosconi did it back in the day."
Thomas Engert over Danny Barouty 100-88 in a tactical war. "We had a great safety battle and I was beating him to the shots. But I just missed too many open balls. I'm happy with the match though." said the good natured and well liked Barouty.
One big name who will not make it to Thursday is Mike Davis, who has dropped 3 matches already. US players now in danger include Allen Hopkins, Danny Barouty, Danny Harriman, Charlie Williams, and Dennis Hatch.
Final Pairings Set for Predator World 14.1 Championships
Group 1
Thorsten Hohmann GER
Tony Robles USA
Bo Ram Cha KOR
Mike Balasz HUN
Bobby Hunter USA
Chris Lynch USA
Joel Schapiro USA
Bob Marsopulus USA
Group 2
Jerry Tarantola USA
Dennis Orcullo PHI
Nick Van Den Berg NED
Craig Riley ENG
Dennis Hatch USA
Tony Rodriguez USA
Stuart Mattana USA
Peter Burrows USA
Group 3
Allen Hopkins USA
Konstantin Stepanov RUS
Jasmin Ouschan AUT
Yu Ram Cha KOR
Jonathan Smith USA
Randy Goldwater USA
Jesse Rice USA
Mark Snodgrass USA
Group 4
Ralf Souquet GER
Stevie Moore USA
Michael Felder AUT
Antonio Fazanes SPN
Huidji See NED
Matt Krah USA
Bob Maidhof USA
Ed Hodan USA
Group 5
Max Eberle USA
Warren Kiamco PHI
Nico Otterman GER
Radoslaw Babica POL
Mike Davis USA
Danny Kuykendall USA
Ed Deska USA
Joey Kang USA
Group 6
Oliver Ortmann GER
Danny Harriman USA
Stefan Cohen FRA
Fabio Petroni ITL
Michael Yednak USA
Tom Walter USA
Shawn Wilkie USA
Tom Karabotsos USA
Group 7
Mika Immonen FIN
John Schmidt USA
Niels Feijen NED
Tomoki Mekari JPN
Lenny Favata USA
Matt Tetrault USA
Billy Kirschner USA
Louis Pannullo USA
Group 8
Thomas Engert GER
Danny Barouty USA
Martin Kempter AUT
Carlos Cabello SPN
Charlie Williams USA
Sebastian Staab GER
Steve Lillis USA
Marty Ciccia USA
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