Hohmann wins North American Open 8-ball Championship

Germany's Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann won the IPT North American Open 8-ball Championship.

He earned an amazing $350,000 for the win, the richest prize in pool history.

Marlon Manalo (Philippines) was bested 8-7 in an extremely tight and well-played final and had to be content with $99,000.

Manalo's countrymen Dennis Orcollo and Efren Reyes came third and fourth respectively. Ralf Souquet (Germany) came 5th and Evgeny Stalev (Russia) took sixth.

This was the opening event of the International Pool Tour's inaugural season. It ran from July 22-30 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Next up is the World Open in Reno, September 2-10.

See also:

Newspapers & Magazines:

• Hohmann Hits Jackpot: $350,000 Prize at IPT Open and Spot on SportsCenter (Billiards Digest)
• A Perfect Ending (Billiards Digest - PDF)
• Thorsten Hohmann Wins Pool's Biggest Prize (AzBilliards)
• Hohmann on Top of the World (Inside Pool Magazine)
• IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship Record Prize Fund of $2,050,000 Hohmann runs the final rack for a Double-Hill Win (Professor-Q-Ball)
• Manalo loses heartbreaker (Manila Standard Today)
• 'The Hitman' downs Marlon (The Manila Times)
• Manalo falls to German hitman (Manila Bulletin Online)
• Thorsten Hohmann Defeats Marlon Manalo for $350,000 (Pool & Billiard Magazine)
• Still Marvelous (Manila Standard Today)
• Rocket fired up to conquer a new world (Guardian Unlimited)
• Big money gives pro new enthusiasm for the game (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Racking up a comeback (Quad-City Times)
• 13-year-old Pool Prodigy Wins Thousands (CBS 13)

Players:

• My IPT North American 8-Ball Open Experience (Calcul8r)
• IPT North American Open 8-Ball (souquet.de)
• Reporting Back from the Venetian IPT Tournament (Linda Carter aka rackmsuckr)
• On Our Way to the Venetian (Linda Carter aka rackmsuckr)

Fans:

• Thorsten Hohmann, IPT North American Champion (IPT Pool Fan Blog)
• 2006 IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship (Philippine Billiards)
• North American Open - Final Day (IPT World Pool and Football)
• Hohmann Wins North American Open 8-ball Championships (Billiards Boutique)
• Thorsten Hohmann gewinnt 350.000 USD (billiard.info)
• Hohmann gewinnt IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship (Readers Edition)
• IPT North American Open 8-ball Championship (Pool Online)
• 8-ball Junkie - IPT at The Venetian, Las Vegas (medium rare at MySpace)
• International Pool Tour - North American Open (Ruby's Blog)

Forums:

• International Pool Tour (AzBilliards)
• IPT Tour (uk8ball.com)

Related post:

• The IPT North American Open starts

Corr takes Midwest Classic title

Karen Corr (Northern Ireland) came out on top in the Midwest Classic.

In the final Corr beat Kelly Fisher (England) 7-5.

This was her third WPBA win of the season, the second in a row and 20th of her career. She is now only 80 points behind Allison Fisher in the WPBA rankings.

The event took place from July 26-30 in the Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino, East Peoria, Illinois.

See also:

• 2006 Midwest Classic - Highlights (wpba.com)
• A successfull, Irish Invasion (Journal Star Online)
• Karen Corr Pockets Yet Another 2006 Victory - She's on FIRE! (Pool & Billiard Magazine)
• Corr Scores Another Women's Professional Billiards Association Title (Inside Pool Magazine)
• WPBA Peoria 2006 Event Diary (Kim Shaw)
• Karen Corr (Official homepage)
• Corr Pulls Ahead of the Pack (Billiards Digest)

Related posts:

• Allison Fisher takes long road to victory
• Kelly Fisher defends San Diego title
• Corr repeats as Florida winner

The IPT North American Open starts

The IPT North American Open 8-ball Championship has begun.

This is the opening event of the International Pool Tour's inaugural season. It runs from July 22-30 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The winner receives $350,000 from the $2 million purse.

Plenty of top names are entered, including Efren Reyes (Philippines), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Earl Strickland (USA), Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), Marlon Manalo (Philippines), Mika Immonen (Finland), Ronnie O'Sullivan (England), Oliver Ortmann (Germany) and Allison Fisher (England).

Four players have withdrawn, namely Americans Buddy Hall, Jim Rempe and Pete Fusco and Chinese Liu Wei. They have been replaced by Hungary's Vilmos Földes and Americans Keith Bennett, Jeff Beckley and Lee Heuwagen.

Billiards Digest has a superb 2006 Season Preview (PDF) that provides you with all the information you need.

European fans can follow the action live on Eurosport.

See also:

• Groupings Announced for IPT North American Open (IPT Pool Fan Blog)
• "Yikes!" or "Whew...": IPT North American Groupings Announced
  (Billiards Digest)
• Inside Pool Magazine
• International Pool Tour (AzBilliards Forums)
• IPT World Pool Tour (Blog)
• Pool Online
  
• Philippine Billiards
  
• Niels Feijen: Latest News
  
• Ronnie und Jimmy beim Pool
  (Snookerblog)

Related posts:

• Hohmann wins American Open 8-ball Championship

John Spencer dies at 71

Three-times snooker world champion John Spencer died Monday Jul 10 after a battle against stomach cancer. He was 71 years old.

Spencer was also a BBC commentator for many years and became a chairman of WPBSA in 1990.

See also:

• Legend Spencer Passes Away (World Snooker)
• Crucible's first hero, John Spencer, dies at 71 (The Times)
• Snooker legend Spencer dies at 70 (BBC)
• First maximum man John Spencer dies aged 71 (The Guardian)
• Potted history of a snooker great (The Daily Telegraph)
• Reardon Tribute to Spencer (Sporting Life)
• John Spencer, 71, Dies; Helped Popularize Snooker (The New York Times)
• Past Masters: John Spencer (Global Snooker Centre)
• Legende John Spencer stirbt mit 71 (Snookerblog)
• Portrait: John Spencer (Snookerblog)

Corr repeats as Florida winner

Karen Corr (Northern Ireland) successfully defended the Cuetec Cues Florida Classic.

In the final Corr beat arch rival Allison Fisher (England) 7-4. She beat Fisher with the same score in last year's final!

This was her second WPBA win of the season and 19th of her career. The win will cement Corr's 2nd place in the WPBA rankings. Beaten finalist Fisher tops the list.

See also:

• 2006 Cuetec Cues Florida Classic - Highlights (wpba.com)
• Karen Corr wins Cuetec Cues Florida Classic (AzBilliards)
• The Irish Invader wins in Florida (Inside Pool Magazine)
• Florida Diary (Kim Shaw)
• Karen Corr (Official homepage)
• WPBA event (wendy-jans.com)

Newsbites #2

Completed events:

• May 24-28: UPA Florida Predator Open (Jacksonville, USA): Thomas Engert (Germany)
• June 6-11: Reno Open (Reno, USA): Dennis Orcollo (Philippines)
• June 16-18: PartyCasino.com World Pool Masters (Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands): Ralf Souquet (Germany)

Upcoming events:

• Aug 4-19: Philippine 9-ball Championship (Manila, Philippines)
• Aug 22-27: World Cup of Pool (Cardiff, Wales). See also team details (APBU Forum).

Other news:

• 2006/2007 Main Tour Calendar (World Snooker) [see also ArmchairGM]
• 2006-7 Main Tour - Eligible Players (Global Snooker Centre)
• Robertson Comes Close to Double Max (World Snooker)
• International Pool Tour to Air Live Across Europe (IPT) [see also Pro9.co.uk]

Related posts:

• Newsbites #1