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

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