PoolRoom

Hohmann, Chen Reach Gold Medal Match

The opening lag turned out to be Thorsten Hohmann’s best friend in his semifinal match against American Rodney Morris at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany Saturday afternoon.

Winning the lag earned Hohmann the advantage of breaking in the deciding game in the alternating break, race-to-11 format. And with the score tied 10-10, the German star ran a flawless rack from the break to win the match and advance to Sunday’s Gold Medal match. Hohmann awaits the winner of the second semifinal, pitting Greek surprise Vangelis Vettas against Chinese Taipei’s Pei-Wei Chang. Morris will play the loser of that match for the Bronze Medal Saturday evening.

In women’s 9-ball, Women’s Professional Billiard Association star Jennifer Chen, of Chinese Taipei, defeated Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung, 9-4, to earn a spot in the Gold Medal match. Chen awaits the winner of the semifinal matchup of former WPBA regular Line Kjorsvik and Austrian teen Jasmin Oschan.

Eighteen-year-old Chinese snooker sensation Jun-Hui Ding cruised into the Men’s Snooker Gold Medal match with a convincing 4-1 win over England’s Mark Allen. Ding dropped his second 100-plus break in the match, posting a 102 in the third set. Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer meets England’s Gerard Greene to determine Ding’s opponent.

And in Carom, Dick Jaspers of Belgium scored 40 points on his 40th birthday to defeat Turkey’s Semih Sayginer, 40-26 in 28 innings. Defending World Games champion Daniel Sanchez of Spain will play Turkey’s Murat Coklu in the second semifinal match Saturday afternoon at the Saalbau arean in Bottrop, site of the cue sports competitions.

The World Games is the largest gathering of non-Olympic sports, with more than 3,000 athletes representing more than 100 countries. The cue sports made their World Games debut in 2001 at Akita, Japan.

MORRIS EARNS BRONZE AT WORLD GAMES

Rodney Morris found just the salve to ease the sting of Saturday afternoon’s 11-10 loss to Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany. Back at the table in the Saalbau Arena in Bottrop, site of the billiard competitions, just hours after the heartbreaking loss, Morris free-wheeled his way to an 11-2 rout of Greece’s Vangelis Vettas to secure the Bronze Medal in Men’s 9-Ball.

Morris sped off from a 1-1 deadlock with six consecutive rack wins, and coasted comfortably home.

“When I got up a couple of games,” said Morris, “and my break started working better, I knew that he couldn’t catch me. Not with alternating break.

“The key to this match was focus,” he added. “I didn’t think of anything other than the table. I wasn’t leaving here without at least the Bronze.”

Also earning Bronze Saturday evening at the international sports festival was Semih Sayginer of Turkey, who beat countryman Murat Coklu, in Carom. Sayginer bolted off to a 35-22 lead after just 20 innings, before Coklu chipped away at the lead. Coklu pulled to within five at 37-32, before Sayginer closed out the match, 40-32, in 24 innings.

In Snooker, Belgium’s Bjorn Haneever whitewashed 17-year-old Mark Allen of England, 4-0, to capture the Bronze.

Line Kjorsvik of Norway, back at the table after an eight-month layoff, earned Bronze in Women’s 9-Ball with a 9-6 win over Sung-Hyun Jung, Korea’s top-ranked woman player.

Gold Medal Matches Set

CHANG, OUSCHAN ADVANCE AT WORLD GAMES

Pei-Wei Chang of Chinese Taipei cruised past unheralded Vangelis Vettas of Greece, 11-7, Saturday afternoon to move into Sunday’s Gold Medal match against German Thorsten at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany. Chang, runnerup to Alex Pagulayan in the 2004 World Pool Championships, never trailed in the match.

In the women’s 9-ball division, 18-year-old Jasmin Ouschan, of Austria handled former WPBA player Line Kjorsvik of Norway, 9-5. Ouschan will meet WPBA star Jennifer Chen of Chinese Taipei for the Gold Medal.
In Snooker, 31-year-old Brit Gerard Greene defeated Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer, 4-2, to move into a Gold Medal match against 18-year-old Chinese sensation Jun-Hui Ding.

And in Carom, defending World Games gold medalist Daniel Sanchez beat Turkey’s Murat Coklu, 40-27 in 29 innings. Sanchez will meet Belgian Dick Jaspers for the Gold.

“Rocket” Lone US Medal Hope

Rodney Morris overcame an early 4-1 deficit against Germany’s Thomas Engert Friday evening to win 11-8 and advance to the semifinals of the men’s 9-ball division at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, Germany. With the ousters Friday of Charlie Williams and Vivian Villarreal, Morris is the only U.S. contestant remaining in the four cue sport medal categories.

Morris will face former world 9-ball champion and reigning Billiard Congress of American Open 9-Ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany on Saturday for the right to play in the Gold Medal game. Hohmann squeaked past Sweden’s Tom Storm, 11-10, to earn his semifinal spot. The other Saturday semi in the men’s division will pit China’s Pei-Wei Chang against surprising Vangelis Vettas of Greece. Vettas, who shocked Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the opening round of the 16-player single-elimination field, dumped Williams, 11-7, on Friday. Chang, 2004 World Pool Championship runnerup, beat Holland’s Niels Feijen, 11-7.

In Women’s 9-Ball, Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung beat Villarreal, 11-8, to earn a spot in the semifinals. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Chen, who upended Allison Fisher, Jasmin Oschan of Austria, and Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.

Two Turks, Semih Sayginer and Murat Coklu, earned semifinal spots in the Men’s Carom discipline, along with Dick Jaspers of Holland and defending champion Danny Sanchez of Spain.

Men’s Snooker saw 18-year-old Jun-Hui Ding post a 138 clearance enroute to a 3-0 win over Germany’s Lasse Munstermann. Ding reached the semis along with Amateur World Champion Mark Allen of England, countryman Gerard Greene and Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer, who overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat England’s Gavin Pantall, 3 sets to 2.

World Games Quarterfinals Set

Americans Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams and Vivian Villarreal will take U.S. medal hopes into quarterfinal matches today at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany.

In men’s 9-ball, Morris, who routed Aruba’s Roland Acosta, 11-4, on Wednesday, will face Germany’s Thomas Engert, and Williams, an 11-7 winner over Japan’s Massashi Hoshi, will battle Vangelis Vettas of Greece. Vettas shocked Germany’s Ralf Souquet, 11-10, in the opening round of the 16-player single-elimination event.

Villiarreal, the lone U.S. competitor in the women’s 9-ball division, faces Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung. Defending champion Jeanette Lee pulled out of the competition at the last minute because of impending back surgery.

Sweden’s Tom Storm, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann, Holland’s Neils Feijen and Chinese star Pei-Wei Chang round out the final eight in the men’s division.

Top-ranked Allison Fisher, Taiwan’s Jennifer Chen, Italy’s Tiziana Cacciamani, Austria’s Jasmine Ouschan, Japan’s Yukiko Hamanishi and former WPBA regular Line Kjorsvik of Norway make up the remaining women competitors.

Men’s carom billiards and men’s snooker is also being contested at the international sports festival, which is seen as an important stepping stone for the cue sports’ Olympic Games hopes. Two high-ranking officials, Kelly Fairweather, Sports Director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Ron Froelich, President of the International World Games Association (IWGA), were on hand at the Saalbau arena in Bottrop for the opening matches of the billiard competition.