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Germany Dominates World Cup Final
Sep 12, 2011, 7:00 AM

Souquet (top) and Hohmann clowned around after topping Thailand in the final.

Germany became the first ever European winners of the World Cup of Pool as they made light work of surprise finalists Thailan, recording a superb 10-4 victory and claiming the gold medals and $60,000 at the SM Mall North in Manila, Philippines.

Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet put in an inch perfect performance to run away with the match in sharp contrast to their semifinal match earlier in the day, when they labored to a pedestrian win over Korea.

They clearly gave themselves a good talking to between matches as they returned with the type of form that has made them two of the most feared players in the world. For Souquet it was a culmination of a magnificent seven days that saw him win the World Pool Masters last Monday and his total haul for the two Matchroom Sport-promoted events has been $50,000.

“It’s still hard to believe and it hasn’t sunk in yet," said a jubilant Souquet. "We really worked hard for the title and held ourselves together.

“We had a really hard semifinal that could’ve gone wrong, and I played awful against Korea but Thorsten carried me to the final.

“I always said you can only lose as a team, and we certainly won as a team. Playing here in Manila in the Philippines is the best thing that has happened to pool.”

The Thailand pair of Kobkit Palajin and Nitiwat Kanjanasri can be justifiably proud of their efforts. Surrounded in South East Asia by powerhouse pool nations like Taiwan and the Philippines, the unheralded Thais played superbly throughout the tournament.

Their semifinal showing, defeating Taiwan 9-3, was one of the best performances of the event, but the Germans were unstoppable in the final. Thailand had never got beyond the first round in previous appearances in the event but opened up with a decent win over Holland. They beat Estonia in the next round before outplaying Poland in the quarters. The two Thais receive $15,000 each for their efforts.

Souquet and Hohmann had opened their account with a whitewash against Australia and then beaten Malaysia in the second round. They put out Filipino legends Efren Reyes and Bustamante in fine style in the quarter final before scraping through against Korea in the semis.

“There were 32 great teams and this is definitely one of the highlights of my career and I am very proud to be on Ralf’s side,” Hohmann said.

The PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams representing 31 nations – hosts Philippines have two sides. The total prize-fund is $250,000 with $60,000 going to the winning pair.