i TV Pinoy

Source: Rey Joble, GMA News

Compatriots and bosom buddies Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet battled it out in a classic finale of the Philippine Open Pool men’s championship on Monday at the SM Megamall.

The two German former world champions, who were seeking their first-ever championship on Philippine soil, pushed each other to the limit up to the 21st and final rack.

In the end, Hohmann got the better of the match and claimed this year’s championship in a nail-bitter of an encounter, 11-10.

So the player who wasn’t supposed to join in this WPA event wound up victorious and capped an interesting story here.

Unlike in their first match in the quarterfinals where Hohmann was beaten soundly by Souqet, 2-9, the younger yet more determined player, who is now based in Jacksonville, Florida, dictated the tempo early. He led 4-1 and was about to break the game wide open.

Until Souquet turned the match into a see-saw battle and set up an exciting windup.

Souquet won four of the next five racks to level the score for the first time, 5-all, capped by a spectacular long bank shot that pocketed the 1 and 10 balls.