Thorsten Hohmann, Who Has Made Perfect Pool His Lifelong Mission
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IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship A PerfecTBy Mason King How else do you cap the biggest, richest event in history but with a hill-hill final for $350,000? And who else would win it but ThorsTeN Hohmann, who has made perfect pool his lifelong mission. 40 BD • SEPTEMBER 2006 HORSTEN HOHMANN It kicked off with an international field slumped in his chair in a of 200 players and then kicked them posh Las Vegas restaurant, to the curb in waves through six stages his eyes tired and dull, look- of round-robin play. It rewarded the ing like his pet Chihuahua, competitors who managed to advance named “8-ball,” had just died. This was with still more grueling, 12-hour days Tthe same Thorsten Hohmann who, four of matches on tight tables and sluggish hours earlier, had won the biggest prize cloth. in pool history — $350,000 — in the Hohmann topped them all, to no one’s biggest pool tournament in history. The surprise. IPT founder Kevin Trudeau same Thorsten Hohmann who said this designed the tour’s events to reward was “the happiest day of my life,” in a players with physical stamina and men- sweetly eloquent speech broadcast live tal toughness, and no one in this field to millions throughout Europe, including struck that balance as well as Hohmann. his home country of Germany. The same That was no accident. Hohmann’s level Thorsten Hohmann — impressively of commitment to his sport rivals that of fit and Teutonically handsome — who Tiger Woods. In the weeks before the could stroll into the adjacent casino, IPT Open, Hohmann hit the gym every collect a harem of willing honeys, get day. He honed his stroke, break and pat- blotto on free booze, and blow $30,000 tern play as many as 10 hours per day, on craps before having some real fun. every day. He consulted coaches and Who would blame him? He deserved it. sparred with fellow pros. This was his moment. Yet, there he was, almost deathly silent and barely making eye contact with his Numbers GAme three dinner companions in this dim and 7 subdued back room. He was replaying Number of seconds Thorsten something in the back of his mind, flick- Hohmann took to shoot the ering across the insides of his grayish- $350,000 8 ball, from sinking blue eyes. Something nagging at him. the previous ball. Great speech when you won, a com- panion said. Very elegant. “You thought so?” Hohmann retorted. What does this guy think he is — a “Half the things I planned to say, I for- professional athlete? got. I forgot to thank my friends who “He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke. came all the way from Germany to sup- He doesn’t gamble. He doesn’t play golf. port me. And I forgot to thank my best He doesn’t chase women; they chase friend, who came from Germany but him,” said fellow pro John Schmidt, who had to leave early. ... Next stayed with Hohmann at his home base time ...” in Jacksonville, Fla., for several weeks On the one night of recently. “He doesn’t do anything but his life that 27-year-old pool and work out.” Hohmann should have rev- That’s not changing any time soon. eled in his success, he was That Hohmann now has a life-changing cataloging his errors. Not $350,000 in his bank account (minus only that, he expected to taxes, of course) is almost beside the correct them the next time point. Rather, he sees it as a means to he trounced 200 of the best further improve his game. pool players in the world. He was put on this Earth to play pool, Saying Thorsten he says. He could always be better. He Hohmann has a perfec- could always do more. He will settle for tionist streak is like say- nothing less than perfection. ing Donald Trump has In doing so, he has become the model a healthy sense of self- for what it will take to succeed on esteem. the richest, most rigorous tour in pool To be fair, Hohmann history. earned his evident exhaustion. The International Pool Tour’s first event of its HE IPT’S masterminds geared the premiere season — the North American tour to be the most punishing test Open 8-Ball Championship, held July ofT pool-playing ability ever devised. Hohmann kept his emotions in check 22-30 at The Venetian Hotel Resort Players at the Open faced stingy pockets playing on the final's well-lit TV set. Casino in Las Vegas — ranked as the with 4.5-inch mouths, cloth as slow and most demanding event in pool history. unpredictable as gravel, the knees-buck- ©2006 Gary Michael – www.exposuresltd.com BD • SEPTEMBER 2006 41 IPT North American Open 8-Ball Championship MASON KING Playing 10 to 12 hours a day made the Open feel like an uphill climb for players. Maybe more spectators would help. ling $2 million purse, and a round-robin and the back-room money players, like thing,” Feijen said after missing a spot format that saddled each player with four American Steve Moore, who figured this in the final 18. “But it’s mental strength. or five race-to-8 matches per day. was a smart time to go legit. It’s mental conditioning. Look at Efren The Open was so imposing that it Understandably, some entrants were Reyes, who’s 51. He plays games all the sharked some players before they poked star-struck. time. If he isn’t playing pool, he’s play- their first ball. “I think maybe I lost my focus a little ing chess, or mah-jong, or all those board bit because of all the great players there,” games.” Numbers GAme said Sweden’s Helena Thornfeldt, who Hohmann, sitting at the same table went 0-4 in the first round. “It was a as Feijen in the private players’ lounge, 14-46 little bit overwhelming, I think. I knew it piped up in his quiet and straightforward Combined record of the IPT’s 15 during the tournament too, but I couldn’t fashion: “I was a school chess cham- female members in first round. acclimate to it.” pion.” Keith Bennett, an alternate from the The half-dozen players at the table “I was excited — very, very excited qualifying tournaments who earned a shared a fleeting moment of recogni- — and I couldn’t calm down enough to spot in the Open when Hall-of-Famer tion. Could you be any more perfect, Mr. play,” said Chicago’s Ike Runnels, who Jim Rempe pulled out, shook off his awe Perfect? posted a 1-3 record and failed to advance and plowed undefeated through the first to the second round’s field of 120 play- round. But the 27-year-old house pro T SEEMED that Hohmann had been ers. “I was thinking more about winning from Wilmington, N.C., quickly felt the preparing himself for this tournament than executing my skills.” physical demands of the event and stalled forI most of his 27 years. There had never been a billiard event in the second round. Born and raised in the quiet city of like it. It brought together the tour’s 150 “I’m still feeling it,” he said. “Your Fulda, Germany, Hohmann played members for the 2006 season, most hand- legs, your feet. You’re standing in dress chess, soccer, ping-pong and trumpet picked by Trudeau from 2,000 applica- shoes all day long. You have to play 10 before discovering pool around age 12. tions, and another 50 who had won to 12 hours a day no matter what. So it Immediately obsessed with the game, he arduous qualifying tournaments for this takes a toll. If you’re not in shape, you’re started spending as many as six hours a single event. not going to last.” day at the local billiard club. He won his They came from all over the world — But it wasn’t just about being buff. first juniors event within five months. He the legends, like odds-on favorite Efren Niels Feijen, a chiseled health-club devo- soon had the keys to the club, and all but Reyes of the Philippines; the up-and- tee and world-class pool talent from the forgot about soccer, trumpet, and even comers, like Hungarian juniors champ Netherlands, lost his vigor and spent his school. Vilmos Foldes; the pool-curious, like last two matches “in a coma.” “For four years, I hardly ever saw day- U.K. snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan; “I expected it to be more a health light,” he said. 42 BD • SEPTEMBER 2006 Women Fail Their He joined the German military at 18 and And then there was his ace in the hole. First IPT exam stayed for five years, honing his pool skills The IPT allowed each player to have a as part of its sports support unit. With the cornerman — a tableside ally to offer english 8-ball ace ellerby sole government subsidizing his pool habit, he advice and a second set of eyes. Hohmann WPBAer To reach Third stage practiced at least eight hours per day. chose his manager, friend and IPT road sArAH ellerBy finally has her spotlight. See a pattern forming? roommate Charlie Williams, whose cruise Despite pin-up looks and a formidable Within months of leaving the military, through the Open capsized in the third stroke, ellerby has never quite captured the 23-year-old Hohmann won the 2003 World round.