NNOTOT AALWAYSLWAYS PPRETTYRETTY GERMANY’S WON UGLY AT THE WORLD 14.1 CHAMPIONSHIP, WHERE STINGY POCKETS AND INEXPERIENCED STICKS COMBINED FOR SOME UNORTHODOX PLAY AND HEART-STOPPING SLIPS.

Story by George Fels Photography by Jonathan Smith

SSept07straight.inddept07straight.indd 4040 88/2/07/2/07 11:13:23:13:23 PMPM OR ALL HER EL- EGANCE, THE GAME cleanly and even with “pocket speed” games are practically interchangeable, could be seen wiggling and spitting produced by mascot-sized, expres- OF 14.1 CONTINUOUS back in their shooters’ eye. To observe sionless men, both ferocious gamblers, POCKET BILLIARDS a top-shelf player staring slack-jawed at playing largely on their magnifi cent F a miss he simply cannot comprehend instincts. They do understand that the CAN BE ONE CRUEL BITCH is deliciously fulfi lling to us ham ’n’ mission is to get the balls open as early eggers who make up most of the cue- in the sequence as possible — but in OF A MISTRESS. HOW ELSE games universe. connecting the open balls, their play WOULD ONE EXPLAIN A 69- slows perceptibly, almost as though OUND-ROBIN: MEET THE PINOYS they were thinking, “Now that I can BALL PENALTY FOR FAILURE R The Filipinos have become to fi nally play any ball into any pocket at TO DRIVE TWO BALLS TO what the royal Khan family of Paki- any time, exactly what is it that I do?” stan used to be to the sport of squash Unconventional position sequence play, THE RAIL ON THE GAME’S (“When you have beaten everyone else though, is simply pool’s answer to base- OPENING BREAK? A GAME in the world, then you are ready to ball’s unearned runs: Everything looks play a Khan”). Accordingly, the early- the same on the scoreboard. Orcollo THAT KEEPS ONE CONTES- rounds play of this year’s entrants from went 6-1 in round-robin play, Kiamco TANT IN THE CHAIR WHILE the islands, Warren Kiamco and mon- 5-2, and both men advanced to the fi nal ey-match terror , drew a 16. HIS OPPONENT SCORES ALL lot of what attention there was to draw Another player tandem receiving THE POINTS? A FINAL THAT from the sparse galleries. more than routine curiosity was the The fact is, is about as pair of young Korean sisters, Bo Ram LOOKED LIKE A MIXED-MAR- welcome in the Philippines as the cobras Cha and Yu-Ram Cha — along with TIAL ARTS MATCH BETWEEN that haunt the hinterlands. Not only are Austria’s the only fe- the playing conditions for it frequently male entrants. The sisters are said to RAY CHARLES AND LITTLE deplorable, but far more important, it train a mere 12 hours a day (with a doesn’t suit the purposes of that gam- two-hour break for dinner)! Each went STEVIE WONDER? bling-happy nation. Side bets cannot be 2-5, but they are just 21 and 19, respec- placed on individual racks, as they can tively, and produced some 50-ball runs The lady, however, does have her in a 9- or 10-ball match, and it takes far that had spectators’ heads nodding in moods. In the second annual Predator too long to determine a winner. respect. World 14.1 Straight Pool Champion- Between them, Kiamco and Orcollo Elsewhere in round-robin competi- ship — nicely run July 9-14 by Dragon have exactly one tournament’s worth of tion, there were some scores that in- Promotions at the Hilton East Bruns- 14.1 experience (Orcollo played spired double-takes. The milk of hu- wick, just off the New Jersey Turn- this event last year). Their man kindness requires that the losers pike — she did permit some highly memorable races. First, however, she required that all competitors don a pair of lead boots fi rst, in the form of the Diamond tables’ nasty, nasty pockets. “It’s not that they’re tight,” ex- plained Florida’s genial John Schmidt, perhaps America’s best hope to bring the title home. “They’re four-and-a-half inches — two balls will still fi t side-by- side. But they’ve changed the pitch of the pocket jaws [i.e., their angle toward each other]. It’s only about 2 degrees’ difference, but between that and how deep the pocket lip sits, they’re really tough.” A fi eld of 64 players from 15 coun- tries prodded the balls into these unfor- giving pockets in three separate stages — round-robin to winnow the fi eld to 32, double-elimination through 16, and then single-elimination. Indeed, balls that appeared to have been struck Challenger See could hardly watch in the error-fi lled fi nal.

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SSept07straight.inddept07straight.indd 4141 88/8/07/8/07 111:12:411:12:41 AMAM PREDATOR WORLD 14.1 STRAIGHT POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

son, while Smith, a photographer who has worked for this magazine, carries the distinctive mantel of “World’s Best Working-Stiff Player”), and Boston’s Matt Tretault all came through. But the biggest single upper for the crowd had to be Barouty, the fi eld’s fi rst-born and its only glasses-wearer, who eventually earned his way into the Sweet Sixteen with a thrilling victory over no less than Hohmann himself, 150-117. OUBLE-ELIMINATION: NEW FACES D The second of the tournament’s three phases was as notable for who didn’t advance as it was for those who did. Two of last year’s semifi nalists, of Finland and Amer- ica’s Max Eberle, were casualties; an- other surprise exit was that of perennial challenger , who suffered the added indignity of losing to a coun- tryman, young Nico Otterman. By now, however, most of the tongue- wagging was about two players all but unheard of in America. One was a young Chinese by the intriguing name of (one can practi- cally hear the smartasses guffawing back, “Oh, not much”). Young See is the third-ranked player in the Neth- erlands, behind Feijen and , and presents pool with the fi rst bona fi de fl at-top crew-cut since the late Jimmy Moore and, going even further back, Texan Lee Roy Kinman. See gained entry to this meet barely a week before the fi rst ball was struck, and then only when another contestant Harriman fl ourished while fl irting with disaster. bailed out. He would go all the way to the tournament semifi nals, along the remain nameless, but excluding forfeits erally kind to American contestants, way sitting down none other than his (of which there were too many), two with the notable exception of Mary- countryman Feijen. games went 100-2 and two went 100-1. land’s Mike Davis, who was sensational But even with See’s fi ne play, he was And the venerable Danny Barouty, of in ’06 but fell to 3-4 this year. Thirteen absolutely low-profi le next to another nearby Queens, N.Y., ousted one op- Yanks sallied forward into double-elim- rookie, Martin Kempter of Austria, a ponent by a mere 100 to -8. (That is ination play, and as a special treat for friendly 26-year-old with an engaging nearly four full racks short of a record, the hometown crowd, six of those had smile who readily admitted his 14.1 however. The legendary Joe Balsis once lost a U.S. Open match 150 to -13 — NUMBERS GAME to a total unknown, yet — and until a Number of major straight-pool championships won by Oliver Ortmann in the feeble late rally, Balsis’ scoring total for U.S. (2007 World 14.1, 1989 and 1993 BCA U.S. Open) and at the European the match stood at -36!) Pool Championships (1987, 1989, 1990, 2000 and 2006) Four competitors came through the 8 opening rounds undefeated, all of them Europeans: Russia’s Konstantin Stepa- East Coast credentials. New Jersey’s prowess was in its infancy: “I play a lit- nov, 2006 champion Thorsten Hohm- own Allen Hopkins and Ed Hodan, tle bit in Europe, one tournament, then ann and runner-up , New Yorkers Tony Robles and Jonathan I practice one, two weeks for this, that’s both of Germany, and the Netherland’s Smith (Robles may be the best-liked about it.” There’s a 156-ball practice run . The rounds were also gen- player on the planet, and for good rea- in that meager preparation, so there’s

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SSept07straight.inddept07straight.indd 4242 88/2/07/2/07 11:14:04:14:04 PMPM obviously considerable raw talent there. ago, comes to mind, but nothing more half racks he ran on Hatch, he had to The word “raw” is operative in that contemporary than that). Hatch then alter the landscape fi ve or more times praise, however. Highly operative. graciously agreed to continue racking in six of them. That’s quite a bit of ball First there’s the fascinating technique the balls so Kempter could continue bumping, and while I do favor the fe- with which he measures his break shots. his run (there was a substantial bonus male pronoun when writing on 14.1, it’s He raises his cue with both hands as if for a 200-ball effort), but was pressed equally fair to say that the lady does not preparing to offer it up for sacrifi ce, and into service only once, as Kempter got appreciate having her balls bumped to holds it over the break ball on the shot just 10 more balls. Still, that was good excess. Like See, Kempter would reach line. Then he points at the , and enough for the meet’s long run and a the semis — they were opponents — then he’s ready to shoot. “It’s something $5,000 reward. where the lady would take him to task I learned from my coach, and actually Long runs in straight pool, while for his indiscretions most pointedly. a lot of guys in Europe do it,” he ex- they seem almost infi nitely complex, plains, apparently unaware that Ameri- can normally be reduced to just two INGLE-ELIMINATION: can eyes have never seen anything like aspects: (a) How consistently did the SGUT-CHECK TIME it. “Between the The best match in butt of my cue and single-elimination the shaft [i.e., it’s play was almost cer- the joint of his cue WHEN KEMPTER DID tainly the Schmidt- that goes directly HAVE OPEN SHOTS, Engert encounter over the object in the round of 16, ball], I fi nd a 90- THEY OFFERED ONLY PARTIAL an unusual pairing degree line to the CUE-BALL CONTROL, AND of 400-ball runners. shot. Then I know (Engert has actually where to hit.” That THEN NOT TO ANYWHERE come within a single clarifi cation, while HE WANTED TO GO. ball of 500.) Trailing verbatim, is still in- 169-80, Schmidt complete, and why took a practical ap- he cannot simply proach to wiping visualize that in- out an 89-ball defi - formation as other cit: He ran 99. After players do is any- the two men traded one’s guess. But it nervous innings of works. single-digit scores And then there — two for Schmidt, were the break one for Engert — shots themselves, the German lost the which suggest that match out of sheer young Kempter has nonchalance. Fac- the game of 14.1 ing a relatively sim- confused with ro- ple but over-a-ball tation. His favorite shot near the left break-shot strategy, side rail, the gaunt in fact, is to draw the cue ball all the way player hit his/her primary break shot at lefty inexplicably decided to take his back to the far end rail and out again. the proper speed — that is, get object cue behind his back instead of simply The crowd murmurs with anticipation balls open and accessible to the cue ball reaching for the bridge. The diabolical every time he lines one up; it’s quite without re-clustering them?; and (b), corner pocket wasn’t having any of that similar to hoping Barry Bonds will park how consistently did the player ensure showboating, and the resultant wiggle a baseball among the kayakers, except the success of secondary break shots by allowed Schmidt the win. that this is a very nice kid without the creating patterns that included a “safety size-12 head. Kempter brought both valve,” or “insurance,” ball? Assuming NUMBERS GAME Total number of balls his aiming and execution techniques to that the player has the requisite skills to pocketed by Oliver bear, and then some, against America’s connect the balls once they’re opened Ortmann during the Dennis Hatch, who plays much better and manage the cue ball while doing so, 1,890 championship straight pool than most people think that’s really all that long runs are about. — although, on this occasion, he didn’t With Kempter, however, as aspect (a) Elsewhere, Ouschan, whose stellar play any pool of any kind. Kempter ran has clearly gone the way of the passen- and fearless play brought her to the fi - 150 and out on him, a feat accomplished ger pigeon and sabre-toothed tiger, as- nal 16 for the second straight year, fi nal- only a relative handful of times in the pect (b) becomes even more critical. He ly showed some troubles with nerves in game’s history (Sigel vs. Zuglan, in the seems to have a modest understanding losing to the steady Kiamco. Hopkins, battle of the East Coast Mikes 17 years of that concept. But of the eleven and a whose practice strokes are both lon-

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SSept07straight.inddept07straight.indd 4343 88/9/07/9/07 11:41:33:41:33 PMPM PREDATOR WORLD 14.1 STRAIGHT POOL CHAMPIONSHIP ORTMANN TACKED ON ANOTHER 70, SO FLAWLESSLY match fi gured to come down to, and that’s exactly what happened. THAT NO MORE THAN TWO OBJECT Harriman’s fi nely-tuned game has a BALLS EVER CAME TO REST quirk or two. As his resume includes bank-pool titles, he welcomes those op- BEYOND THE SIDE portunities far more than his straight- POCKETS. pool peers, and is even willing to use banks as secondary break shots. He also favors the inside-English, behind- the-rack break shot that sends the cue ball off three rails rather than one. Like former American League batting super- star Rod Carew, he apparently has more stances than most golfers have clubs, and in good times or bad, he plays with a mournful expression that suggests he would cry if he stepped upon an ant. Schmidt ran the fi rst four racks of the game. But Harriman, who plays ex- ceptionally well from behind (he came from nine racks back to defeat Sigel last year), caught him at 64-58. Schmidt then ran an additional fi ve racks to go ahead 129-64. Harriman came back yet again, 75 balls this time (at one point ger and more fl uid than his actual cel- Kempter against defending champion prompting the silent gallery with a chip- ebrated delivery and who still produces Hohmann. per, “I thought that was a pretty nice some of the fi nest position patterns Kiamco suffered an early miss on a ball shot, folks”) before jawing a ball in a far anywhere, simply did not have the fi re- he appeared to have struck perfectly, and corner. The two men then staggered for power for Hohmann, who authored one spent the rest of the match playing “on a few innings of single-digit play before of his three 100-ball runs on the hea- tilt,” as the poker players say. Ortmann Harriman went 29-28 back-to-back for thenish tables. Barouty fell to Orcollo’s gave Orcollo even less chance than that, the win. shot-making ability. Germany’s Oliver running 107 and 93 to win, 200-8, in a Ortmann tuned up for the next round spectacular two innings. But those two HE SEMIS: CLASS TELLS with an easy 200-44 victory over Radi- mismatches were more than compen- T With all four of last year’s semifi - slaw Babica of Poland, who sports what sated for by the other two. Kempter shot nalists gone (indeed, only Hohmann is easily the fi eld’s fi nest nickname, out to a 152-53 lead on Hohmann, then survived to the quarters), the best 14.1 “The Choirboy.” (Indeed, with his wavy watched in awe as the defending cham- pedigree remaining was, by far, Ort- hair and an unlined face that appears to pion ran eight solid racks to reclaim mann’s, who has won two U.S. Opens at have never been shaved, Babica looks the lead. But a side-pocket scratch on the game (1989 and 1993). Ortmann’s like the kind of cherub whose parents a routine break shot derailed him, and stroke production is actually reminis- would faint dead away if they thought Kempter got out with a triumphant cent of the immortal Ralph Greenleaf’s; he was even within smelling distance shout that betrayed his youth. he’s another butt-plate gripper who of a pool table.) Kempter continued to And the two Yanks provided the best also angles his body away from the punish the balls in sidelining Otterman, of the quarterfi nal matches. Schmidt shot, swinging his hip clear of the cue and Missouri’s Danny Harriman took has the bragging rights to a U.S. Open by a good two feet. The stroke itself is out Van den Berg. 9-ball title to go with that 400-ball run; executed mainly through a wrist-fl ick; the lower-profi le Harriman has won thus equipped, he would appear to be HE LAST EIGHT: titles in all fi ve of pool’s major forms. much better suited to straight pool than TFOUR ROOKIES, FOUR VETS Both are in their early 30s, with their any other form, yet he owns innumer- Just two Americans survived the round games probably yet to peak, and both able European titles and a 1995 world of 16, Schmidt and Harriman, and while have solid credentials as money play- championship at 9-ball. He would face they disappointingly drew one another, ers. In a game as long as 200 points, Harriman in the second semifi nal. it at least ensured that a Yank would both competitors are likely to see table Upstarts See and Kempter played the reach the semis. Both Filipino players layouts that require an object ball to fi rst match — except that it was never advanced, Kiamco to play See and Or- be drilled — no matter how thankless really a match. See is clearly the better collo to take on the veteran Ortmann. the pockets — and the cue ball forced straight-pool player of the two, per- And in the fi nal match, hardly anyone into position; between these two short- haps not quite ready yet to sling elbows gave much credence to the slugging game sharpshooters, that is what this among the game’s elite, but defi nitely

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SSept07straight.inddept07straight.indd 4444 88/8/07/8/07 111:14:041:14:04 AMAM TOP 16 SINGLE-ELIMINATION PLAY one to watch. Kempter never did fi nd either his rhythm or confi dence; when he did have open shots, they generally offered only partial cue-ball control, and then not to anywhere he wanted to go. Only a tepid late rally brought his total to 41, and his Howitzer-like break shots were never a factor. Kempter, in fact, generally appeared overjoyed just to be where he was. It cannot be predicted that he will join the game’s top ranks, but as his game stands, he will certainly be one of the most fun to watch. The Harriman/Ortmann encounter was considerably more worthy of cham- pionship semifi nal play. Harriman went -2 on the opening break and watched TOP 4 HIGH RUNS Ortmann pile a 67-ball run on top of 160 Martin Kempter that penalty. Harriman needed seven 139 rails with the cue ball just to score the 131 Oliver Ortmann two points that got him even. Shortly 117 Dennis Orcollo thereafter, Ortmann tacked on another 70, so fl awlessly that no more than two status seemed to undermine it. With little “Yee-haw!” just before game ball object balls ever came to rest beyond the virtually nothing to either prove or lose, was clearly, and appallingly, the high- side pockets. In the familiar position of See should have been loose as a goose; light of the alleged match. playing from behind, Harriman ran 29, he just couldn’t get there. The two men “This title means a lot to me,” said then 69, to get to 152-111; Ortmann was lurched toward game ball together, in a Ortmann in his victory speech, in suffi ciently rattled that he could run no stupefying smorgasbord of tepid one- to which he classily dedicated the win to more than 17 balls in any inning from two-rack runs, half-diamond misses, his late sister, who passed 12 years ago. there, but his initial 69-ball lead eventu- botched open-table position, and em- “The fans watching, as well as myself, ally proved too much for Har- understand what straight pool riman to overcome. Harriman’s means. We all love straight last hurrah was a two-rail kick pool.” at an attractive combo behind The eternally cheerful Charlie the rack, but he erred in adding Williams of Dragon Promotions English to the shot. The com- (who has committed to running bination of spin and new cloth the event, despite the fact that took him too long, contacting it’s unlikely to break even, he the wrong ball, and Ortmann says) told the crowd, “I’m hope- limped out. ful we’ll see an American cham- pion soon.” Still in his chair, HE FINAL: ROOM Ortmann cracked dryly, “I don’t TFRESHENER, PLEASE think so.” (The German is nor- There are all too many poten- mally so tight-lipped, it was a tially awful puns on the word bit like getting a laugh line out “spin” in cue-games journal- of the aforementioned Bonds.) ism. In the lexicon, the word And, that odoriferous fi nal not- has come to mean an inten- withstanding, he may have a tional slant on what is factual. point. You can’t improve at a Perhaps a lesser publication game without playing it, and would be willing to spin the there are straight-pool leagues fi nal of the 2007 world cham- Get a grip: Ortmann was the obvious favorite versus See. and tournaments all across Eu- pionship, but this one will not: This was barrassingly bad safeties. The match rope and Asia. Where are America’s truly a terrible, terrible game of pool. had no pivotal points; a machine that hopefuls going to turn to improve their Oliver Ortmann would have been a doesn’t run cannot be expected to piv- games? The practice table? prohibitive favorite against Huidji See, ot either. At 182-171 (yes, that’s how Or, on the other hand, Ortmann had there been any action available close this stinker was), Ortmann fi nally could continue to play as he did in the (there was not), but instead of bolster- cashed in his experience chip and wor- fi nal, and see how America’s best re- ing his confi dence, his heavily favored ried the last 18 balls home. His soggy spond to that.

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