FILIPINO Dennis Orcollo’s title defense in the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters dissipated into thin air thanks to German Ralf Souquet who ended his title drought on Philippine soil with a come-from-behind 8-5 finals victory Monday night at the SM North Edsa Mall.
Souquet’s win gave him his sixth PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters crown worth $20,000 while Orcollo bagged $10,000.
It was Souquet’s first major title in the Philippine soil after yielding to Ronato Alcano in the final of the 2006 World Pool Championship. He and compatriot Thorsten Hohmann also lost to Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante in the final of the 2009 World Cup of Pool.
“It seems to be my tournament for whatever reason. I’ve made the final eight times and won six and lost twice. It’s not only a dream come true but also the icing on the cake to win it here in the Philippines,” said the 42-year-old Souquet who made it to five finals on Philippine soil before nailing the big one.
After the score was tied at 3-all, Orcollo won the next two racks to surge ahead, 5-3. But Souquet also racked up two straight to level at 5-5, then produced a superb break shot that saw four balls drop and leave him a shot on the lowest ball. He cleared the table to lead 6-5.
Souquet then broke and ran the next to reach the hill first and put Orcollo under severe pressure. The diminutive Filipino though, potted his last ball as the German broke and ran the 13th rack for the win.
“At the Masters you are playing 15 of the greatest players in the world and it’s very tough from the first round on and you have to play at 100 percent and if you can’t do that then you won’t win,” said Souquet.
“The Philippines is the country of pool and it’s where the sport is such a big thing. There are so many great players like Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcollo, Roberto Gomez and I could go on. It’s just so tough to win a tournament here.”
Losing semifinalists Darren Appleton of England and Fu Jian Bo of China received $4,000 each.