Engert Named Champion of Champions!

Engert Named Champion of Champions!By InsidePOOL StaffIn an all-German final at the International Challenge of Champions, Thomas “The Lean Machine” Engert defeated fellow countryman Thorsten Hohmann in the two-set final match. This two-day event was held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, and began Wednesday, August 11, 2004.The tournament was sponsored by Olhausen Tables, Viking Cues, and Aramith, among others. The format, which started out on Wednesday as a race to 7 with alternating breaks, changed to two races to 5 with alternating breaks. In case of a tie, a one-game tiebreaker would have been played. There were two semifinal matches and then the finals. This event was unusual in that no matches went into sudden death.
Two young former world champions collided when Mika “Iceman” Immonen and Hohmann met in the first semifinal match. Break-and-runs were the order of the day, and although an early mistake put Immonen back from the get-go, he was able to tie the score at 3 before Hohmann breezed by to win 5-3. Immonen’s bad rolls kept coming in the second set, for he made nothing on his first break and scratched on his second, putting Hohmann up 3-0 before long. “The Hitman” was on the hill before Immonen got on the board after a missed safety attempt by his opponent, but it was too little, too late, for Hohmann executed another perfect break-and-run to win the second set 5-1.Japan’s number-one player, Hiroshi Takenaka, met disaster at the hands of Thomas Engert in their semifinal match. Takenaka’s problems with his break gave the German champion a 3-0 lead in the first set before he was able to get on the board, and his woes continued throughout the match. Two more dry breaks by Takenaka gave Engert the first set 5-2. In the second set, “The Samurai” kept it close, knotting the score at 3, but a missed 1 ball put Engert on the hill. At that point, the German broke the balls and ran out to win the second set 5-3.Engert took control of the first set immediately after several key missed opportunities by Hohmann and was soon on the hill 4-1. When Engert missed a bank shot on the 2 in the next rack, Hohmann ran out to narrow the gap. After a few safeties by both players in the last rack, Hohmann fouled on a safety attempt on the 2 and handed over the first set to Engert 5-2. The second set was all Engert again as Hohmann’s break failed him and handed over a few games to Engert. Additionally, a couple of lucked-in balls gave Engert the edge he needed in order to win the second match 5-2.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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