by Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWANThursday, January 14, 2010
RALF ‘THE KAISER’ SOUQUET is ready to lead a star-studded Team Europe line-up during tomorrow’s (Friday) Asia vs Europe 9-ball Team Championship.
The continent will be sending the top three cueists in the world for the three-day event at the Sutra Hall of the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong, so you know they mean business.
Captained by Souquet, who is the top-ranked player in the world and Europe, Team Europe will also be joined by the Great Britain duo of Darren ‘Dynamite’ Appleton (second in the world and eighth in Europe) and Imran ‘The Maharaja’ Majid (third in the world and second in Europe), and the trio alone should have enough tricks up their sleeves to keep Team Asia busy.
Also in the team are Dutchman Nick van den Berg, the world’s No 33 and No 18 in Europe, and Russia’s Ruslan Chinakhov, the world No 31 and No 19 in Europe.
Apart from Chinakhov, the rest of Team Europe have already touched down in Brunei.
Team Asia’s Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante both arrived from the Philippines on Tuesday while the two Chinese Taipei players, Ko Pin Yi and Lu Hui Chan, reached today. Bruneian Teo Chee Soon rounds up the field of five Asian cueists.
“First of all I need to get the boys together, get them feeling comfortable and get them together to play as a team,” said Souquet, who won his second world title at the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) World 8-Ball Championship in 2008.
“Unfortunately, not all the guys are here yet. Chinakov is only going to arrive from Russia tomorrow (Thursday).
“Basically once everyone gets here safe and in one piece, tomorrow (Thursday) I hope we can get a few hours of practice together. We need to work as a team and see what the perfect doubles (combination) are.
“Then we are going to try to play our best, like we have been doing for the past few years. It is going to be short races and it is a different scenario playing as a team than playing as an individual,” said five-time World Pool Masters champion.
He added that the team will have to work on their team spirit, something that was not in full strength when Team Europe lost the Mosconi Cup to Team America last year.
An annual 9-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Europe and the USA since 1994, Team USA won the event 11-7 when in Las Vegas last year.
Souquet would have had enough time to dwell on that loss.
Spending the best part of a day on the plane to Brunei, the 41-year-old German flew from Munich to Frankfurt and then on to Hong Kong before arriving in the Sultanate.
With bad weather affecting travel in and around Europe, Souquet said he hoped the trip to Brunei would be worth it. “As you might know, the bad weather in Europe is affecting travel and it will be hard for him (Chinakhov) since he is flying via London. Even my flight got delayed three times before I got here.”
Though Team Europe look to be the favourites, Souquet downplayed suggestions that they would have an easy time.
“I think it’s quite even to be honest. On paper we might seem stronger, but maybe we lead them by a few percentage points. 52/48 maybe, but I don’t see us as favorites,” said Souquet.
“I don’t know the player from Brunei (Teo) and I have no clue about what to expect.
“If it is the Prince (His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office) playing, then I would know because I have seen him play in events.
“Of course, we all know about Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, and the two Chinese Taipei players (Ko Pin Yi and Lu Hui Chan) are very strong players. They are players who are rated highly in Asia and in the world, so we expect a very, very strong fight,” he added.
Teo is ranked No 2 in Brunei and No 50 in the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU). He teamed up with His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah in the 9-ball doubles event at the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos.
The 19-year-old Ko is currently No 1 in Asia and No 11 in the world while compatriot Lu, a.k.a. the “Whirlwind Kid”, is Asia’s No 2 and No 15 in the world.
Reyes is No 15 in Asia and No 122 in the world while Bustamante is ranked 32 in both the APBU and in the world.
The Magician gained fame when he became the first non-American to win the US Open Ball Championship in 1994, and in September last year, Reyes and Bustamante became champions of the 2009 World Cup of Pool in Manila which they also won in 2006.
A welcome dinner will be held for the players and officials tonight, after which the schedule for tomorrow’s action will be released.
Sponsored by GHK Motors Sdn Bhd, the tournament offers US$27,000 for the team champions. The runners-up will get US$13,000.The Brunei Times
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