Riding High

Thailand's Kanjanasri (front) and Palajin impressed on their way to the final.

So it continued to come easily for the Germans. Overwhelming Malaysia, 8-3, Souquet and Hohmann matched up with the Philippines B team of Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes. (Whomever had the idea of attaching a "B" to this pair must've been cackling while doing so.) But the rematch of the 2009 final, won by the hometown favorites, turned into an absolute laugher.

Souquet and Hohmann took advantage of an out-of-sorts Filipino tandem, with both Hall of Famers erring in surprising situations.

"Efren was not on his game - but we put pressure on them as we performed well in the first few games," Hohmann said. "Playing them in front of the home crowd, there was more pressure on them than us."

In the final four, Germany was joined by three Asian nations, though maybe not the three likely suspects. Seventh-seeded Taiwan, comprised of the brother combination of 22-year-old Ko Pin-Yi and 15-year-old Ko Pin-Chung, wasn't all that surprising. But Korea, with newcomers Lee Gun-jae and Hwang Young, and Thailand's duo of Nitiwat Kanjanasri and Kobkit Palajin were a bit shocking.

Entering the Taiwan-Thailand semifinal, the smart money favored the brothers Ko. Thailand, thanks to the widespread upsets earlier in the event, never faced a top-tier opponent, collecting victories over Holland, Estonia and Poland. But with a spot in the final at stake, Thailand inched ahead, 4-2, before sprinting past the Taiwanese. Kanjanasri and Palajin, who honed their skills on the snooker table, had no problems firing 9 balls into oblivion as they pulled away for a 9-3 victory.

Germany, meanwhile, looked to be headed for front-row seats alongside Taiwan, as the South Korean pair opened up a commanding 6-2 lead. But Souquet and Hohmann took a time out - and returned as a completely different team. They found an immediate rhythm, taking a half-dozen racks to turn the deficit into an 8-6 lead. Korea took one more game to near the hill, but the Germans closed out the dramatic victory, 9-7.

"I have to give my respect to Thorsten, as he pulled me through," Souquet said. "I made so many mistakes and missed so many balls. - Being 6-2 down, we got together, took a time out and came out with a different plan. It didn't go as we wanted, but a win is a win."

And Germany was now within one win of the World Cup. In the extended race-to-10 championship, the Thai tandem couldn't recapture the magic that helped them trounce Taiwan. The Germans, well-tested with four world titles between the two, relied on steady shot-making that made up for uneven breaking. They crept closer and closer to the title, eventually taking the $60,000 first prize by a 10-4 count.

"It's still hard to believe and it hasn't sunk in yet," Souquet said. "We really worked hard for the title and held ourselves together."

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