Man of the World

Never before considering competing globally, Souquet broadened his perspective in 1991.

Pool has offered the perfect canvas on which to attempt to paint a masterpiece of perfection, a trait for which was he has been innately driven to follow.

"I'm very pedantic," Souquet said. "I like to have things placed in order, and when you come to my apartment things have to be clean. I don't like messy places. The whole Ralf Souquet... everything is in order, everything is in place.

"I like to be in control. That's why my game also is basically built on this stuff. I couldn't just freewheel, like hit a ball and hope that after three rails the cue ball stops where it might be good. I'd rather know exactly. ... I want to be precise. Like a surgeon. I want to be exact."

Souquet's attention to detail and hard work led to him conquering Europe in the 1980s, but he hadn't considered a globetrotting career until he captured the Challenge Cup in Sweden in 1991 at age 22. The victory over the sport's biggest names drew the attention of Holger Veith, a German pool wholesaler who offered to sponsor Souquet so he could go worldwide.

"He actually made it possible for me to become a professional," Souquet said. "From that point on, he started sponsoring me, [paid] for my overseas flights, took care of a lot of entry fees, [paid] for my hotel bills. He's still sponsoring me to this day."

Sticking to his credo of always learning and processing, Souquet, who admits he is a self-taught player, has looked at his travels not simply as a chance to compete against the best, but as an opportunity to absorb knowledge - different playing styles and conditions, cultures, weather, food, anything that could help his game.

"Traveling is part of my life," Souquet said. "You learn to adapt to different styles of players. The Asian players have their own styles. The American players have their styles. When you travel, you pick up a lot of new ideas here and there without noticing that you're learning them. Then all of the sudden it's in your mind."

With his fiercely competitive spirit, combined with his methodical and (mostly) unemotional style of play, Souquet realizes that he can come across to those who don't know him as an obsessive cue-wielding cyborg.

"I'm definitely not a robot and I'm not a machine," he said. "I enjoy life. Off the table, I am emotional. I'm a funny guy, I can laugh, I can do lots of goofy stuff too."

Souquet says that even though he's committed himself fully to his sport, he is also aware of his limitations.

"I could do a lot of things better but I don't know if I'd enjoy it anymore," he said. "You still need to have that little freedom, that enjoyment part in your life too. If you only dedicate your life to the sport, which I have already done, then you can't even enjoy going to the movies or spending time with the family. It's got to be a good mixture, that's what I'm trying to achieve. Do as much as I need to do to be as close to [perfect], but also enjoy life."

Part of Souquet's legend will surely be his dedication to absolute sportsmanship. It's a trait, he says, that is more important to him than winning.

"I want to be known as honest, upright," he said. "I like sportsmanship. ... I'd rather be known by these facts than be known [as] a great player."

Clearly, though, he will always be remembered as both. As for Souquet's own recollections of the hundreds of titles he has racked up around the world, he says he has kept a special spot in his mind for several of his wins.

"When I first won the World 9-Ball Championships in 1996, that was really an unbelievable feeling," he said. "Winning the [2008 World] 8-Ball Championship was a dream come true, because I never did any good in the 8-ball championships and finally it happened."

He continues to run through the index of titles in his mind: "The U.S. Open against Alex Pagulayan (in 2002). There were so many more. I won six World Pool Masters titles, each one was special in a way. The Mosconi Cup four times."

Going forward, as he takes his place among the legends of the sport, Souquet still has a desire to keep winning, to keep learning, to continue to chase perfection. And as he continues to rack up the frequent flier miles, he will continue to do it his way, the right way.

"I want to be the best," he said. "I want to enjoy the game, which I still do, otherwise I wouldn't be that successful. And I want to prove to myself and maybe to other people that you can be good at a sport for many, many years if you do the right thing, if you work hard on it."

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