Ralf Souquet
Encyclopedia
Ralf Souquet (born 29 November 1968 in Eschweiler
Eschweiler
Eschweiler is a municipality in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Belgian-Dutch frontier, and about 15 km east of Aachen and 50 km west of Cologne.- History :...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) is a German professional pool
Pocket billiards
Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...
player. His nicknames are "The Kaiser" and "The Surgeon." Since 1981, he has won more than 250 tournament titles, including 41 German Championship titles and 34 European Championship titles.
He began playing billiards at the age of six in his parents' pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, practicing up to five hours per day. He won his first German Championship title at the age of fourteen in the juniors division. In 1985, Souquet co-won his first European Championship team title with the National Team, and in 1986 won his first individual title at the European Championship (juniors division). In 1997, he received the Silberne Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest official distinction awarded to sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
speople by Germany, which was presented to him by German President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog is a German politician as a member of the Christian Democratic Union, and served as President of Germany from 1994 to 1999...
.
In 1996, Souquet won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship where triumph over Tom Storm of Sweden. He also reached the finals of the same event in 2001 and 2006, only to be bested by Mika Immonen
Mika Immonen
Mika Immonen is a Finnish professional pool player, nicknamed "the Ice Man."He won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales in 2001. That same year, he was the runner-up to Corey Deuel in the US Open Nine-ball ChampionshipHe has represented Team Europe on thirteen occasions in the...
and Ronato Alcano
Ronato Alcano
Ronato Alcano , is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Ronnie Calamba" and "the Volcano".-Career history:...
.
Souquet also won the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2002 by defeating Alex Pagulayan
Alex Pagulayan
Alejandro Salvador Pagulayan, is a Filipino Canadian professional pool and snooker player. His nicknames are "the Lion" and "the Killer Pixie". He was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
who would also win the event in the next three years.
In 2008, Souquet won his second world title at the WPA World Eight-ball Championship
WPA World Eight-ball Championship
The WPA World Eight-ball Championship is a professional eight-ball pocket billiards tournament held in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, and sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association. A total of 64 participants compete in the event, which typically has a total prize purse over US$100,000...
with a victory over Ronato Alcano (Alcano was also a winner of this event). Souquet won the $ 60,000 championship prize, with 13-9 final score.
Titles
- WPA World Eight-ball Championship (2008)
- World Pool Masters (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011)
- WPA World Nine-ball ChampionshipWPA World Nine-ball ChampionshipThe WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual, international, professional nine-ball pool tournament, founded in 1990, sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association , and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport...
(1996) - US Open Nine-ball ChampionshipUS Open Nine-ball ChampionshipThe U.S. Open Championships is an annual professional pool tournament that began in 1976 at Q-Master Billiards in Norfolk, Virginia. Today, it is held in the Chesapeake Conference Center, Chesapeake, Virginia...
(2002) - International Challenge of ChampionsInternational Challenge of ChampionsThe International Challenge of Champions is an annual nine-ball pool tournament held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has always been broadcast on ESPN and is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association...
(1996) - US Open 14.1 Championship (2000)
- BCA Open Nine-ball Championship (2003, 2006)
- All-Japan Pool Championship (2004)
- Derby City Nine-ball Classic (2004, 2006, 2008)