Ralph Souquet one of the best snooker player in the world
Ralph “The Kaiser” Souquet of Germany has been a household name when it comes to Billiards. He is very well known all over the world because of all the achievements that he has, having won more or less 300 tournament titles. He has established himself as one of the best players to have ever played the game. The Hall of Famer is not getting any younger but the way he plays the game makes you think if he’s really getting older.
The man from Eschweiler, Germany has won many big tournaments in Billiards in his entire career. He was crowned as the Champion in the 1996 World Pool Championships when he defeated Tom Storm of Sweden. He also ruled the 2000 and 2002 edition of the World Pool Masters, and also in 2002; he won the US Open 9-Ball title besting Filipino Alex Pagulayan in the Finals. In 2001, he once again reached the Finals of the World Pool Championships but was outplayed by then unknown player, Mika Immonen.
The year 2006 was a very productive year for him. For the third time in six years, he once again dominated the World Pool Masters after winning against a familiar foe in Alex Pagulayan in the finals. In the richest tournament in Pool History, the International Pool Tour (IPT), he pocketed $50,000 after finishing fifth in the IPT North American Championship and then he took home $38,725 when he placed 10th in the IPT World Open Championship. He suffered a heartbreaking lost in the hands of Ronnie Alcano in the Finals of the 2006 World Pool Championships. He was also very instrumental when Team Europe defeated USA in the 2007 and 2008 Mosconi Cup.
In 2008, he avenged his lost to Alcano in the 2006 World Pool Championship. Alcano was gunning for his second straight World Pool Title but his bid was blocked by The Kaiser defeating him in the finals, 13-9. He became the fourth player after Efren “The Magician” Reyes, Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei, and Alcano to won world titles in both 9-Ball and 8-Ball.
Since winning in the 2008 World 8-Ball Championship, the German, who started playing pool when he’s just 6 years of age, failed to win a single major tournament in the past two years. Many said that his career is nearing its end but his performance doesn’t say so. Even without a major title for the past two years, he is still performing well in big tournaments.
Last year, he was the runner-up in the 10-Ball Event of the Derby City Classic and was the third placer in 9-Ball Division pocketing $5,000 and $4,000, respectively. He also had a great showing in the 2009 World Pool Master where he finished fifth behind Darren Appleton, Nick Van Den Berg, Mika Immonen, and Shane Van Boening. In the US Open 9-Ball Championships, he faced the defending champion Mika Immonen in the Finals but the German failed to dethrone the man from Finland.
In the 2009 World Cup of Pool, he teamed up with Thorsten Hohmann to reach the Finals but they were outplayed by hometown duo of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, who won their 2nd World Cup of Pool title after winning the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2006.
Despite his age, Souquet is still showing that he’s still a big threat to the top-caliber cue artists in the World. The current World No. 4 in the WPA World Rankings, Souquet is also performing well this year. He finished 9th in the World 8-Ball Championship and placed 5th in the World Pool Masters that was ruled by Filipino Dennis Orcollo.
His performance in the recent US Open 10-Ball Championship is also a testament that The Kaiser’s career is not done yet. He posted five straight impressive wins in the early rounds before bowing out to Francisco Bustamante. In the upcoming tournaments, Souquet can still pull off tricks in his bag and surprise his opponents. But with the quality of opponents that he’ll be facing, he definitely needs to play his “A” game and bring back his old touch if he wants to win a major tournament this year.
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