Souquet: I'm So Proud

RALF Souquet revealed his pride at clinching his fifth PartyCasino.com World Pool Masters title.

Souquet, 37, defeated Alex Pagulayan 8-4 in the final to win the event after three days of tough competition at the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee, Holland .

To make the success even more satisfying for Souquet, he was cheered on throughout the tournament by his parents Wolfgang and Sibille and his girlfriend Illy.

“That meant a lot to me,” said Souquet. “It’s the first time I have won a tournament with my girlfriend by my side. We have been together six months so she has only been to three or four competitions.

“My parents have seen me win a lot of events but it’s great when they are around and see me winning a big one. The World Pool Masters is one of the big ones and I’m really proud I could win it and that they could be part of it.”

Souquet, known as The Kaiser, had been unhappy with his performances throughout the Masters in his earlier victories against Efren Reyes, Imran Majid and current World Champion Wu Chia-ching.

But he raised his game when he needed to and secured a comfortable victory against Pagulayan, despite losing the lag.

Souquet said: “It was a hard match as expected and even though the score seems like it was easy, it wasn’t. I had a very bad lag for the break for the third successive time so I gave up the break and that wasn’t a good start.

“It’s the most crucial thing but luckily Alex made some mistakes and was unlucky with his breaks on two or three occasions. It was probably my best match in the whole event.
 
"In the semi-finals I was ok but I didn’t feel 100 per cent comfortable but I had a good feeling and wanted to take every chance I had.

“At least I played better towards the end of the tournament and I needed to otherwise I wouldn’t have had a chance. I’m a perfectionist. Even if I make one mistake in 30 games then I’m still not happy but I can be pleased now as I made all the important shots.”

Souquet is the most successive player in the history of the World Pool Masters and has now won the tournament five times following previous successes in 2002, 2000, 1996 and 1994.

However, Souquet had not taken part in the Masters since 2003 and admitted he was glad to be back in the event.

He said: “It means a lot to win after not competing in the last two years. I last won it in 2002 and in 2003 I came here, was feeling ill and lost in the first round to Mika Immonen.

“In the following two years I wasn’t invited or did not perform well enough on the Euro Tour. But I’m just happy I could win the Masters again and to win it five times is not a bad record."