Two young former world champions collided when Mika “Iceman” Immonen and Hohmann met in the first semifinal match.  Break-and-runs were the order of the day, and although an early mistake put Immonen back from the get-go, he was able to tie the score at 3 before Hohmann breezed by to win 5-3.  Immonen’s bad rolls kept coming in the second set, for he made nothing o­n his first break and scratched o­n his second, putting Hohmann up 3-0 before long.  “The Hitman” was o­n the hill before Immonen got o­n the board after a missed safety attempt by his opponent, but it was too little, too late, for Hohmann executed another perfect break-and-run to win the second set 5-1.

Japan’s number-one player, Hiroshi Takenaka, met disaster at the hands of Thomas Engert in their semifinal match.  Takenaka’s problems with his break gave the German champion a 3-0 lead in the first set before he was able to get o­n the board, and his woes continued throughout the match.  Two more dry breaks by Takenaka gave Engert the first set 5-2.  In the second set, “The Samurai” kept it close, knotting the score at 3, but a missed 1 ball put Engert o­n the hill.  At that point, the German broke the balls and ran out to win the second set 5-3.

Engert took control of the first set immediately after several key missed opportunities by Hohmann and was soon o­n the hill 4-1.  When Engert missed a bank shot o­n the 2 in the next rack, Hohmann ran out to narrow the gap.  After a few safeties by both players in the last rack, Hohmann fouled o­n a safety attempt o­n the 2 and handed over the first set to Engert 5-2.  The second set was all Engert again as Hohmann’s break failed him and handed over a few games to Engert.  Additionally, a couple of lucked-in balls gave Engert the edge he needed in order to win the second match 5-2.

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