Ralf Souquet
Ralf Souquet ( ; born 29 November 1968) is a German professional pool player. His nickname is "The Kaiser". Since 1985, he has won more than 250 tournament titles, including over 40 German Championship titles, 23 Euro Tour titles and 20 European Pool Championships. Souquet is a two-time world champion, winning the 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship and 1996 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. Career. Souquet began playing billiards at the age of six in his parents' pub, 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 sportspeople by Germany, which was presented to him by German President Roman Herzog. In 1996, Souquet won the 1996 WPA World Nine-ball Championship where he triumphed 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  and Ronato Alcano. Souquet also won the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2002 by defeating Alex Pagulayan who would also win the event in the next three years. In 2008, Souquet won his second world title at the 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship with a victory over Alcano.