Darren Appleton will face Thorsten Hohmann in the finals of the International Challenge of Champions at Harrah's Resort Southern California in Valley Center, California.
The day began with Appleton defeating Shane Van Boening in a match that Appleton will thank the pool gods for. This unique event features two races to five with one sudden death game if the players split the first two sets. The sudden death game came into play with Appleton winning the first set 5-3 and Van Boening winning the second 5-2. The sudden death game saw Shane running a routine rack when he missed an 8-ball in the side pocket to give Appleton second life. Appleton had a tough 8-ball to deal with, but he pocketed the ball with shape on the 9 to advance into the finals.
The second match of the day saw Hohmann facing Filipino Dennis Orcollo. The first race went to Hohmann 5-2, but Hohmann trailed Orcollo 3-2 in the second race when Hohmann kicked in a 2-ball and ran out to knot the score at 3-3. Orcollo would not win another game as Hohmann went on to win the race 5-3 and advance to face Appleton in the finals of the $25,000 winner take all event.
