ortmann reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 world straight pool championship (which he won the previous year) before losing to jasmin ouschan 133–200. he progressed to the semi-finals the following year, defeating earl herring and jonni fulcher before losing to mika immonen. ortmann won his third world championship in 2010, defeating immonen in the straight-pool final. since the straight-pool tournament (also known as the world tournament) is no longer sanctioned by the wpa, ortmann remains the last official world straight-pool champion. he is the second player to win three world championships, after earl strickland (who won the nine-ball championship in 1990, 1991 and 2002).