U.S. Open Pool Championship

The U.S. Open Pool Championship, formerly the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship, is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditionally, winners of the U.S. Open are given a green blazer and are awarded free entry fees to all future U.S. Open tournaments.

Chesapeake Conference Center, site of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship from 1997 to 2011

The Women's U.S. Open is a separate event, sanctioned by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA).

History

In its first official edition in 1976, the U.S. Open was contested by just 16 players. Over the years, the number of participants steadily increased, reaching its current level of 256 players.[1]

The tournament is an open to men, women and wheelchair users, making it a true "open" tournament, in that the only requirement to play in the event is the payment of the entry fee. The total purse for the tournament is $300,000, where the winner is awarded $50,000.

Original U.S. Open promoter Barry Behrman (right) with Rob Sykora of Billiard Club Network (left) at the 2004 event.

The tournament's original venue was Q-Master Billiards pool hall, in Norfolk, Virginia, which hosted the event, other than one year, from 1976 until 1988.[2] From 1997 to 2011, the U.S. Open Men's Division was held at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.[2] Q-Masters is still involved in the tournament.[3]

Original promoter Barry Behrman died on April 23, 2016. His children, Brady Behrman and Shannon Behrman Paschall, took over operating the tournament until 2018, when it was sold to Matchroom Pool.[2]

Format

The tournament format is essentially double-elimination (a player is out of the tournament after losing two matches) until two players remain. Most professional pool "double-elimination" events, however, are not true double-elimination formats, where the player who reaches the finals from the loser's side has to defeat the winner's side player twice for the title.

As of 2019, the tournament reverts to single-elimination from the last 16 onwards. At the U.S. Open, matches are played in races to 11, with the winner breaking. However, the final match, as is customary with most professional nine-ball tournaments today, is one extended race. At the U.S. Open, the extended race in the finals is 13 racks.

Winners

Men
Year Winner Runner-up Final score Venue Winner's Prize Total Prize
1976[4] United States Mike Sigel United States Pete Margo 11–1 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $3,100 $8,975
1978[5] United States Allen Hopkins United States Steve Mizerak 15-11 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $5,000 $14,500
1979[6] United States Louie Roberts United States David Howard 15-11 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $3,000 $8,000
1979[7] United States Steve Mizerak United States Jim Rempe 11-10 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $3,600 $8,500
1980[8] United States Mike Sigel (2) United States Ray Martin 11-7 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $3,600 $8,500
1981[9] United States Allen Hopkins (2) United States Mike Sigel 11-7 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $4,000 $10,000
1982[10] United States David Howard United States Mike Zuglan 10-4 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $4,000 $10,000
1983[11] United States Mike Sigel (3) United States David Howard 11-10 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $5,000 $13,750
1984[12] United States Earl Strickland United States Mike Sigel 11-10 Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA $10,000 $25,900
1985[13] United States Jimmy Reid Puerto Rico Mike Lebrón 11-5 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $7,800 $23,000
1986[14] United States David Howard (2) United States Allen Hopkins 11-9 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $7,000 $22,200
1987[15] United States Earl Strickland (2) United States Jim Rempe 11-7 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $7,000 $24,000
1988[16] Puerto Rico Mike Lebrón United States Nick Varner 11-6 Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA $8,000 $30,000
1989[17] United States Nick Varner United States Kim Davenport 13-6 Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA $10,000 $35,000
1990 United States Nick Varner (2) United States Johnny Archer 11-10 Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA $10,000 $41,000
1991 United States Buddy Hall United States Dennis Hatch 9-8 Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA $15,000 $65,000
1992 United States Tommy Kennedy United States Johnny Archer 9–1 Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA $15,000 $61,600
1993 United States Earl Strickland (3) United States Tony Ellin 11–8 Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA $15,000 $58,400
1994 Philippines Efren Reyes United States Nick Varner 9–6 Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA $15,000 $53,200
1995 United States Reed Pierce Philippines Efren Reyes 11–6 Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA $20,000 $77,800
1996 United States Rodney Morris Philippines Efren Reyes 11–6 Virginia Beach Convention Center, VA $25,000 $116,250
1997 United States Earl Strickland (4) Philippines Efren Reyes 11–3 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $25,000 $124,500
1998 United States Buddy Hall (2) United States Tang Hoa 11–5 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $25,000 $105,500
1999 United States Johnny Archer United States Jeremy Jones 11–7 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $131,600
2000 United States Earl Strickland (5) Japan Takeshi Okumura 11–5 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $50,000 $211,000
2001 United States Corey Deuel Finland Mika Immonen 11–0 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $148,200
2002 Germany Ralf Souquet Canada Alex Pagulayan 13–11 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $150,000
2003 United States Jeremy Jones Philippines Jose Parica 11–4 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $125,000
2004 United States Gabe Owen Germany Thorsten Hohmann 11–3 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $145,000
2005 Canada Alex Pagulayan Philippines Jose Parica 11–6 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $40,000 $200,000
2006 United States John Schmidt Philippines Rodolfo Luat 11–6 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $40,000 $159,000
2007 United States Shane Van Boening Philippines Ronnie Alcano 13–10 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $50,000 $182,000
2008 Finland Mika Immonen Philippines Ronnie Alcano 13–7 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $40,000 $212,000
2009 Finland Mika Immonen (2) Germany Ralf Souquet 13–10 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $40,000 $200,000
2010 England Darren Appleton United States Corey Deuel 15–13 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $40,000 $180,000
2011 England Darren Appleton (2) United States Shawn Putnam 13–6 Chesapeake Conference Center, VA $30,000 $175,100
2012 United States Shane Van Boening (2) Philippines Dennis Orcollo 13–7 Holiday Inn Virginia Beach Norfolk, VA $25,000 $170,000
2013 United States Shane Van Boening (3) Philippines Lee Vann Corteza 13–10 Marriott Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA $30,000 $135,000
2014 United States Shane Van Boening (4) Philippines Dennis Orcollo 13–10 Marriott Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA $30,000 $165,000
2015 Chinese Taipei Kevin Cheng England Karl Boyes 13–6 Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA $40,000 $192,000
2016 United States Shane Van Boening (5) Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin 13–9 Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA $50,000 $200,000
2017 Scotland Jayson Shaw Albania Eklent Kaci 13–4 Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA $40,000 $200,000
2019 Germany Joshua Filler China Wu Jiaqing 13–10 Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV $50,000 $300,000
2021 Philippines Carlo Biado Singapore Aloysius Yapp 13–8 Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ $50,000 $300,000
2022[18] Spain Francisco Sanchez Ruiz Austria Max Lechner 13–10 Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ $50,000 $300,000
2023 Chinese Taipei Ko Ping-chung Russia Fedor Gorst 13–6 Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ $50,000 $300,000

Records
  • Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening, both from the U.S., share the record for winning the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship the most times: five. Strickland in (1984, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2000). Van Boening in (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016).[19]
  • Van Boening holds the record for the most consecutive wins: three. (2012, 2013, 2014).
  • The oldest pool player to ever win the men's tournament to date is Mike Lebrón of Puerto Rico, at 54 years old. The youngest player to win to date is Joshua Filler of Germany, at 21 years old.[20]

Top Performers

[20]

Name Nationality Winner Runner-up Finals Semi-final
or better		 Final stage
appearances
Earl Strickland United States505816
Shane Van Boening United States59
Mike Sigel United States321216
Nick Varner United States2469
David Howard United States410
Mika Immonen Finland1358
Allen Hopkins United States312
Buddy Hall United States02411
Darren Appleton England26
Efren Reyes Philippines13469
Johnny Archer United States23715
Steve Mizerak United States12512
Ralf Souquet Germany48
Alex Pagulayan Canada7
Corey Deuel United States38
Mike Lebron Puerto Rico25
Jeremy Jones United States3
Rodney Morris United States0138
Jayson Shaw Scotland6
Jimmy Reid United States2
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz Spain4
Louie Roberts United States
Tommy Kennedy United States3
Carlo Biado Philippines2
Gabe Owen United States
Joshua Filler Germany13
Reed Pierce United States2
John Schmidt United States1
Kevin Cheng Chinese Taipei
Jose Parica Philippines022512
Jim Rempe United States11
Dennis Orcollo Philippines6
Ronnie Alcano Philippines25
Rodolfo Luat Philippines1146
Chang Jung-lin Chinese Taipei35
Kim Davenport United States27
Lee Vann Corteza Philippines3
Tony Ellin United States2
Thorsten Hohmann Germany15
Karl Boyes England4
Dennis Hatch United States3
Ray Martin United States
Tang Hoa United States
Takeshi Okumura Japan
Aloysius Yapp Singapore2
Eklent Kaci Albania
Max Lechner Austria
Pete Margo United States
Mike Zuglan United States1
Shawn Putnam United States
Wu Jiaqing China
  • Active participants are shown in bold.
  • Only players who reached the final are included.
  • Final stage appearances relates to players who reach the last 12 players of the event. As of 2019, final stages include last 16 players, due to format change.
  • In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.

Women

Unlike the men's tournament, the U.S. Open is not a true "open" event. Each female player must qualify through the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), the professional women's billiards tour based in the United States, in order to compete in this annual event..

Year Winner
1984 United States Jean Balukas
1985 United States Belinda Bearden
1986 United States Jean Balukas (2)
1987 United States Jean Balukas (3)
1988 Sweden Ewa Mataya
1989 United States LoreeJon Jones
1990 United States JoAnn Mason
1991 Sweden Ewa Mataya (2)
1992 United States Robin Bell
1994 United States Jeanette Lee
1999 England Allison Fisher
2002 Sweden Helena Thornfeldt
2003 Northern Ireland Karen Corr
2004 South Korea Kim Ga-young
2005 England Allison Fisher (2)
2006 England Allison Fisher (3)
2007 England Allison Fisher (4)
2008 England Kelly Fisher
2009 South Korea Kim Ga-young (2)
2010 South Korea Kim Ga-young (3)
2011 England Allison Fisher (5)
2012 England Allison Fisher (6)
2016 South Korea Kim Ga-young (4)
2017 Northern Ireland Karen Corr (2)

References
  1. Barry Behrman (July 7, 2011). "Statement From Barry Behrman and Shannon Berhman Paschall-Exclusive to AZB". AzBilliards.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  2. "History". USOpen9BallChampionships.com. Norfolk, VA: Q-Master Billiards. 2009. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  3. "Contact". USOpen9BallChampionships.com. op. cit. 2010. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  4. "American Billiard Review Nov 1976". American Billiard Review. No. Nov 1976. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. "National Billiards News Aug 1978". National Billards News. No. Aug 1978. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  6. "Billiards Digest Mar 1979". Billiards Digest. No. Mar 1979. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  7. "National Billiards News Dec 1979". National Billiards News. No. Dec 1979. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  8. "National Billiards News Jan 1981". National Billiards News. No. Jan 1981. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  9. "National Billiards News Feb 1982". National Billiards News. No. Feb 1982. Archived from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  10. "National Billiards News Jan 1983". National Billiards News. No. Jan 1983. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  11. "National Billiards News Feb 1984". National Billiards News. No. Feb 1984. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  12. "National Billiards News Dec 1984". National Billiards News. No. Dec 1984. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  13. "National Billiards News Dec 1985". National Billiards News. No. Dec 1985. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  14. "Billiards Digest Jan 1987". Billiards Digest. No. Jan 1987. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  15. "National Billiards News Feb 1988". National Billiards News. No. Feb 1988. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  16. "Billiards Digest Feb 1989". Billiards Digest. No. Feb 1989. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  17. "National Billiards News Jan 1990". National Billiards News. No. Jan 1990. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  18. "US Open Pool Championship 2022". Archived from the original on 2022-10-16. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  19. USOpen9BallChampionships.com Archived 2007-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2007
  20. "History of The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships". U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Archived from the original on 2004-04-10. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
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