VanBoening Matches Strickland's Record of 5 U.S Opens Crowns!

By: Erik Hjorleifson

The 2016 U.S Open is now in the books with Shane VanBoening going on an incredible 10 match run on the losers side to come all the way back and defeat Chang Jun Lin. Jung Lin was the only player to give him a loss in the tournament.  This one will go down in history as one of the strongest performances ever seen. The Open has now become a truly international event, in my estimate at least two thirds of the players are from overseas which is a stark contrast to even 5 years ago when two thirds of the players were from North America.

The other notable losers side run came from Mika Immonen around 2010 when he lost in the final 128 on the winners side only to come back 13 matches and win the tournament. The element of the Open being the only major tournament that doesn't feature a single knockout redraw is interesting. If this were any other major WPA event Van Boeinings loss to Chang in the round of 32 would most likely have sent him packing, however in this double knockout event Shane took full advantage of his second chance.

His list of victims on the losers side is quite staggering if you think about it

Thorsten Hohmann 11-6
Corey Deuel 11-4
Darryl Peah 11-7
Mike Dechaine 11-6
Brandon Shuff 11-4
ALex Pagulayan 11-9
Jeremy Jones 11-5
Dennis Orcollo 11-7
Jayson Shaw 11-9
Chang Jun Lin 13-9

The level of consistency and skill that must be displayed to beat so many world class players in one tournament is something that even most professional players could only dream of. Then of course there is the stamina factor, people sometimes try to say pool is not a sport, I think they would become tired just watching this run on the losers side.

This years breaking rules were the toughest ever seen in an international tournament and it is no surprised to me that the unofficial best breaker in the world thrived under these conditions. I would like to add that this was not a power breaking contest like ten ball or 8 ball. It was a combination of precision and thought that was required to execute the cut break that would eventually help him get over the line.

In a time where it seems like the large majority of the American players have fallen behind the pack. There is one that stands above the rest and his dominance on U.S soil and recent success internationally make it hard for anyone to argue that he is not the best rotation player in the world. With this title Shane equals Earl Stricklands all time record of 5 U.S. Open wins including 4 of the last 5 years. With many productive years left I don't think there is any doubt he will break that record.

Honourable mentions this week must go out to Jayson Shaw who had an epic comeback in the winners side final 8 against Ko Pin Yi and had an excellent third place finish. Jeremy Jones in my opinion the most underrated American player showed he still belongs with a fifth place finish. By all accounts Pat Flemings first solo venture as promoter of the Open went very well and we are lucky to have someone like him to take of the legacy of this legendary tournament.

U.S Open Day1 &2 Roundup

By: Erik Hjorleifson 

Its that time of year again as the most prestigious tournament on American soil is upon us.
The 41st annual U.S. open kicked off on Sunday with 147 of the worlds best players paying a $1000 entry. The prize money has once again risen to a respectable level with $50 000 going to the winner and 49 of the 147 players finishing in the money.

It seems the rule set has also caught up with the times as the 9 ball is once again being racked on the spot and accu-rack template racks are being used.  The race amount has remained unchanged  which is to 11 on both sides and winner breaks.

One major change that has been implemented this year is the "3 balls past the head string rule" which states that a combination of three balls must be pocketed or pass the head string on the break. In past years the rule was a combination of three balls only had to pass the side pockets. In addition players are forced to break from the box. These breaking rules are the most challenging I have ever seen in an international nine ball tournament. Because the nine is on the spot and players are forced to break from the box making the wing ball takes a lot of thought and precision. It seems like the cut break is still the way to go but it is still a risk to get three balls past the head string. That being said cutting the break is still the only chance of making the one in the side.

From the matches that I've watched on the stream Jeremy Jones played Earl Strickland, both players chose to hit the break head on. Both players only made a ball on the break about half the time despite breaking the balls perfect, other than the break there was only about 5 errors total in the whole match. I also watched Neils Feijen and Oscar Dominguez try to cut the break but still not make the wing or the one. Ralf Soquet and Alex Kazakis broke the best of the matches I watched, both were cutting the break and often making the one and sometimes the wing ball. As the tournament progresses with all these champions in the field the break will ultimately be a huge factor in the eventual winner and it will be interesting to see which players adapt the best to the new rule set.

Notable matches from day one:                             Day two: 
             
Ko Pin Chung 11 Ruslan Chinakov 5                      Shane VanBoening 11 John Morra 10
Amar Kang 11 Konstantin Stepanov 5                  Carlos Biado 11 Johnny Archer 7
Ralf Soquet 11 Wang Can 9                                     Raj Hundal 11 Thorsten Hohmann 7
Jeremy Jones 11 Corey Dueul 10                            Alex Pagulayan 11 Dang J.H 10
Jermy Jones 11 Earl Strickland 9                             Jeremy Jones 11 Mario He 8
Darryl Peach 11 Antonio Lining 6                           Jason Klatt 11 Shane McMinn 8
Albin Ouschan 11 Neild Feijen 8                            Jayson Shaw 11 Rodney Morris 6 

Brackets and live scoring are available at azbilliards.com, stream is available at accu-stats.com. Special thanks to accu-stats for providing us with the stream so we can cover the event.