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.
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.
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