Van Boening Wins Turning Stone Classic Number Six

There are very few times that Shane Van Boening’s resume comes up short against any player in the game today, but one of those rare instances is at the Turning Stone Classic at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY.

Shane Van Boening

Erwin Dioniso

Coming in to the 33rd running of this event, on January 9th - 12th, Van Boening had won the title five times. That feat was one trophy short though, of Johnny Archer and Jayson Shaw, who had both won the title a total of six times each. Van Boening righted that wrong in style though, with an undefeated run to collect trophy number six.

Van Boening started off his campaign with comfortable wins over Tom Acciavatti, Aaron Greenwood, Paul Dryden and Joss Tour regular Joey Dupuis. That was when things got a little uncomfortable for The South Dakota Kid. Van Boening drew “The Giant Killer” Jeremy Sossei, and Sossei was living up to his nickname at this event. Already with wins over James Aranas and Billy Thorpe, Sossei controlled the table to a 7-2 lead over Van Boening. With his back to the wall, looking at a long Sunday if he had to battle back from the one loss side, Van Boening did what he has done so many times in his career and found yet another gear in his game. “Jeremy had good rolls at the beginning and played well. I sat in the chair and changed my thoughts a bit and just had fun and played the game like I’m suppose to win.” said Van Boening. Van Boening won seven of the next eight racks to win the match 9-8. “He has a propensity for making these comebacks on me” said Sossei. “did the same thing a few months ago at the Steinway Classic. I had him buried but he came back and beat me hill hill there too.

The Giant Killer lived up to his nickname

Erwin Dionisio

Van Boening’s Sunday morning started with a 9-5 match against aforementioned six time event winner Jayson Shaw. Shaw was coming off a Saturday night drubbing of Earl Strickland. Strickland had embarrassed Shaw in their match at last year’s Turning Stone Classic, and he would get his revenge this year to the tune of a 9-2 win. The Van Boening / Shaw match was a close one, but it was Van Boening scoring a 9-5 win to take his place in the hot-seat match.

Van Boening’s opponent in the hotseat match was Greece’s Alex Kazakis. Kazakis was fresh off tough wins over Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn and Meiszko Fortunski, but an early 2-1 lead over Van Boening disappeared as Van Boening won eight straight racks for a decisive 9-2 win.

The semi-final match was fairly anti-climactic as James Aranas was feel ing under the weather and did not play up to his normal speed in a 9-1 loss to Kazakis.

If Kazakis, and the fans in attendance, needed any more proof of just how dangerous Van Boening can be when he gets a head of steam, the finals drove that message home. Kazakis fought out to a 6-3 lead in the extended race to thirteen, and never moved another bead. Van Boening got comfortable at the table and won the next ten racks for his second straight Turning Stone Classic title.

Kazakis and Van Boening after the battle

Erwin Dionisio

“My break was working well and I was shooting good. But the dry break at 6-3 turned the match around. He had the control of the table till the end of the match. I was getting up to the table either hooked or with an extremely hard shot” said Kazakis after the match. The runner-up finish for Kazakis was another event that saw him come in to the finals with a head of steam, but be forced to settle for second place. When asked about his record in major event finals, Kazakis sounded upbeat. “I think I just have to win a major event to get over that hump. The pressure some times out there is really big. After that I think I’ll much more confident in every match I’m playing.”

Van Boening on the other hand, was brimming with confidence after the event. When asked about the rise of other players here in the States and whether he feels any heat from them chasing him, Van Boening replied “I hope Sky and Billy continue to rise. I’m tired of having no competition.”