KEITH SHANER
THE US OPEN NINE-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP: GETTING TO THE CORE OF MODERN POOL
T
here are many great events for pool in the United States at both the amateur and professional level. There are many regional, national, and world championship events held in the US that have historical significance. The big three in my eyes are The Derby City Classic, The International Open, and The US Open. The size of the fields, the talent level, and the impact that they all have on American cue sports are mainly why I chose them. Among the Big Three, The US Open is the longest-running active tournament in the US, and looking at its history is like studying an ice core. Year by year, layer by layer, we can see the changes and growth of pool. 26
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Starting with less than 20 players in its first year, it now regularly fields 256 players with a waiting list. American players dominated the event, similar to how they dominated the Mosconi Cup in its early years. Sigel, Hall, Strickland, Varner, and Mizerak were familiar names to see in the finals. Mike LeBron was the first non-US-born player to win it, taking the title in 1986. Just eight years later, in 1994, we see the so-called “Filipino Invasion” wave hitting a big crest with Efren Reyes winning. Reyes would make three more final appearances, making way for players like Jose Parica, Alex Pagulayan, Rodolfo Luat, Ronnie Alcano, Dennis Orcullo, and Carlo Biado to find themselves in the finals. Takeshi Okumura, a standout player from
Japan, made the finals in 2000, and Ralf Souquet of Germany was a winner in 2002, with Thorsten Hohmann quickly following in 2004 to make the finals and taking the runner-up spot. In 2005, we saw the first allFilipino final, and in 2009, we saw our first all-European final. Since then, only Corey Deuel, Shawn Putnam, and Shane Van Boening have reached the finals, and only Shane has seen the winner’s circle, winning four times to bring his total to 5, tying the legendary Earl Strickland. We regularly see European and Asian players in the finals. Kevin Cheng and Karl Boyes met in 2015, and Joshua Filler and Wu Jiaqing clashed in 2019. No American player has made the finals since SVB’s last
