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.

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.

The tournament is open to both men and women, including wheelchair users, making it a true "open" tournament. 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. There is also a separate Women's U.S. Open, sanctioned by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA).

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. From 1997 to 2011, the U.S. Open Men's Division was held at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. Q-Masters is still involved in the tournament.

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.

Format The tournament format is essentially double-elimination (a player is out of the tournament after losing two ) 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 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 YearWinnerRunner-upFinal scoreVenueWinner's PrizeTotal Prize1976 Mike Sigel Pete Margo11–1Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA$3,100$8,9751978 Allen Hopkins Steve Mizerak15–11$5,000$14,5001979 Louie Roberts David Howard15–11$3,000$8,0001979 Steve Mizerak Jim Rempe11–10$3,600$8,5001980 Mike Sigel Ray Martin11–7$3,600$8,5001981 Allen Hopkins Mike Sigel11–7$4,000$10,0001982 David Howard Mike Zuglan10–4$4,000$10,0001983 Mike Sigel David Howard11–10$5,000$13,7501984 Earl Strickland Mike Sigel11–10Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA$10,000$25,9001985 Jimmy Reid Mike Lebrón11–5Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA$7,800$23,0001986 David Howard Allen Hopkins11–9$7,000$22,2001987 Earl Strickland Jim Rempe11–7$7,000$24,0001988 Mike Lebrón Nick Varner11–6$8,000$30,0001989 Nick Varner Kim Davenport13–6Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA$10,000$35,0001990 Nick Varner Johnny Archer11–10$10,000$41,0001991 Buddy Hall Dennis Hatch9–8Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA$15,000$65,0001992 Tommy Kennedy Johnny Archer9–1$15,000$61,6001993 Earl Strickland Tony Ellin11–8$15,000$58,4001994 Efren Reyes Nick Varner9–6$15,000$53,2001995 Reed Pierce Efren Reyes11–6$20,000$77,8001996 Rodney Morris Efren Reyes11–6Virginia Beach Convention Center, VA$25,000$116,2501997 Earl Strickland Efren Reyes11–3Chesapeake Conference Center, VA$25,000$124,5001998 Buddy Hall Tang Hoa11–5$25,000$105,5001999 Johnny Archer Jeremy Jones11–7$30,000$131,6002000 Earl Strickland Takeshi Okumura11–5$50,000$211,0002001 Corey Deuel Mika Immonen11–0$30,000$148,2002002 Ralf Souquet Alex Pagulayan13–11$30,000$150,0002003 Jeremy Jones Jose Parica11–4$30,000$125,0002004 Gabe Owen Thorsten Hohmann11–3$30,000$145,0002005 Alex Pagulayan Jose Parica11–6$40,000$200,0002006 John Schmidt Rodolfo Luat11–6$40,000$159,0002007 Shane Van Boening Ronato Alcano13–10$50,000$182,0002008 Mika Immonen Ronato Alcano13–7$40,000$212,0002009 Mika Immonen Ralf Souquet13–10$40,000$200,0002010 Darren Appleton Corey Deuel15–13$40,000$180,0002011 Darren Appleton Shawn Putnam13–6$30,000$175,1002012 Shane Van Boening Dennis Orcollo13–7Holiday Inn, Virginia Beach, VA$25,000$170,0002013 Shane Van Boening Lee Vann Corteza13–10Marriott Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA$30,000$135,0002014 Shane Van Boening Dennis Orcollo13–10$30,000$165,0002015 Kevin Cheng Karl Boyes13–6Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA$40,000$192,0002016 Shane Van Boening Chang Jung-lin13–9$50,000$200,0002017 Jayson Shaw Eklent Kaçi13–4$40,000$200,0002019 Joshua Filler Wu Jia-qing13–10Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV$50,000$300,0002021 Carlo Biado Aloysius Yapp13–8Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ$50,000$300,0002022 Francisco Sánchez Ruiz Max Lechner13–10$50,000$300,0002023 Ko Ping-chung Fedor Gorst13–6$50,000$300,0002024 Fedor Gorst Shane Van Boening13–10$50,000$300,0002025 Aloysius Yapp Fedor Gorst13–11$100,000$500,0002026 Francisco Sánchez Ruiz (2) Robbie Capito13-12Embassy Suites, Frisco, TX$100,000$500,000

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).USOpen9BallChampionships.com . Retrieved 21 October 2007 Shane Van Boening holds the record for the most consecutive wins: three. (2012, 2013, 2014). Shane Van Boening holds the record for the most final appearances: six. (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2024). 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.

Top performers

Name Nationality Winner Finals or better appearances Shane Van Boening 5 1 6 6 11 Earl Strickland 0 5 8 16 Mike Sigel 3 2 12 Nick Varner 2 4 6 9 David Howard 4 10 Mika Immonen 1 3 5 8 Allen Hopkins 3 12 Buddy Hall 0 2 4 11 Francisco Sánchez Ruiz 3 5 Darren Appleton 2 6 Efren Reyes 1 3 4 6 9 Johnny Archer 2 3 7 15 Steve Mizerak 1 2 5 12 Ralf Souquet 4 9 Alex Pagulayan 7 Corey Deuel 3 8 Fedor Gorst 5 Aloysius Yapp 3 Mike Lebron 2 5 Jeremy Jones 3 Jayson Shaw 0 1 3 10 Rodney Morris 8 Jimmy Reid 2 6 Joshua Filler Louie Roberts 4 Carlo Biado 3 Ko Ping-chung Tommy Kennedy Gabe Owen 2 Reed Pierce 1 John Schmidt 1 Kevin Cheng Jose Parica 0 2 2 5 12 Jim Rempe 11 Dennis Orcollo 6 Ronato Alcano 2 5 Rodolfo Luat 1 1 4 6 Chang Jung-lin 3 5 Kim Davenport 2 7 Lee Vann Corteza 3 Tony Ellin 2 Thorsten Hohmann 1 5 Karl Boyes 4 Dennis Hatch 3 Max Lechner Ray Martin Tang Hoa Takeshi Okumura Eklent Kaçi 2 Pete Margo Mike Zuglan 1 Shawn Putnam Wu Jia-qing 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.

References