Orcollo pipped to US Open 9 Ball title by Van Boening
On the way to Chesapeake, Virginia for the U.S. Open, Shane Van Boening rode on a train with Filipino shooter Dennis Orcollo. When Orcollo nodded off, Van Boening snapped a picture of him and posted it on Facebook to the delight of Pool fans everywhere.
But on Sunday, Van Boening practically lulled Dennis Orcollo to sleep with his superb shotmaking and won the extended race-to-13 final, 13-7.
It is the South Dakotan's second Open title. He first lifted the trophy in 2007. His victory ends a four-year drought for American players, the longest in its 37-year history.
Van Boening pockets US$25,000, while Orcollo settles for US$15,000.
Orcollo took an early 2-1 lead only to see Van Boening settle into his groove at the Winner's Break format event and take the next eight racks for a 9-2 lead.
But the man they call Robocop got an opening in rack twelve and launched a furious comeback, reeling off the next five racks to pull to 7-9.
But Van Boeing would not be denied as he won the last four racks to grab the win to the delight of the hometown crowd.
Observers noted that Van Boening shot "lights out" against an opponent who "showed a lot of heart."
The loss by Orcollo extends a puzzling trend of Filipino underperformance at the U.S. Open. Now Orcollo, Ronnie Alcano (two in a row), Amang Parica (twice) and Rodolfo Luat have all lost their final appearances in Chesapeake. Even the two Filipinos who have won the event, Efren Reyes (1994) and Alex Pagulayan, (2005) also lost other finals, with Reyes losing twice and Pagulayan once.
Filipinos now have a 2-10 overall record in the finals in the U.S. Open.
The loss was doubly frustrating since Pinoys filled up five of the last six men standing in the double-elimination tournament. Pagulayan finished third and wins US$10,000, Reyes was fourth with US$6,000, while Alcano and Parica were tied at fifth and take US$4,000 each.
Darren Appleton was beaten in the One-Loss side 11-7 by Orcollo, leaving him tied for seventh. The Englishman was going for his third Open title in a row, replicating the feat of Finland's Mika Immonen in 2008 and 2009.
Van Boening was undefeated throughout the tournament, defeating Parica 11-5 to reach the Winner's Side final, where he took out Pagulayan by the same score.
Dennis Orcollo battled through the One-Loss bracket and a gauntlet of big names to reach the final.
After topping Appleton, he then sent Parica packing via an 11-4 score. Then he ended Efren Reyes' attempt at a second Open by beating him 11-8. In the One Loss Side final Orcollo edged Pagulayan 11-7 to reach the extended-racks final.
The U.S. Open 9 Ball is one of the most prestigious titles in Pool and has been played every year since 1976. It is hosted by promoter Barry Behrmann.
Earl Strickland owns the most titles, with five, while Mike Sigel has won the event three times. Nick Varner, Appleton, and Immonen are the only other players who have multiple titles with two apiece.
Reyes, Pagulayan, Immonen, Appleton, Ralf Souquet of Germany and Puerto Rico's Mike Lebron are the only foreign winners of the event.
Winners are given a green blazer and are exempt from paying the tournament entry fee for life.
The tournament is played on Diamond tables, whose pockets are noted for their deep shelves, which puts a premium on accurate potting.
Van Boening, who is legally deaf and uses a hearing aid, now trains his sights on the Mosconi Cup, the annual USA-Europe team challenge. It will be his fifth appearance at the Ryder Cup style event, which this year returns to Bethanal Green in England.
The Europeans have won four of the last five editions of that event.
You can follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
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