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.
The Women's U.S. Open is a separate event, sanctioned by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA).
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.[1]
The tournament is an open to men, women and wheelchair users, making it a true "open" tournament, in that 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.
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.[2] From 1997 to 2011, the U.S. Open Men's Division was held at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.[2] Q-Masters is still involved in the tournament.[3]
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.
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.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Final score | Venue | Winner's Prize | Total Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976[4] |  Mike Sigel | Pete Margo | 11–1 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $3,100 | $8,975 | |
| 1978[5] | Allen Hopkins | Steve Mizerak | 15-11 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $5,000 | $14,500 | |
| 1979[6] | Louie Roberts | David Howard | 15-11 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $3,000 | $8,000 | |
| 1979[7] | Steve Mizerak | Jim Rempe | 11-10 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $3,600 | $8,500 | |
| 1980[8] | Ray Martin | 11-7 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $3,600 | $8,500 | ||
| 1981[9] | Mike Sigel | 11-7 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $4,000 | $10,000 | ||
| 1982[10] | David Howard | Mike Zuglan | 10-4 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $4,000 | $10,000 | |
| 1983[11] | David Howard | 11-10 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $5,000 | $13,750 | ||
| 1984[12] | Earl Strickland | Mike Sigel | 11-10 | Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $10,000 | $25,900 | |
| 1985[13] | Jimmy Reid | Mike Lebrón | 11-5 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $7,800 | $23,000 | |
| 1986[14] | Allen Hopkins | 11-9 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $7,000 | $22,200 | ||
| 1987[15] | Jim Rempe | 11-7 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $7,000 | $24,000 | ||
| 1988[16] | Mike Lebrón | Nick Varner | 11-6 | Q-Master Billiards, Norfolk, VA | $8,000 | $30,000 | |
| 1989[17] | Nick Varner | Kim Davenport | 13-6 | Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $10,000 | $35,000 | |
| 1990 | Johnny Archer | 11-10 | Lake Wright Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $10,000 | $41,000 | ||
| 1991 | Buddy Hall | Dennis Hatch | 9-8 | Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA | $15,000 | $65,000 | |
| 1992 | Tommy Kennedy | Johnny Archer | 9–1 | Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA | $15,000 | $61,600 | |
| 1993 | Tony Ellin | 11–8 | Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA | $15,000 | $58,400 | ||
| 1994 | Efren Reyes | Nick Varner | 9–6 | Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA | $15,000 | $53,200 | |
| 1995 | Reed Pierce | Efren Reyes | 11–6 | Holiday Inn, Chesapeake, VA | $20,000 | $77,800 | |
| 1996 | Rodney Morris | Efren Reyes | 11–6 | Virginia Beach Convention Center, VA | $25,000 | $116,250 | |
| 1997 | Efren Reyes | 11–3 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $25,000 | $124,500 | ||
| 1998 | Tang Hoa | 11–5 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $25,000 | $105,500 | ||
| 1999 | Johnny Archer | Jeremy Jones | 11–7 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $131,600 | |
| 2000 |  Takeshi Okumura | 11–5 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $50,000 | $211,000 | ||
| 2001 | Corey Deuel |  Mika Immonen | 11–0 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $148,200 | |
| 2002 | Ralf Souquet |  Alex Pagulayan | 13–11 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $150,000 | |
| 2003 | Jeremy Jones | Jose Parica | 11–4 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $125,000 | |
| 2004 | Gabe Owen | Thorsten Hohmann | 11–3 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $145,000 | |
| 2005 | Alex Pagulayan | Jose Parica | 11–6 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $40,000 | $200,000 | |
| 2006 | John Schmidt | Rodolfo Luat | 11–6 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $40,000 | $159,000 | |
| 2007 | Shane Van Boening | Ronnie Alcano | 13–10 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $50,000 | $182,000 | |
| 2008 | Mika Immonen | Ronnie Alcano | 13–7 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $40,000 | $212,000 | |
| 2009 | Ralf Souquet | 13–10 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $40,000 | $200,000 | ||
| 2010 | Darren Appleton | Corey Deuel | 15–13 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $40,000 | $180,000 | |
| 2011 | Shawn Putnam | 13–6 | Chesapeake Conference Center, VA | $30,000 | $175,100 | ||
| 2012 | Dennis Orcollo | 13–7 | Holiday Inn Virginia Beach Norfolk, VA | $25,000 | $170,000 | ||
| 2013 | Lee Vann Corteza | 13–10 | Marriott Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA | $30,000 | $135,000 | ||
| 2014 | Dennis Orcollo | 13–10 | Marriott Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA | $30,000 | $165,000 | ||
| 2015 | Kevin Cheng | Karl Boyes | 13–6 | Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $40,000 | $192,000 | |
| 2016 | Chang Jung-lin | 13–9 | Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $50,000 | $200,000 | ||
| 2017 | Jayson Shaw |  Eklent Kaci | 13–4 | Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, Norfolk, VA | $40,000 | $200,000 | |
| 2019 | Joshua Filler |  Wu Jiaqing | 13–10 | Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV | $50,000 | $300,000 | |
| 2021 | Carlo Biado |  Aloysius Yapp | 13–8 | Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ | $50,000 | $300,000 | |
| 2022[18] | Francisco Sanchez Ruiz |  Max Lechner | 13–10 | Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ | $50,000 | $300,000 | |
| 2023 | Ko Ping-chung |  Fedor Gorst | 13–6 | Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ | $50,000 | $300,000 | |
| 2024 | TBD | TBD | TBD | Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ | $50,000 | $300,000 |
| Name | Nationality | Winner | Finals | or better | appearances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Strickland | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 16 | |
| Shane Van Boening | 5 | 9 | ||||
| 3 | 2 | 12 | 16 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | |||
| David Howard | 4 | 10 | ||||
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |||
| 3 | 12 | |||||
| 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | |||
| Darren Appleton | 2 | 6 | ||||
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 7 | 15 | |||
| 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | |||
| Ralf Souquet | 4 | 9 | ||||
| 7 | ||||||
| 3 | 8 | |||||
| 2 | 5 | |||||
| 3 | ||||||
| 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |||
| Jayson Shaw | 7 | |||||
| 2 | 6 | |||||
| Francisco Sanchez Ruiz | 4 | |||||
| Louie Roberts | ||||||
| Ko Ping-chung | 3 | |||||
| Tommy Kennedy | ||||||
| Carlo Biado | ||||||
| Gabe Owen | 2 | |||||
| Joshua Filler | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 2 | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 11 | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 2 | 5 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |||
| Chang Jung-lin | 3 | 5 | ||||
| 2 | 7 | |||||
| Lee Vann Corteza | 3 | |||||
| Aloysius Yapp | 2 | |||||
| Thorsten Hohmann | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 4 | ||||||
| Dennis Hatch | 3 | |||||
| Max Lechner | ||||||
| Tang Hoa | ||||||
| Eklent Kaci | 2 | |||||
| Fedor Gorst | ||||||
| Pete Margo | ||||||
| Mike Zuglan | 1 | |||||
| Shawn Putnam | ||||||
Unlike the men's tournament, the U.S. Open is not a true "open" event. Each female player must qualify through the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), the professional women's billiards tour based in the United States, in order to compete in this annual event..
| Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Jean Balukas | |
| 1985 | Belinda Bearden | |
| 1986 | ||
| 1987 | ||
| 1988 |  Ewa Mataya | |
| 1989 | LoreeJon Jones | |
| 1990 | JoAnn Mason | |
| 1991 | ||
| 1992 | Robin Bell | |
| 1994 | Jeanette Lee | |
| 1999 | Allison Fisher | |
| 2002 | Helena Thornfeldt | |
| 2003 | Karen Corr | |
| 2004 |  Kim Ga-young | |
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | ||
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | Kelly Fisher | |
| 2009 | ||
| 2010 | ||
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | ||
| 2016 | ||
| 2017 |
