by InsidePOOL Staff

After a hill-hill, fourth-round loss to Shawn Putnam, Shane Van Boening came back through the one-loss side to take the Turning Stone Classic title over Raj Hundal in the finals. The $25,000-added tournament, held twice a year at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY, drew a packed field of 128.

At the start of Sunday’s matches, only four players remained undefeated. Mike “The Fireball” Dechaine suffered his first loss to Rodney Morris, both recently returned from the Mosconi Cup, 9-5, while Ralf Souquet, a Mosconi Cup veteran, was sent to the west side by Raj Hundal 9-5. Hundal went on to best Morris 9-4 and await a finals opponent.

After a hill-hill, fourth-round loss to Shawn Putnam, Van Boening came back through the one-loss side to take the Turning Stone Classic title over Hundal in the finals.

On the left bracket, Darren Appleton, who suffered a third-round, hill-hill loss to Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour threat Dennis Hatch, won six matches in a row to reach Mosconi Cup teammate Souquet and fell 9-3 in fifth place. Tying with him was Dechaine, who came out on the short end of a hill-hill match against Van Boening.

Once on the west side of the chart, Van Boening disposed of top-notch players such as Larry Nevel 9-5, Bucky Souvanthong 9-6, Earl Strickland 9-4, and Dennis Hatch 9-2 to reach the quarterfinals. After disposing of Dechaine, he then had to face the determined Souquet, a past champion of the Turning Stone event. He made quick work of the German, moving on to the semifinals with a 9-3 win.

View the Turning Stone tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Defending champion Morris awaited Van Boening, but there was no repeat performance for the Hawaiian as “The South Dakota Kid” allowed him 5 racks in the race to 9. In the extended race-to-13 final match, Van Boening allowed Hundal a few chances, but when all was said and done, Van Boening took the final match and the title 13-9.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Earl Strickland is on a tear at the Turning Stone Classic XVIII—he earlier whitewashed Johnny Archer 9-0, followed that up with a 9-4 win over “Iron Mike” Davis, and most recently trounced Shane Winters 9-3 to reach the final 8 on the winners’ side. In the next round he faces fellow Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet of Germany, who just sent Stevie Moore to the one-loss side 9-4.

India’s Raj Hundal is also unscathed as yet, having won both of his last two matches 9-3 over Brian Brekke and Chris Lynch. Hundal’s next challenge will come from Dustin Morris, recently the victor over Danny Thompson 9-3.

“The Fireball” burned down Dennis Hatch, who can still take the title but from the west side. Their match saw Mike Dechaine advance 9-6 to next play Brandon Shuff, who recently bested Johnathan “Hennessee” Pinegar 9-7.

Two Mosconi Cup teammates matched up when Shane Van Boening and Shawn Putnam went head to head, but only one went on to remain undefeated. It was the closest of matches, but Putnam was the one to win it 9-8, while Van Boening must trudge through the left side if he is to make a try for the title.

View the Turning Stone tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Another Mosconi Cup member, Rodney Morris, also had a hill-hill match but eked out a 9-8 victory over Bucky Souvanthong. Morris and Putnam will play each other in the following round.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

The contest for the main prize at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships is heating up in Chesapeake, VA, with only 8 players going into Friday’s matches without a loss and 24 players vying for their piece of the $175,000 prize fund.

Reigning champion Darren Appleton looks a good bet at this point—he has breezed through his first four opponents to match up with Johnny Archer, who won the Open in 1999. Archer put on a clinic in his evening match against Antonio Lining, holding the Filipino to 3 to win their match.

Shane Van Boening, champion in 2007, is still going strong after a close call over India’s Raj Hundal 11-9 to move on to best reigning world 9-ball champ Yukio Akagarima 11-8. Van Boening’s next challenge will come from Shawn Putnam, who overcame Hall of Famer Earl Strickland 11-8 earlier.

Japan can be proud of hometown hero Kenichi Uchigacki, who has triumphed over former winner Tommy Kennedy, Harvey Shognosh, Kevin Bailey, and Filipino Jundel Mazon to reach the final 8 without a scratch, only to face down formidable opponent Lee Vann Corteza 11-9. Uchigacki’s next opponent, Larry “The Truth” Nevel, earlier bested one of Europe’s best, Mark Gray, in a narrow 11-9 victory.

The contest for the main prize at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships is heating up in Chesapeake, VA, with only 8 players going into Friday’s matches without a loss and 24 players vying for their piece of the $175,000 prize fund.

Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan had an easy day of it, first defeating Stan Shuffett 11-4 and then going to to whitewash fellow countryman Warren Kiamco 11-0. Pagulayan’s next match will be against former 14.1 champ Huidji See, who earlier sent Rodney Morris to the one-loss side 11-8 after Morris had just sent Nick Varner west 11-5.

Live real-time scoring of the U.S. Open 9-ball is being provided by ProPool.com at InsidePOOL TV.

2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Brackets
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results
On the one-loss side, Niels Feijen of Holland eliminated Hall of Fame inductee Ralf Souquet 11-8. Dennis Hatch is still alive, after ousting Hunter Lombardo 11-4 and then Chris Bartram 11-6. China Open champ Chris Melling was sent home after an 11-7 loss to Naoyuki Oi. Hall of Famer Nick Varner is still alive, having eliminated Raj Hundal 11-7, while Charlie Williams ousted two-time champion Mika Immonen 11-3.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

It was a heart-breaking evening for some in the winners’ bracket at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, as the undefeated side was halved from 64 to 32.

Legends of One-Pocket champion Shannon Daulton went up against fellow Kentuckian Nick Varner, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, and held a 5-3 lead before Varner was able to knot the score at 6-all. Unfazed, Daulton steadily climbed to the hill, but then he scratched on a rail shot on the 2 ball and never made it back to the table—Varner cleared that rack and then put a four-pack on “The Cannon” to escape with the 11-10 win.

Another tough winners’ side match saw Filipino Warren Kiamco, who took fourth place in last year’s event, go up against frequent Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour winner Dennis Hatch. The match seesawed to double-hill with Hatch in control of the table, but he missed the 8 ball, and Kiamco dished up to advance unscathed.

Two more hill-hill matches on the winners’ side occurred: Indiana’s Dennis Haar bested Northeast force Jeremy Sossei 11-10, while Bill Anderson moved past Mike Fuller 11-10. India’s Raj Hundal held an early lead over 2007 champ Shane Van Boening but was passed up as “The North Dakota Kid” surged to an 11-9 victory. Los Angeles’ Oscar Dominguez triumphed over Holland’s Niels Feijen in a close match that saw “The Big O” move on 11-9.

It was a heart-breaking evening for some in the winners’ bracket at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, as the undefeated side was halved from 64 to 32.

Live real time scoring of the entire 2011 U.S.Open 9-Ball Championships is being provided by ProPool.com and can be viewed at Inside POOL TV. The live real time scoring of the event also has chat so that visitors can visit with other fans.

2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Brackets
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results

The elimination rounds will continue all throughout Thursday, with the winners’ side rounding out the night at 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m.

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by InsidePOOL Staff

More players have been ousted at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships as the elimination rounds have continued Wednesday, while the 64 undefeated players remaining will be halved to 32 after Wednesday evening’s rounds.

Allen Hopkins, who took this event in 1977 and 1981, suffered a first-round loss to the formidable Lee Vann Corteza but recovered nicely, eliminating Jonathan Demet 11-9 and then former world 9-ball champion Thorsten Hohmann 11-8. Hopkins’ next opponent will be Brian Brekke.

Young gun Shane Jackson took out Jose Parica, a.k.a. “The Leader of the Filipino Invasion,” in the elimination round Wednesday afternoon. The score was close all through the match, but he ultimately pulled ahead to win it 11-9.

Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Another former champion of this event, Corey Deuel is still alive after his first-round loss to Li Wen Lo. Deuel routed Aradhana Naik 11-1 and then bested Robert Hart 11-5 to face Steve Lillis in the next round.

Eric Hjorliefson ousted New York’s Frankie Hernandez in the afternoon round 11-3, as fellow Canadian John Morra, who was bested in the first round by Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie 11-6, went on to send home Mike Davis 11-5 and then Jimmy Garza 11-4.

There are some tough winners’ matches to call coming up. Shane Van Boening, the 2007 champion, will face off against India’s Raj “The Hitman” Hundal, while another exciting match-up will be between five-time champion Earl Strickland and Donny Mills.

The live scoring will be provided by ProPool.com and posted at Inside POOL TV Live U.S. Open Scoring and the tournament brackets will be updated continuously and posted at:

U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Bracket 1

Ralf Souquet, who narrowly escaped a defeat at the hands of Wilkie in the previous round, will face Bill Duggan, who just eked out an 11-10 win over Jerry Tarantola. Reigning world 9-ball champion Yukio Akagariyama will play England’s Tony Crosby, and fellow Japanese player Kenichi Uchigaki plays Kevin Bailey.

Defending champion Darren Appleton will play Juan Carlos Esposito, while fellow Brits Karl Boyes and Mark Gray will match up. Closer to home, U.S. player Mike Dechaine will play Larry “The Truth” Nevel, as Shawn Putnam and B.J. Ussery will face each other.

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