The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships (often shortened in clear contexts to simply U.S. Open, and sometimes spelled with "US", "9-ball", "Nine-ball", etc.) is an annual professional pool (pocket billiards) tournament that began in 1976 at Q-Master Billiards in Norfolk, Virginia. Today, it is held in the Chesapeake Conference Center, Chesapeake, Virginia. Though it is staged in the United States and is labeled the "U.S. Open", male professional pool players from around the world are eligible to compete in this event in the Men's Division. Females must qualify for the Women's Division (held in various locations) under the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) tour. The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally.
Darren Appleton of England is the current (2011)[1] Men's Division title-holder. Mika Immonen of Finland is the 2009[2] Men's Division title-holder. Mika is also the 2008[3] Men's Division title-holder of the US$250,000 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, where 237 billiards players competed. Immonen claimed the 13–7 victory, and pocketed the first-place prize of $40,000 on October 26, 2008 against Filipino runner-up Ronato Alcano (2006 World Nine-ball Champion), who settled for $20,000.[4][5][6] It marked Immonen's second consecutive U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion title, making him the most-winning non-U.S. competitor.
Featured matches are recorded and broadcast by Billiard Club Network and Accu-Stats Video Productions on a designated table at the Chesapeake Conference Center with commentary provided by various pool veterans and industry members.[7][8]
Traditionally, winners of the U.S. Open are given a green blazer in recognition for this championship title and are awarded free entry fees to all future U.S. Open tournaments.
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In its first edition back in 1976, the US Open began with just 16 players. Over the years, the number of participants became as many as 256.[9]
Today the larger Men's Division is a restrictive male-only event, though it is otherwise a true "open" tournament, in that the only requirement is the payment of the entry fee, which was $600 in 2008. The total purse for the tournament at that time was $200,000, where the winner was awarded $40,000.
Barry Behrman is the tournament promoter of the Men's Division, and has been since its inception.
The tournament's original venue was Q-Master Billiards pool room, located in Norfolk, Virginia, which hosted the event, other than one year, until 1988.[10] Since 1997, the U.S. Open Men's Division is held at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.[11]
Unlike the Men's Division, the U.S. Open for women is not a true "open" event. Each female player must qualify through the WPBA, the professional women's billiards tour based in the United States, in order to compete in this annual event. The Women's Division tournament is held in different locations each year.
The tournament format is essentially double-elimination (a player is out of the tournament after losing two <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">matches</dfn>) 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. At the U.S. Open, matches are played in <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">races</dfn> 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 US Open, the extended race in the finals is 13 games.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Darren Appleton |
| 2010 | Darren Appleton |
| 2009 | Mika Immonen |
| 2008 | Mika Immonen |
| 2007 | Shane Van Boening |
| 2006 | John Schmidt |
| 2005 | Alex Pagulayan |
| 2004 | Gabe Owen |
| 2003 | Jeremy Jones |
| 2002 | Ralf Souquet |
| 2001 | Corey Deuel |
| 2000 | Earl Strickland |
| 1999 | Johnny Archer |
| 1998 | Buddy Hall |
| 1997 | Earl Strickland |
| 1996 | Rodney Morris |
| 1995 | Reed Pierce |
| 1994 | Efren Reyes |
| 1993 | Earl Strickland |
| 1992 | Tommy Kennedy |
| 1991 | Buddy Hall |
| 1990 | Nick Varner |
| 1989 | Nick Varner |
| 1988 | Mike Lebrón |
| 1987 | Earl Strickland |
| 1986 | David Howard AKA Squirrel |
| 1985 | Jimmy Reid |
| 1984 | Earl Strickland |
| 1983 | Mike Sigel |
| 1982 | David Howard |
| 1981 | Allen Hopkins |
| 1980 | Mike Sigel |
| 1979 | Louie Roberts |
| 1978 | Steve Mizerak |
| 1977 | Allen Hopkins |
| 1976 | Mike Sigel |
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Ewa Laurance[14] |
| 1994 | Jeanette Lee[15] |
| 2003 | Karen Corr[16] |
| 2004 | Ga-young Kim[17] |
| 2007 | Allison Fisher[18][19] |
| 2008 | Kelly Fisher[20] |
| 2009 | Ga-young Kim[17] |
| 2010 | Ga-young Kim[17] |