Like gunfighters of old, the time for talk is over and the time to rack em up and show me what you’ve got has arrived.
Aging legends such as Earl Strickland, Efren Reyes, and Mike Massey are signed up, looking for one last shot at glory. Strickland has won the event a record 5-times, but the last time was 14 years ago.
Although Efren Reyes is considered by many as the greatest player ever, he’s only won the Open once, and has already lost to Strickland in an exhibition match earlier this week.
Perhaps they’ll be matched up again in pool’s longest running grudge match.
Meanwhile Mike Massey, one of the best known trick shot artists of yesteryear has never won the Open. But to pull off a victory at this stage of his career is going to require a real trick.
The favorites are from the next generation.
America’s best hope is probably Shane Van Boening, the deaf-mute player from South Dakota. SVB is no stranger to winning, having taken the two Opens back-to-back, plus a third win in 2007. Forget about the pinball wizard, SVB is the real thing at the pool table.
With home court advantage, the Americans have several other contenders, including former World Champion Johnny Archer, US Open winners, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel, John Schmidt, and Straight Pool champ Max Eberle.
World Champion Neils Feijin from the Netherlands is also in top form, as are Brits Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes, fresh off a win at the World Cup of Pool.
The international flavor of this event shows its prestige, with entrants from Qatar, Greece, Malta, Vietnam, Estonia, Scotland and numerous others.
Though it’s an American game, the world loves to play pool. Perhaps no country more so that the Philippines. All six entries are possible winners, with Dennis Orcollo, the top money player in that country leading the charge.
Strangely absent from the entry list are any players from pool powerhouse Taiwan. But China has sent a late delegation of entrants, led by World Champion Runner-up Li He Wen, and 10-Ball champ Wang Can.
The Great White North has a strong contingent as well. Former World and US Open Champion Alex Pagulayan is joined by his World Cup team-mate John Morra, as well as Jason Klatt and a few new faces.
As if that isn’t competitive enough, the field also includes former world champions: Thorsten Hohmann, Mika Immonen, Francisco Bustamante, Daryl Peach, and Ralf Souquet.
Altogether, 127 of the world’s top players are entered. But all the titles and reputations mean nothing as match play gets underway Monday. All the matters is who is the best right now. And there’s only one way to find out…
Rack em up.
If you happen to be in Chesapeake this week and some guy asks if you’d like to play pool for a little money, we suggest saying “No thanks.”
Complete Entry List
1. Shane Van Boening – USA
2. Earl Strickland – USA
3. Efren Reyes – Philippines
4. Johnny Archer – USA
5. Francisco Bustamante – Philipines
6. Mika Immonen – Finland
7. Darren Appleton – England
8. Jose Parica – Philippines
9. Dennis Orcullo – Philippines
10. Waleed Alars – Qatar
11. Rodney Morris – USA
12. Raj Hundal – India
13. Edmundo Ambros – USA
14. Niels Feijen – Netherlands
15. Thorsten Hohmann – Germany
16. Matt Krah – USA
17. Nikos Economopoulos – Greece
18. Stephen Fleming – USA
19. Denis Grabe – Estonia
20. Frankie Hernandez – USA
21. Suad Kantarevic USA
22. Alex Kazakis – Greece
23. Tommy Kennedy – USA
24. Stevie Moore – USA
25. Jerome Rockwell – USA
26. Randy Russell – Canada
27. Joe Scarborough – USA
28. John Schmidt – USA
29. Justin Bergman – USA
30. Corey Deuel – USA
31. Brandon Shuff – USA
32. Justin Hall – USA
33. Oscar Dominguez – USA
34. Jeremey Sossei – USA
35. Kenichi Uchigaki – Japan
36. Ralf Souquet – Germany
37. Warren Kiamco – Philippines
38. Do Hoang Quan – Vietnam
39. Le Quang Trun – Vietman
40. Chris Futrell – USA
41. Nikos Malaj – Greece
42. Chris Cantrall – USA
43. Paul Poiter – Canada
44. Amai Rota – Qatar
45. Hanni Alhowri – UAE
46. Matt Haines – USA
47. Brett Stottlemyer – USA
48. Kevin West – USA
49. Majid Alzaabi – UAE
50. Daryl Peach – England
51. Tony Drago – Malta
52. Marc Claramunt – Spain
53. Dana Aft – USA
54. Brian Parks – USA
55. Tom Skinner – USA
56. Donny Mills – USA
57. Mike Davis – USA
58. Karl Boyes – England
59. Maceo Butts – Virgin Islands
60. Nick Van Den Berg – Netherlands
61. John Cook – USA
62. Pay or Play Tournaments Qualifier Winner
63. Tom D’Alfonso – USA
64. BR Tatum – USA
65. Larry Phlegar – USA
66. Corner Pocket Billiards N Café Qualifier Winner Dan Maddien– USA
67. Skyler Woodward – USA
68. Albin Ouschan – Austria
69. Mario He – Austria
70. Reinaldo Dendariarena – Puerto Rico
71. Jeremy Jones – USA
72. Jorge Rodriguez – USA
73. Mike Dechaine – USA
74. Ali Almarri – Qatar
75. Eric Moore -Q-Master Billiards Qualifier Winner
76. John Moody – USA
77. Chris Bruner – USA
78. Randy Labonte – USA
79. David Hennessy – USA
80. Brad Shearer – USA
81. Jayson Shaw – Scotland
82. Christopher Pyle – USA
83. Travis McKinney – USA
84. Danny Mastermaker – USA
85. Joey Arbuckle – USA
86. Aaron Remijio – USA
87. Rodrigo Geronimo – Philippines
88. Michael Ricciardella – USA
89. Luke Sutliffe – USA
90. Scott Smith – USA
91. Glenn Ramsey – USA
92. Troy Miller – USA
93. Jason Lynch – USA
94. Rob Saez – USA
95. Sean Morgan – USA
96. Radoslaw Babica – Poland
97. Ernesto Dominguez – Mexico
98. Erik Hjorleifson – Canada
99. William Lowry – USA
100. Danny Olson – USA
101. Chris Bartram – USA
102. Michael Yednak – USA
103. Imran Majid – England
104. Shawn Putnam – USA
105. Jason Klatt – Canada
106. Douglas Jones – USA
107. Alex Pagulayan – Canada
108. Jonathan Pinegar – USA
109. John Morra – Canada
110. Mike Massey – USA
111. Joe Dupuis – USA
112. So Shaw – Italy
113. Stapanov Kontantin – Russia
114. Ruslan Chinakhov – Russia
115. Chuck Raulston – USA
116. Tinh Ly – USA
117. Robert Cord – USA
118. Nikolaos Malaj – Greece
119. Hunter Lombardo – USA
120. Joshua Dull – USA
121. Moe Salamah – Egypt
122. Adam Smith – USA
123. Max Eberle – USA
124. Dang Jinhu – China
125. Li He Wen – China
126. Liu Hai Wen – China
127. Wang Can – China
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