Shane Van Boening of South Dakota added a fifth US Bar Table 9-Ball Championship to his resume Thursday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, beating James Aranas of the Philippines in the finals, 9-2.

 

Van Boening went into the finals undefeated, posting wins over: Abrin Schaad, 9-6; Ernesto Dominguez, 9-3; Oscar Dominguez, 9-7; Billy Stephan, 9-1 and Mitch Ellerman, 9-4. Van Boening beat Aranas to earn the hot seat, 9-7.

 

Aranas’ path to the finals included beating: Donald Weatherby II, 9-3; Jeremy Edwards, 9-7; Jason Klatt, 9-6; Sky Woodward, 9-8; and Amar Kang, 9-7. After losing the hot seat match, Aranas beat Jesse Engle, 9-2, to earn a place in the finals.

 

Van Boening kept control in the final match from the start, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. In the seventh rack, the players traded safeties until a kick by Van Boening left the one ball open for Aranas, who then uncharacteristically missed a six ball to let Van Boening back to the table. They traded safeties again until Aranas made a good hit on the seven ball and then scratched, giving Van Boening the game. Van Boening then broke and ran, to go up 6-2. Aranas scratched again in the next rack, giving up another game. Van Boening broke and ran again, then ran out the final rack after Aranas broke dry.

 

Van Boening, player representative for the USA Pool League, previously won the 9-Ball Division at the US Bar Table Championships in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2010. On Tuesday, Van Boening earned second place in the 10-Ball Division.

 

Payouts:

1. Shane Van Boening           $3,500

2. James Aranas                      $2,100

3. Jesse Engel                           $1,400

4. Amar Kang                           $900

5. Mitch Ellerman                   $600

6. Shaun Wilkie                       $600

7. Josh Smith                            $400

8. Sky Woodward                                     $400

9. Ernesto Dominguez           $225

10. Billy Stephan                     $225

11. Demetrius Jelatis             $225

12. Abrin Schaad                     $225

13. Mark Wissman                $150

14. Vinnie Calabrese              $150

15. Oscar Dominguez            $150

16. Dave Strachan                  $150

 

In the Women’s Division, Jessica Frideres added the title of USBTC 9-Ball Division Champion to her resume, to complete a trifecta of USBTC titles. Frideres, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the USBTC 8-Ball Division in 2013, and the USBTC 10-Ball Division in 2016. Frideres’ went into the finals undefeated, having bested Molly Oliver, 7-3 and Rachel Lang, 7-5, before beating Heather Cortez for the hot seat.

 

Cortez’s path to the finals included wins over: Trinh Lu, 7-4; Amanda Stevens, 7-1; and Rhonda Moses, 7-1, before Frideres sent her to the B-side of the bracket. Cortez then beat Trinh Lu, 7-4, to earn her place in the finals.

 

But Cortez’s efforts in the finals weren’t enough to beat Frideres, who beat Cortez 7-3 to earn the title.

 

Payouts: 1. Jessica Frideres, $825; 2. Heather Cortez, $425; 3. Trinh Lu, $250

 

The 24th US Bar Table Championships kicked off Sunday at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The 8-Ball began Thursday and continues through Saturday, Dec. 16.

 

For more information, contact Mary Coffman, CSI Marketing Manager, at 702-719-7665 or by email at mary@playcsipool.com. 

Dana Aft and Julie Cone met three times during the fourth stop on the Sport 9 Tour, held on the weekend of November 24-25. Aft took two out of the three matches, coming back from the loss side to double dip Cone (no pun intended) in the finals. The $350-added event drew 20 entrants to 6 Pockets Bar and Billiards in Decatur, AL.

 

They met first among the winners' side final four, when Cone's 7-3 win sent Aft west and Cone into the hot seat match. Facing Cone in the match was Rhonda Moses, who defeated tour director Janeen Lee 7-2. Cone got into the hot seat by the same score over Moses.

 

Aft's trip back to the finals began against Sonya Hurst, who'd defeated Linda Osborn 7-2 and just survived a double hill match against Cathy McDaniel. Lee faced Kristen Tidwell, who'd gotten by Patty Dietz 7-4 and Keely Tatum 7-3. Aft would win her next three matches by the same 7-2 score, beginning with a victory over Hurst, as Lee was downing Tidwell 7-4.

 

Aft dropped Lee into fourth place, and Moses into third to earn a second, double-elimination shot against Cone. Aft, who'd won the Women's Division of the 2013 US Amateur Championships two weeks earlier by defeating Melinda Huang in the finals, chalked up her third victory of the year (she'd won a stop on the Simonis Cloth Classic Tour in March) by double dipping Cone in the finals, 7-5 both times. 

 

Tour director Lee thanked Paul McClain and his staff at 6 Pockets Bar and Billiards for their hospitality, as well as tour sponsors Robbie Patel and Professor Q-Ball.