Shane Van Boening is the champion of the world after beating Albin Ouschan in the 2022 World Pool Championship final at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes. Coverage live on Sky Sports in the UK/Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well as Viaplay and networks worldwide.
Van Boening won the lag before taking the opening rack in a comfortable fashion. The American was pegged back in the second though after missing a routine 2 ball to the bottom pocket. At that, Ouschan found his groove to put daylight between them both at 3-1 after four racks. At 3-1, Van Boening got some table time and made the most of it as he twisted the screw with a pinpoint jump shot on the 3 followed by a raking effort to pot the 4 and make it 3-2.
Ouschan did reassert a two-rack difference in the sixth rack, but it was short-lived after scratching on the break in the resulting rack. It was a case of blink, and you miss it as Van Boening turned the contest on its head to take the eighth rack to level at 4-4 before a simple 1-9 combo put him in front for the first time since 1-0.
A tie between two modern greats was always going to deliver with very little to separate the pair. As quick as Van Boening took the lead at 5-4, it was soon Ouschan back ahead at 6-5 with a break and run. The crowd was kept entertained throughout and the duo put on a clinic in safety play with a standout moment coming in the 12th as Ouschan found himself with no eye on the pocket on the 1, he played a sweet safety to tuck the cueball behind the 4 and 6 ball whilst leaving the 1 ball near the bottom pocket. Despite what looked like an effortless safety, Van Boening kicked out like the demon he is to make the 1 ball and soon level again at 6-6.
©Taka G. Wu / Matchroom Multi Sport
Van Boening‘s cue action has delighted many for so long and it was a case of it being as clean as ever and no better rack showed that than the way he kept the cue ball on a piece of string. From 6-6, it was the American who quite literally ran home with an expert performance and deliver his first-ever world title leaving Ouschan with very few opportunities at the table as he wrapped up an emotional 13-6 win. It was effortless and breathtaking at the same time in a watershed moment for the South Dakota Kid.
An emotional Van Boening said: “I have been trying for years. Two times I’ve been in the final and two times in the final. I just knew I was going to win the World Pool Championship. I dreamed I would be World Champion. It teaches you to work hard, follow your dreams and never give up.”
“It was just a fantastic week. That match for me against Mika changed things. I could’ve been going home at 10-3 down. But I fought my way through. I am lost for words. I am so happy for myself, thank you to all the fans of this sport.
I put in so many hours in my career. I dreamed of being a world champion. Today is that moment.”
Van Boening celebration (Cuetec/HOW/Dynaspheres)｜©Taka G. Wu / Matchroom Multi Sport
“Matchroom is the best thing to happen to this sport. Without them, this would never even be possible. A big thank you to Matchroom and the whole team. It is a dream come true. It makes me hungry for more, I will go home and go fishing for a bit but then I will be working hard again.”
“To the middle of the match, it was back and forth. I played a safety then didn’t make a shot for the rest of the match. Shane played a great tournament with great comebacks. He deserved it today. I am disappointed, but it is fair to say he played better. He had some rolls but without that, you cannot be world champion” – Ouschan said.
Van Boening‘s win sees the American shoot up to the Live 2023 Nineball World No.1 with over £60,000 in prize money. The win puts Van Boening in a commanding position to keep his place in the Team USA Mosconi Cup team this November 30-3 December at Bally’s Las Vegas.
©Taka G. Wu / Matchroom Multi Sport
Next up, fans can expect news in the coming days of the four wild cards for the upcoming World Pool Masters at the Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar from May 5-8 with tickets available from only £7.
UK Open | May 17-22 | Copper Box Arena, London | Buy Tickets Here
World Cup of Pool | June 14-19 | The Brentwood Centre, Essex | Buy Tickets Here
US Open Pool Championship | October 10-15 | Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City | Tickets on Sale April 19 – sign up for priority access here
European Open Pool Championship | November 10-15 | TBC | Sign up for priority ticket access here
Mosconi Cup | November 30-3 December | Bally’s Las Vegas | Limited Tickets Here
©Taka G. Wu / Matchroom Multi Sport
在英國米爾頓凱恩斯的馬歇爾體育館舉辦的2022年世界撞球錦標賽 (原9號球世錦賽) 決賽中，Shane Van Boening擊敗了去年世錦賽冠軍Albin Ouschan，首次加冕世界冠軍頭銜。
Shane Van Boening開賽首局順利拿下，然而第二局打丟簡單2號球底袋給了Ouschan上手的機會。憑藉著連續勝衝，找到比賽感覺的Ouschan很快取得了3-1的領先。在比賽第五局，SVB得通過一桿精彩的3號球跳球獲得了進球機會，隨後將4號球長距離打進，將比分扳成2-3。
Ouschan在贏下第六局後重新確立起了兩局的領先優勢，但是在隨後的幾局中，Ouschan突然“斷電”，而 SVB 則在比賽第八局將比分改寫為4-4，憑藉一桿精彩傳下9號球使得他在比賽初期後再度取得領先。
兩位頂尖高手之間的平局，總是會讓人覺得兩人之間的差距並不大，而比賽就顯得格外膠著。當SVB以5-4領先時，Ouschan很快趕上以6-5實現反超。而在整個比賽過程中，觀眾都被二人的精彩表現所深深地吸引。其中最精彩的時刻出現在第12局，Ouschan發現1號球沒有進球的機會，於是他打出了一桿漂亮的安全球，將母球放在4號球和6號球的遮擋之下，將1號球留在了底袋附近。儘管看起來像是一桿很“安全”的安全球，但SVB還是奇蹟般的打進1號球，咬住比分來到6-6。
SVB的母球走位歷來為人所稱道，這次也不例外。從6-6開始， SVB再沒有給對手Ouschan任何上手的機會，最終他以13-6贏下了決賽，以嘆為觀止的表現拿到了這個沉甸甸的世錦賽冠軍。
©Taka G. Wu / Matchroom Multi Sport
賽后SVB動情的表示說：“多年來我一直在 (向著世錦賽冠軍) 努力。我曾兩次進入決賽，卻只拿到了兩個亞軍。我知道我終將有機會贏得世錦賽冠軍。成為世界冠軍是我的夢想之所在。夢想會指引著你努力練球，永不放棄。”
“這是美妙的一周。對我來說，與Mika的那場比賽改變了我在這屆比賽的命運。我本來可以在3：10落後時就此被淘汰出局，但我奮力一搏取得了難以想像的成績。逆轉勝利後我一度哽咽難言。我為自己感到非常高興，感謝所有支持9號球運動的球迷。我為自己的職業生涯投入許多，我的夢想就是成為一名世界冠軍。而就在今天，我的夢想終於成為了現實。”
“Matchroom公司是9號球運動發展的最佳推動力。如果沒有他們的不懈努力，岌岌可危的9號球運動根本不會有今天的發展。我衷心感謝Matchroom公司和他們整個團隊。是他們讓我有了美夢成真的機會。而我對冠軍的追求也將不止於此，接下來我會回家休息、釣釣魚，但隨後我將再次努力投入到比賽之中。”
亞軍Ouschan說：“到了比賽中段，雙方你來我往有些焦灼。我做了一桿很不錯的安全球，但之後Shane沒有再給我上手的機會。Shane打出了一場偉大的比賽，一場精彩的逆轉。他是今天當之無愧的冠軍。我很失望，但必須承認他打得更好。他有過一些波動曲折，但經受不住考驗，你就不能成為世界冠軍。”
SVB的奪冠除了使他收穫6萬美元的獎金外，還使得他一躍成為世界排名第一。與此同時本次奪冠讓SVB有了極大地概率入選美國隊，參加今年11月30日至12月3日在美國拉斯維加斯舉辦的莫斯考尼盃。