CueSports International, Henderson, NV
Young gun Billy Thorpe, 20, of Dayton, Ohio, nixed Thorsten Hohmann’s chances to retain the US Open 10-Ball Championship title the German, who now lives in Florida, earned in 2015. Thorpe beat Hohmann 10-8 in a loser’s side match late Wednesday evening.
John Schmidt, former U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion from California, put Hohmann on the B side of the double-elimination bracket during the first round, 10-5. Hohmann then had a bye before beating Danny Smith of Toledo, Ohio 10-3.
Thorpe also lost his first-round match to Amar Kang of California and then beat Kyle Pepin of Maine before facing Hohmann.
Only 22 players remain of the 52-player field that started play Wednesday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
Thursday’s matches start at 10 a.m. with multiple world champion Shane Van Boening, of South Dakota, taking on Sky Woodward, of Kentucky, who has been on a winning streak this year, pocketing wins at the Chinook Winds Open, the MCC 2016 Open, and the Texas 10-Ball Championship. That match will be live streamed at playcsipool/live-streaming.html at 10 a.m.
Also on the winner’s side of the bracket, John Morra, of Toronto, Ont., will play Rodney Morris, of California. This week, the Billiard Congress of America announced that Morris, 46, would be inducted into its Hall of Fame in its Greatest Players category.
And there are plenty of champions remaining that will fight it out in the B side of the bracket. Thursday’s 10 a.m. matches include Mike Dechaine vs. Oscar Dominguez; Matt Edwards vs. Alex Pagulayan; Josh Roberts vs. Georgi Georgiev; Taylor Anderson vs. Shaun Wilkie; Max Eberle vs. Jesse J. Bowman; Kevin Guimond vs. Robb Saez; Shane McMinn vs. Justin Bergman; and Thorpe vs. Vilmos Foldes.
Jason Klatt, John Schmidt, Amar Kang, and Edgie Geronimo are waiting in the wings.
The 2016 US Open 10-Ball Championship will be played July 20-22, followed by the 2016 US Open 8-Ball Championship July 23-25 in the Predator Arena in The Rio Pavilion. The tournament is played with Cyclop balls on 7-foot Diamond tables covered with Simonis Cloth. The US Open 10-Ball format is race to ten, double elimination and the US Open 8-Ball format is race to eight, double elimination.
Several challenge matches are also scheduled, including the Pick Your Poison Challenge, which has Hohmann facing Van Boening, in a race to 21, 8-ball; the Tiger Challenge, where legend Francisco Bustamante will take on Rodney ‘The Rocket’ Morris in a race to 21 in 10-ball; and the OB Challenge, which features Justin Bergman of Fairview Heights, Il. against Corey Deuel of San Leandro, Calif.
The 2016 US Open 8-Ball & 10-Ball Championships are being held in conjunction with the 40th BCAPL National Championships, July 20-30 at The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The event features more than 5,000 amateur players representing 47 states, nine Canadian provinces and 11 countries, competing in approximately 40 divisions, on 300 Diamond pool tables. The annual tournament also includes about 50 exhibitors.
The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino is the official host venue. Other sponsors include Viking, Kamui, Omega Billiards, Cyclop, Diamond, Simonis, and Predator.
General admission for spectators not participating in the amateur tournaments is $25 per person per day. Day passes are available at the CSI registration desk in the rotunda outside the Pavilion. Event VIP seats are available for $200 and are available online at http://www.playcsipool.com/2016-vip-seats.html.
For more information, photos, or to set up interviews, contact Mary Coffman, CSI Marketing Manager at 509-308-9814 (cell); or by email at [email protected].
CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events like the US Bar Table Championships, US Open 10-Ball Championship, US Open 8-Ball Championship, and much more. For more information, visit www.playcsipool.com or call CSI at p702-719-POOL.
CueSports International (CSI) – 2041 Pabco Rd., Henderson, NV 89011 – 702-719-7665 – 866-USA-POOL