Khalid Alghamdi became the first-ever SVB Junior Open winner beating Trenton White in the final during the 2022 US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Alghamdi overcame White 9-3 in the final dropping only 14 racks across the six matches it took for the 17-year-old to claim the $2,500 first-place prize and free entry to the 2023 US Open Pool Championship and to write his name into the history books.
64 of the world’s best juniors descended on New Jersey with their own hopes of claiming victory with the likes of European double-gold medalist Yannick Pongers, Finnish sensation Riku Romppanen, rising USA stars Joey Tate, Savannah Easton and White all looking to take away the top prize.
Over the two days of action, juniors as young as Lyno Liu aged seven played in front of the same audience as the US Open scaring the current crop into what they’re going to come up against in years to come.
Final: Trenton White (L) v Khalid Alghamdi (R)｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Alghamdi of Saudi Arabia had a run to the last 32 at the inaugural European Open back in August and it was clear he would be one to watch in AC and he was delighted with his performance: “It feels great. I am so happy to win the first-ever SVB Junior Open title. Shane is my idol when I started to play pool in 2015. It’s fun to see Shane and he’s taught me a lot in that time. It feels so good to play next to the champions. This is my last year as a junior, I am coming for them. I think I am ready to make the step up. I hope to learn more. My whole family, my mother, my father, my friends, and the federation were all watching. It was had. I can’t wait to play next year’s US Open Pool Championship.”
Emily Frazer, Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director added: “The SVB Junior Open was a remarkable event with a showcase of such talent amongst players from 7-years through to 17. It was great to work so closely with World Champion Shane Van Boening to turn his dream into a reality of inspiring the next generation of professional pool players. This is the first of many Junior Opens as we continue to grow the Nineball game over the coming years; it is all well and good creating a tour but there must be a next generation who are inspired to pick up their cue and earn a living through our Nineball World Rankings system. Not only was it fantastic to see such a diverse field of ages, genders, and nationalities, but it was also fantastic to see so much support from our professionals who were at the business end of the US Open during the competition. I cannot wait to see what the next one brings.”
Trenton White｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Zach DiMotta, President of Imperial said: “It was amazing to be a part of and see Matchroom put on its first junior event. I think that you couldn’t have asked for more out of this partnership with Shane Van Boening. There are few times that you get to witness the world’s complete junior Nineball talent in one arena and that is what all the fans got to witness. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this event.”
Juniors were competing for a slice of the $10,000 prize fund with the field extended from 32 to 64 players due to demand. Van Boening’s official cue partner, Cuetec put up $5,000 alongside $5,000 from Matchroom to offer one of the most exciting prize pots in Junior Pool. Juniors also received an SVB Junior Open jersey free of charge from official apparel partner Onboard.
The tournament was played on Diamond Tables, with Simonis Shark Grey 860 cloth, Aramith Tournament Black balls, and KAMUI chalk in the same Diamond Arena as the US Open Pool Championship which took place from October 10-15.
Winner, Khalid Alghamdi｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
贏下首屆SVB盃青少年冠軍 沙特小將目標成年組更大突破
在大西洋城 Harrah’s Resort 舉行的2022年美國公開賽期間，哈立德·阿爾甘迪在決賽中擊敗了 Trenton White，成為有史以來第一個 “SVB盃青少年公開賽” 冠軍。本次青少年賽事同樣在在 Matchroom Pool 的 YouTube 頻道上進行了直播。
Alghamdi 在決賽中以9-3戰勝了 White，他在整屆賽事的六場比賽中只丟了14局。17歲的 Alghamdi 獲得了2,500美元的冠軍獎金和 2023年美國公開賽的參賽資格 (免除報名費)，並將自己的名字讓大家所熟知。
共有64名世界上最優秀的青少年選手來到新澤西州角逐冠軍，如歐洲雙料金牌得主 Yannick Pongers、芬蘭名將 Riku Romppanen、美國新星 Joey Tate、Savannah Easton 和 Trenton White 都有希望奪取最高榮譽。
在為期兩天的比賽中，本屆賽事的年齡最小的選手—年僅7歲的 Lyno Liu 也在美國公開賽現場的觀眾面前進行了比賽，很有後生可畏的感覺。
來自沙烏地阿拉伯的 Alghamdi 在8月舉行的首屆歐洲公開賽上打進了32強，作為一名頗受矚目的青少年球員，他對自己的表現感到很高興。Alghamdi 對自己的表現很滿意，他說：“來參加比賽的感覺很棒。我很高興能贏得有史以來第一個 “SVB盃青少年公開賽” 冠軍。我在2015年開始打9號球，Shane 是我的偶像。看到 Shane 本人我很開心，他在這段時間裡教會了我很多。能在冠軍身邊打球的感覺真好。這是我作為青少年選手參賽的最後一年，我想我已經準備好了，可以更上一層樓的參加成年組賽事。我希望自己未來能學到更多的東西。我所有的親友，包括我的母親、父親和朋友，以及當地協會的人都收看我的比賽。我迫不及待地想參加明年的美國公開賽正賽。”
Khalid Alghamdi｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Matchroom Multi Sport 總監 Emily Frazer 補充說：“SVB盃青少年公開賽”是一項了不起的賽事，這些小到7歲，大到17歲的青少年球員們都展示出了他們的過人天賦。很高興能與世界冠軍 Shane Van Boening 緊密合作，攜手激勵下一代職業美式撞球選手，實現他培養青少年球員的夢想。這是我們在未來幾年繼續發展職業美式撞球運動的同時所舉辦的第一項青少年公開賽。創建職業巡迴賽對競技體育而言大有裨益，但我們也必須鼓勵青少年們拿起球杆、參與其中，在未來可以通過我們的職業賽而謀生。能夠看到如此豐富而多樣的年齡、性別和國籍的小球員參與到比賽中來，而且看到我們的專業人員在繁忙的比賽期間還給予如此多的支持，這種感覺也是非常美妙。我迫不及待地想看看下一屆的比賽會帶來什麼驚喜。”
本屆青少年公開賽的贊助商，Imperial 公司總裁 Zach DiMotta 說：“能夠參與並看到 Matchroom 舉辦的第一場青少年賽事讓我倍感歡欣。我認為，這次與 Shane Van Boening 的合作非常完美。你很少能在一個賽場上看到如此多的來自五湖四海的青少年人才齊聚一地。我迫不及待地想看到這項賽事的未來發展。”
本屆青少年公開賽總獎金10,000美元，賽事原定只設32個參賽席位，但消息一經公佈後報名者紛至沓來。為了公平起見，主辦方將參賽名單擴展到64人。范伯甯的球杆合作夥伴 Cuetec 和 Matchroom 公司各為本屆賽事提供5,000美元的獎金。所有參賽選手都將獲贈官方服裝合作夥伴 Onboard 公司定制的一件參賽球衣。