2022 U.S. Open Pool Championship
The 2022 U.S. Open Pool Championship was the 45th edition of the U.S. Open Pool Championship. Organized by Matchroom Pool as part of the Nineball World Rankings circuit, the tournament took place from October 10 to 15, 2022, at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Spain's Francisco Sánchez Ruiz won his maiden U.S. Open title by defeating Austria's Max Lechner 13–10 in the championship match. Sánchez Ruiz earned the $50,000 first-place prize out of a total tournament purse of $300,000.
Format
The tournament featured a 256-player open field comprising international professionals and qualifiers. The event was executed across two main phases:
- Opening Phase (10–13 October): A double-elimination tournament format was utilized until the field was narrowed down to the final 64 players.
- Knockout Phase (14–15 October): The remaining 64 players competed in a single-elimination knockout bracket.
Matches in the opening double-elimination phase were played as a race to 9 racks. Knockout stage matches progressed to a race to 10 racks, semi-finals were played as a race to 11, and the final was contested as a race to 13.
Tournament summary
Defending champion Carlo Biado of the Philippines reached the semi-final stage before being narrowly defeated 11–10 by eventual champion Francisco Sánchez Ruiz. Five-time champion Shane Van Boening was eliminated in the last 32 stage by Greece's Alexander Kazakis.
Sánchez Ruiz advanced to the final by securing knockout victories over Jani Uski (10–1), Denis Grabe (10–7), Eklent Kaçi (10–5), and Carlo Biado (11–10) in the semi-finals. Max Lechner reached the final after overcoming Hsieh Chia-chen (10–8), Chris Melling (10–7), and Ko Ping-chung (11–9) in the semi-finals.
In the final match, Sánchez Ruiz recorded a break-and-run in the 23rd rack to seal a 13–10 win over Lechner, securing his first U.S. Open title and ascending to number one in the world Nineball rankings.
Prize fund
The total prize pool for the event was $300,000, distributed as follows:
Placement |
Prize Money (USD) |
|---|---|
Winner |
$50,000 |
Runner-up |
$25,000 |
Semi-finalists (×2) |
$13,000 |
Quarter-finalists (×4) |
$6,750 |
Last 16 (×8) |
$4,500 |
Last 32 (×16) |
$3,000 |
Last 64 (×32) |
$1,750 |
Total Prize Fund |
$300,000 |
Final stages bracket
The results from the quarter-final stage onwards are shown below: