U.S. Open Underway in Chesapeake, VA

First upset: Van Boening loses to Dechaine


Video from azbilliards.com

My friend Samm Diep, founder of  Pooltipjar.com,  provides the first day highlights for the 2010 U.S. Open in Chesapeake, Virginia. Check out her video report from AZbilliards.com, above. The story of the day was Shane Van Boening's 11-3 upset loss to Mike "Fireball" Dechaine of Maine. Van Boening, a former U.S. Open winner,  never got close. The Dakota Kid now has an uphill battle to win the tournament through the one-loss bracket.

By contrast, Mika "Iceman" Immonen easily swept past opponent Joey Arbuckle 11-4. Immonen has won the U.S. Open the last two years in a row and is in the hunt to win it again this year.

WPBA pro Jennifer Barretta also made news. Women are competiting in the prestigious event for the first time in history, and Barretta, by beating David Ross 11-5 in her opener on Sunday, joined in that history by becoming the first woman ever to win a U.S. Open match.

Promoter Barry Behrman is offering an added $1,000 prize to the woman who finishes highest in the event.  The overall champion will take home $40,000. The second place finisher wins $15,000.

In defiance to the shoddy economy, the Open this year has a full 256-player field for the first time in a decade. You can check out the progress of your favorite player here, at azbilliards.com. Accu-Stats is also webcasting on a pay-per-view basis. Here's the link.

-- R.A. Dyer