U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship

U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship

The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships (often shortened in clear contexts to simply U.S. Open, and sometimes spelled with "US", "9-ball", "Nine-ball", singular "Championship", etc.) is an annual professional pool (pocket billiards) tournament that began in 1976 at Q-Master Billiards in Norfolk, Virginia.

Though it is staged in the United States and is labeled the "U.S. Open", male professional pool players from around the world are eligible to compete in this event in the Men's Division. The Women's U.S. Open is a separate event, unaffiliated with the Men's U.S. Open. Instead, the Women's U.S. Open is associated with the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA). The Men's U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. It is also referred to as the Cuetec Cues U.S. Open, for sponsorship purposes.

Shane Van Boening of USA is the current (2012) Men's Division title-holder. Mika Immonen of Finland is the 2009 Men's Division title-holder. Immonen is also the 2008 Men's Division title-holder of the US$250,000 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, where 237 billiards players competed. Immonen claimed the 13–7 victory, and pocketed the first-place prize of $40,000 on October 26, 2008 against Filipino runner-up Ronato Alcano (2006 World Nine-ball Champion), who settled for $20,000. It marked Immonen's second consecutive U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion title, making him, at the time, the winningest non-U.S. competitor.

Featured matches are recorded and broadcast by Billiard Club Network and Accu-Stats Video Productions on a designated table at the Chesapeake Conference Center with commentary provided by various pool veterans and industry members.

Traditionally, winners of the U.S. Open are given a green blazer in recognition for this championship title and are awarded free entry fees to all future U.S. Open tournaments.