Shane Van Boening
Shane Van Boening (/ˌvæn ˈboʊnɪŋ/;[2] born July 14, 1983) is an American professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Rapid City, South Dakota, a former number 1 in the US rankings published by the UPA Tour. His entrance walk on music from “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.
Shane Van Boening in 2007 | |
Born | Rapid City, South Dakota | July 14, 1983
---|---|
Sport country | United States |
Nickname | "The South Dakota Kid" |
Ranking info | |
Highest WPA ranking | 2 [1] |
Van Boening is hearing-impaired and uses a hearing aid, but it has not limited his pool ability.[3] He has received praise for his attitude towards the sport, partially for his behaviour during matches, and for eschewing alcohol.[4]
Professional career
Van Boening's family has a strong pool background. His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, was a trick-shot artist; his grandmother, Jeanne Bloomberg, a VNEA national champion; his mother, Timi Bloomberg, a BCA national champion; and his aunt, Gari Jo Bloomberg, a three-time VNEA national champion.
Van Boening defeated Hungarian Vilmos Foldes at the International Pool Tour qualifier in 2006, and was one of several players to earn a bonus of US$5,000 for breaking and running six consecutive racks in tournament play. Shane was one of only 10 players to earn their IPT tour card by finishing in the top two spots of one of five qualifiers. Shane won the second spot held at the Pool Room in Atlanta, Georgia.[5] He has been ranked number one in the world by AZBilliards.com. When he is not competing professionally, he can be found practicing in downtown Sioux Falls at Lucky Billiards, where he is the house pro and co-owner.[6]
Van Boening is a three-time VNEA national amateur eight-ball champion.[7] In 2007, he made it to the final of the BCA Open Nine-ball Championship but lost to Dennis Orcollo.[8] Days later, he dominated the inaugural World Ten-ball Championship[9][10] to become the first-ever world champion in that discipline of pool.
Shane has been declared by some as the next-in-line and heir-apparent to the throne of being the best Pool player in the US by Inside POOL Magazine.[11]
Van Boening captured the hot seat in the World Summit of Pool on June 16, 2007, giving 2004 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Champion Alex "the Lion" Pagulayan an 11–4 defeat. The last day, all matches were shortened races to 7 because they were being recorded by ESPN. Alex Pagulayan plowed through Francisco Bustamante and Warren Kiamco and faced Van Boening in the final. Despite Pagulayan leading 4–1, Van Boening recovered to tie the score 5-5 before veteran Pagulayan won the next two games to claim the victory, 7 to 5.[12]
The Billiards Congress of America Pool League owner Mark Griffin recognized his talent and decided in 2007 to sponsor him as he advances his professional career.[13]
On October 20, 2007, he won the 2007 (32nd annual) US Open Nine-ball Championship, defeating Filipino Champion Ronnie Alcano in the finals, 13–10. Van Boening remained undefeated in the double-elimination format of the championship, held in Chesapeake, Virginia.
At the Reno Open Nine-ball Championship, held on December 9, 2007, Van Boening and Johnny Archer were in the double-elimination finals. Archer was up to that point undefeated, and Van Boening had to beat Archer twice; Van Boening won the first set, and 83 minutes later, claimed the championship.[14]
As a capstone to his record year, for 2007 he was declared the male Player of the Year by all three of the major pool publications, Billiards Digest,[15] Pool & Billiard Magazine,[16] and InsidePOOL Magazine[17] (in each case with Allison Fisher as his female co-recipient of the honor), and also ranked #11 in the P&B "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll for that year.[18]
Championships
- U.S. Open Championship
- 8-Ball Championships (2013, 2016, 2018)[19]
- 9-Ball Championships (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016)
- US Open 10 Ball Championship (2011, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- One Pocket (2012, 2018)
- Bank Pool Championship (2018, 2019)
- World Cup of Pool (2008) - With Rodney Morris[20]
- US Bar Table Championship
- 10-Ball Division (2008, 2012, 2016)
- 8-Ball Division (2016)
- 9 Ball Division (2013, 2015)
- Mosconi Cup (2009, 2018, 2019)
- Derby City Classic
- 9-Ball Division (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016)
- One Pocket Division (2011)
- Master of the Table (2011, 2012)
- World Pool Masters (2014, 2015)
- World 14.1 Straight Pool Championships (2019)
References
- "Ranking - WPA Pool". WPA Pool. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- "CSI Ten Questions with Shane Van Boening" on YouTube
- "Shark in Pool" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, by Tony Burns, Keloland TV, June 21, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2007
- The Rapid City Weekly News, Straight Shooter, November 16, 2005. Retrieved June 12, 2007 Archived September 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- InternationalPoolTour.com, "Hill-Hill Battle goes to Van Boening," by Sally Timko, January 29, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2007
- ArgusLeader.com, "S.D.'s Next Super Star?", by Matt Zimmer, June 12, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007
- "Strong Contenders and Up-and-Comers", Billiards Digest, August 2006. Retrieved June 13, 2007
- BCA Open 9-Ball Championship Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback MachineBCA-Pool.com, Men's Division. Retrieved June 12, 2007
- Van Boening Wins World Ten-ball Championship, AzBilliards.com, May 27, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007
- Van Boening Wins World Ten-ball Championship Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Pool and Billiards Magazine, June 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007
- Shane Van Boening Archived 2007-06-18 at the Wayback Machine, Inside POOL Magazine, June 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007
- "Lion Wins World Summit of Pool", AzBilliards.com, June 16, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- AzBilliards.com Archived 2008-06-20 at the Wayback Machine, Press Release, June 10, 2007, BCA Pool League Sponsors Shane Van Boening. Retrieved June 12, 2007
- Shane Wins, http://otbntv.com. Retrieved December 11, 2007
- King, Mason (February 2008). "The Quiet Man". Billiards Digest. 30 (3). Chicago: Luby Publishing. pp. 48–53. ISSN 0164-761X.
- Shank, Dale (February 2008). "Shane Van Boening: 2007 'Player of the Year'". Pool & Billiard Magazine. 26 (2). Summerville, South Carolina: Sports Publications. pp. 21–23 14. ISSN 1049-2852.
- Loria, Keith (February 2008). "InsidePOOL's 2007 Male Professional Player of the Year: Shane Van Boening". InsidePool Magazine. VIII (2). Kittanning, Pennsylvania: Spheragon Publishing. pp. 26–27. ISSN 1547-3511.
- "The Survey Says...: Pool & Billiard Magazine's 22nd Annual Player and Fan Poll". Pool & Billiard Magazine. 26 (2). Summerville, South Carolina: Sports Publications. February 2008. p. 14. ISSN 1049-2852.
- Shane Van Boening Wins US Open 8-Ball Kozoom.com. Retrieved 28. July 2013.
External links
- "Shane Van Boening: Year in Review" – most current results and statistics for this player available at AZBilliards.com: The A to Z of Billiards and Pool, with links to previous years