Shane van Boening emerged victorious at the marathon Premier League Pool in Connecticut, defeating Ko Pin-Yi 7-4 in Monday’s finale at US1 Billiards to add the prestigious invitational to his glowing resume.
Van Boening landed his most significant accolade on the World Nineball Tour since becoming world champion almost two years ago and completed the invitational grand slam in the process, adding to his Mosconi Cup, World Cup of Pool and World Masters titles.
The legendary American commenced his campaign in imperious form as he won 14 of his initial 15 matches during the league phase. Despite subsequently struggling for results throughout the weekend, he regained his winning formula when it mattered to clinch the $20,000 top prize.
It was Ko who claimed the opening two racks, although the Taiwanese sensation was unfortunate from the break and therefore forced into pushing out. Van Boening produced a table-length jump shot to begin an incredible run out ro restore parity at two apiece.
The pair continued to exchange blow for blow until Van Boening found an extra gear, notably producing an exhilarating two-nine combination from the shelf of the corner pocket on his way to moving 6-4 ahead, before break and running to seal the deal.
Beforehand, Van Boening had narrowly earned his play-off berth via racks difference over Mosconi Cup teammate Fedor Gorst, with his mere three wins from ten matches between Saturday and Monday almost undoing the hard work that preceded his blip.
Both Ko brothers reached the play-offs and they could have collided in an eye-catching final, although Van Boening raced into an unassailable 5-0 lead against Ping-Chung, eventually emerging a 7-3 victor, while Pin-Yi defeated Joshua Filler by the same scoreline.
Defending champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was unsuccessful in qualifying for the play-offs. His Monday morning win over Filler put him in a good position to mount a top four charge, but four successive losses put pay to that.
Premier League Pool was the first of Matchroom’s tournaments on the 2024 World Nineball Tour calendar, with the World Pool Masters next up from April 25-28 in Hildesheim, Germany.
