Aloysius Yapp defeated Shane van Boening 13-10 to land his second major accolade of the year and become the inaugural Florida Open champion at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando.
Yapp, who won the UK Open title three months ago, became the first player to win back-to-back major open championships in World Nineball Tour history after scooping the $40,000 top prize in the Sunshine State.
Having notably survived a dramatic hill-hill thriller against Max Lechner in the quarter-finals, where the Austrian missed a routine eight ball, Singapore’s Yapp came from behind against both Mickey Krause in the semi-finals and Van Boening in the final to reign victorious.
Van Boening surged out of the blocks and successive break and runs helped him obtain an early 4-1 advantage in the final, before that lead became four racks following poor positional play from his Singaporean opponent.
Nevertheless, Yapp capitalised on a squandered two ball from Van Boening in the seventh rack and sparked a comeback. He subsequently claimed eight consecutive racks to reverse proceedings and gain a four-break buffer of his own.
Van Boening remained undeterred nonetheless and compiled three break and runs in succession to restore parity at nine apiece, although he was unable to stamp his authority on the contest and a crucial error allowed Yapp to regain a slender lead at 10-9.
Further mistakes crept into the five-time US Open champion’s game as two costly scratches hindered his hopes, and Yapp grasped his opportunity with both hands, putting together a sensational run out to lead 12-9 before sealing the deal two racks later.
Van Boening had battled back from 5-1 and 8-4 behind against experienced Taiwanese cueist Chang Yu-Lung in the semi-finals in a captivating hill-hill thriller, with Chang critically scratching in the decider.
It was a week which belonged to the Reyes Cup MVP nonetheless and Yapp strengthened his grip on a return to the Philippines, with attentions now turning to the Battle of the Bull from August 13-16 and the prestigious US Open Championship from August 18-23.
