It was a redemption storyline for the great Shane van Boening in Orlando as the legendary American brushed aside Alex Kazakis, a year after letting the Florida Open Championship title slip away at the final hurdle.
Van Boening returned to the Caribe Royale Resort with unfinished business following his defeat to soon-to-be world number one Aloysius Yapp in last year’s final, and he delivered a faultless campaign to clinch the $40,000 champion’s cheque.
In one of the greatest title-winning streaks ever witnessed, Van Boening put four world champions and six major winners to the sword. His successive victories over Ralf Souquet, Albin Ouschan, Joshua Filler and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz were followed by wins over Eklent Kaci and Kazakis.
Against Greece’s Kazakis, which was a repeat of the 2021 World Masters final, Van Boening made the ideal start, winning the opening two racks. Kazakis did get off the mark in the third, although a safety error from the Athens ace in the fourth rack allowed Van Boening to restore his two-rack advantage at 3–1.
The former World Masters winner stayed in touch, but Van Boening gradually took control. After moving 5–2 ahead, Van Boening missed the three ball in the eighth rack and Kazakis capitalised to cut the deficit to 5–3.
That proved only a temporary setback. At 6–3, Van Boening produced a spectacular jump shot to escape a safety before clearing the rack. Kazakis then missed the nine ball in the next game, allowing Van Boening to move into a commanding 9–3 lead.
Kazakis did manage to curtail the slide at 9–4, but an untimely dry break immediately handed Van Boening another opportunity, which he took full advantage of and soon moved onto the hill with an 11–4 ascendancy.
Kazakis won the next rack, but his hopes of a comeback ended in the following game. After a safety exchange, he attempted a difficult bank on the seven-ball, catching the edge of the pocket without sinking it. Van Boening cleared up to move within one.
The final rack was clinical and composed. Van Boening compiled an opportune break and run to seal a comfortable 13–5 victory and claim the Florida Open title at the second time of asking.
Kazakis had defeated the likes of eventual semi-finalist Jesus Atencio, Moritz Neuhausen, Petri Makkonen and Duong Quoc Hoang during his tremendous run to the title decider, which marked his first WNT major final since winning the World Masters five years ago.
Venezuela’s Atencio reached his maiden major semi-final with victories over players in the calibre of Justin Bergman, Chang Yu-Lung, Marco Teutscher and Albert Januarta, who stunned reigning two-time world champion Carlo Biado on his way to his first major quarter-final.
Defending champion Aloysius Yapp was dethroned in the last 64 by Cristopher Tevez, the former World 10-Ball Championship runner-up, with his run to the last 16 also involving an impressive win over Oliver Szolnoki.
The World Nineball Tour remains stateside throughout August and now moves onto the first staging of the Arizona Open from August 13-16, while the Florida Open will return to Orlando in 2027 from August 10-15.
