Shane Van Boening is Players Champion

Shane Van Boening has won the Players Championship at the Super Billiards Expo and has sent yet another strong message that he is the cream of the American crop of pro pool players. When Shane gets close to the finals there is just no stopping him. Even a long trip throughout the one-loss side (Shane lost early to Brian Brekke) cannot cause his game to weaken or his heart to lose spirit.

On Sunday Van Boening swept aside the rest of the best as if they were mere mortals trying to exist in the realm of the gods. Raj Hundal got the message first when he just sat and watched as Van Boening picked the meat off of his bones and tossed him to the scrap heap 10-1. Hundal was no more a participant in that match than was the kid in the third row of the stands. Darren Appleton would fare little better. The two-time US Open champion was dismantled and destroyed by the rack-running ability of the South Dakota Kid. Obviously dismayed by Van Boening's ability to control the table and deny an opponent any opportunity to rally, Appleton found himself a 10-2 loser against Van Boening who only appeared to get stronger with each stroke.

Van Boening had one more hill to climb. An undefeated and confident Stevie Moore was waiting for him. That confidence would take an early beat-down as Van Boeing wasted no time in establishing a 7-0 lead in the final race to 13 games.  Moore stayed cool and fought well enough to bring the score to 12-6, but Van Boening on the hill is a tough task and when Moore fouled early in the final rack to give ball in hand to Van Boening it was the end. Shane Van Boening won his third Players Championship with a 13-6 victory against Moore.

Shane is now on track for what could become a record year. Prior to this victory he nabbed both the Derby City 9-Ball and One-Pocket events, taking Master of the Table honors with those wins. The Kid also commands the short track stuff. He won the US Bar Box Championship Open 10-Ball division held by CSI in Reno. All of this comes on the heels of a final quarter of 2011 that presented Van Boening with victories at the Steve Mizerak Championship, Turning Stone XVIII and at the Ocho Open.

AzBilliards would like to thank Ricky Bryant for his assistance with this story.