Schmidt Wins 31st U.S. Open Billiard Championshipby Rick DavisJohn "Mr. 400" Schmidt defeated billiards player Rodolfo Luat in the finals to win the 31st Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Held in Chesapeake, VA, 219 players entered for a chance to walk away with the prestigious title and $40,000 first-place prize, but in the end only one man could achieve it.An early scratch by Schmidt let Luat jump to a 2-0 lead before Schmidt managed to get back to the table to tie things up. Miscuing on a jump shot, this error by Schmidt let Luat run another pair of racks, although a commanding safety game let Schmidt tie things up once more, this time at 4-all. Two break and runs and more safeties brought Schmidt to a 7-4 lead. Discuss the U.S. Open 9-Ball ChampionshipU.S. Open 9-Ball Championships image galleryU.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Tournament Brackets
Poor luck with jumps continued as Schmidt's next attempt rolled the object ball into the open for Luat to run out, then in the next rack Luat tried a jump of his own—a rarity—although he fouled as well, leaving Schmidt to run out for the 9-5 lead. A miss by Luat in the fifteenth rack brought Schmidt to the hill, then after a loss from a scratch Schmidt came out on top of the final safety battle with an 11-6 victory.After a presentation by tournament founder and promoter Barry Behrman, Schmidt, who suffered his only loss of the event to David Broxon, commented, "I’m so excited—this is the biggest event in America. I went to the losers' side and was discouraged, but with each match it looked a little more doable.”Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool. 
Pool Balls and Billiard Balls at LOW PRICES!!!

View all Pool Billiard News's articles

---

About the Author:
Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.

More October 2006 articles