Gabe Owen Wins the 29th Annual U.S. Open

Gabe Owen Wins the 29th Annual U.S. OpenBy InsidePOOL StaffIn a sweep of the final match against Thorsten Hohmann, Gabe Owen of Tulsa, OK, defeated the former world champion 11-3 to take his first major title, the 29th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships.The hot seat match, a precursor to the finals, was between Owen and Hohmann. The German took a strong 5-1 lead only to watch it disappear because of his inability to pocket balls on the break. Owen, whose break was somewhat more successful, soon tied the match at 6 and then went on to only allow Hohmann one additional rack before winning the set 11-6.The match for fourth place between Corey Deuel and Niels Feijen of Holland was slightly longer, with a great deal of defensive play, but ultimately Feijen triumphed over the “Prince of Pool” 11-7 and went on to meet Hohmann in the semifinals.
The Mosconi Cup teammates and good friends fought a great battle, with neither giving much away until Hohmann tied the match at 5 with a break and run. From there, it was all Hohmann as he speared shots left and right to run out from everywhere. A missed 8 ball by Hohmann gave Feijen another rack to add to his score at 9-6, but two mistakes on the part of Feijen and some excellent play by Hohmann gave the German the two racks he needed to register an 11-6 victory.After former champion Jeremy “Double J” Jones wished both players good luck, the finals began. It started out badly for Hohmann when he won the lag, broke, ran out, and dogged the 9 ball badly. From there the situation did not improve much, as Owen’s break was stronger than his opponent’s and Hohmann didn’t get much to shoot at. Owen, a two-time winner of the Corpus Christi Classic, as well as a frequent winner on the Midwest 9-Ball Tour, put a two-pack on Hohmann to reach an 8-2 lead. He scratched on his next break, and when Hohmann played safe on the 3 ball, Owen jumped and banked it in to the screams of the crowd. He broke and ran the following rack to reach the hill but came up dry on his next break, giving Hohmann only one more rack. The last game saw Hohmann scratch on a very difficult 2 ball, and Owen ran out the remaining balls for the 11-3 victory, winning his first major title of his young career.Results:1st Gabe Owen $30,0002nd Thorsten Hohmann $15,0003rd Niels Feijen $10,0004th Corey Deuel $5,0005th Mika Immonen, Francisco Bustamante $4,0007th Dave Bollman, Ronnie Wiseman $3,5009th Earl Strickland, Tony Robles, Ralf Souquet, Erik Hjorliefson $3,00013th Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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