Chang opened up his quest for his first U.S. Open title with a break and run. Then, after Van Boening missed in rack two, Chang ran out again. And he follow this with a long thin cut on the 1-ball and ran out to take a 3-0 lead.
Then it was Van Boening’s turn to show off his firepower, and he did with a run out after Chang missed a tough cut. Van Boening then broke and ran out, broke and ran out, and broke and ran out again to take a 4-3 lead. On the last one he slammed home a long rail bank on the first ball after first considering playing safe. After Chang missed a tough shot, Van Boening ran out again to move ahead, 5-3.
Chang broke the streak with a win, but then scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out, then broke and ran yet another rack to take a three game lead, 7-4. After he missed a bank, Chang pocketed a 4-9 combo. He scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out again.
In game 14 Van Boening played an okay safe, but Change jumped over the blocker, made the ball, and ran out. But he scratched on the break and Van Boening ran out, then broke and ran out for the fifth time to move ahead, 10 games to 6.
In the 17th game, Van Boening scratched on the break and Chang ran out to pull to within three games, 10-7. Next came a break and run as Chang closed the gap to two games. At this point, Van Boening’s TPA was .946 while Chang’s was .937 – which was an indicator of their superlative play.
After they traded misses on tough shots Chang made yet another jump shot and ran out to close to within a game. But he failed to make a ball on the break and Van Boening ran out to lead after 20 games, 11 to 9.
In game 21 Van Boening separated an 8-9 cluster on the last ball before it, got good shape, and completed his sixth break and run out to reach the hill leading 12-9.
Van Boening’s break was illegal (he failed to drive three balls past the side) and Chang had his last shot. But he lost position on the 5-ball on a combination, missed a super thin cut, and Van Boening ran the final five balls to capture his record tying fifth U.S. Open title!
Source: Philip Capelle (Facebook Post)
