Shane Van Boening (; born July 14, 1983) is an American professional
pool
Pool may refer to:
Bodies of water
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a roc ...
player from
Rapid City
Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. It is the second-mo ...
,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
. Van Boening is considered one of the best players of all time. Van Boening has won the
WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who pro ...
and has won the US Open Nine-ball Championship on 5 occasions, along with over 100 other professional titles.
Van Boening has a hearing impairment and uses a hearing aid, but it does not affect his pool ability. He has received praise for his attitude towards the sport, particularly for his behavior during matches, and for avoiding alcohol.
Professional career
Van Boening has a family background in
pool
Pool may refer to:
Bodies of water
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a roc ...
. His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, was a trick-shot artist; his grandmother, Jeanne Bloomberg, a VNEA national champion; his mother, Timi Bloomberg, a BCA national champion; and his aunt, Gari Jo Bloomberg, a three-time VNEA national champion.
Van Boening defeated Hungarian Vilmos Foldes at the International Pool Tour qualifier in 2006, and was one of several players to earn a bonus of US$5,000 for breaking and running six consecutive racks in tournament play. He was one of 10 players to earn their IPT tour card by finishing in the top two spots of one of five qualifiers, and won the second spot held at the Pool Room in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. He has been ranked number one in the world by ''AZBilliards.com''. He practices at Lucky Billiards in
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...
, where he is the house pro and co-owner.
Van Boening is a three-time VNEA national amateur eight-ball champion. In 2007, he reached the final of the BCA Open Nine-ball Championship, losing to Dennis Orcollo. A few days later, he won the Predator International Ten-ball Championship.
In 2007, Van Boening was tipped by ''Inside POOL Magazine'' as a possible future best pool player in the US. Van Boening captured the hot seat in the World Summit of Pool on June 16, 2007, beating 2004 WPA Men's World Nine-ball ChampionAlex Pagulayan 11–4. On the last day, all matches were shortened to best of 13 as they were being recorded by
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. Pagulayan beat
Francisco Bustamante
Francisco Bustamante (born December 29, 1963) is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name,Warren Kiamco to face Van Boening in the final. Van Boening came back from 4–1 behind to tie the score 5–5, before Pagulayan won the next two games win, 7–5.
Mark Griffin, owner of the Billiard Congress of America Pool League, began sponsoring Van Boening in 2007. On October 20, 2007, Van Boening won the 32nd US Open Nine-ball Championship, defeating Filipino champion Ronnie Alcano in the finals by 13–10. Van Boening remained undefeated in the double-elimination format of the championship, held in
Chesapeake, Virginia
Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...
. At the Reno Open Nine-ball Championship on December 9, 2007, Van Boening and Johnny Archer were in the double-elimination finals. Archer was undefeated until then, and Van Boening had to beat him twice; Van Boening won the first set, and 83 minutes later, claimed the championship.
He has been named "Player of the Year" by the ''Billiards Digest Magazine'' and "AZBilliards" in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018. In 2020, he was named "Player of the Decade" for the 2010s by the ''Billiards Digest Magazine''.
In April 2022, Van Boening won the 2022 WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
As of 2023, He holds the record for the AZBilliards Money List at over $2 million in earnings since 2005. The AZBilliards Money List has recorded tournament results of players, primarily in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, since the early 2000s. In 2023, Van Boening was featured on ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...