SINGAPORE – After years of toil, after the heartbreak of the 2021 final defeat, Singapore’s top pool pro Aloysius Yapp finally got his hands on the coveted US Open Barry Behrman trophy and prestigious green jacket that comes with the win.
On Aug 23, the 29-year-old beat Fedor Gorst 13-11 in a nail-biting three-hour final at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City after an 11-4 semi-final win over another world champion – Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi.
In the process, he became the first player to win three consecutive Matchroom major titles after claiming the UK Open in May and the Florida Open earlier in August.
No one had even won back-to-back majors before Yapp landed his first two majors and, after completing his hat-trick at the US$500,000 (S$641,000) event, he said: “This is definitely top of the achievements because I know how prestigious this is.
“I’m speechless right now. I can’t believe it. I gave him so many chances but I also got so lucky. I feel so relieved now.
“My hands were shaking, I couldn’t even hold the cue straight.”
With US$100,000 at stake, even the best in the business felt the nerves from the big occasion.
Gorst, the 2024 champion who was in his third successive US Open final, not only missed his trademark jump shots but also routine ones as Yapp raced to an 8-3 and 10-5 lead in the race-to-13 racks.
But true to his Ghost moniker, the 25-year-old Russia-born American, who mounted comeback 10-9 wins in the last 16 and quarter-finals, haunted Yapp as he fought back to 10-10 and 11-11.
Yet, it was the Singaporean who would exorcise his past disappointment as Gorst made more uncharacteristic mistakes in more rollercoaster racks.
In the penultimate frame, he missed a straightforward 2-ball and scratched, but while Yapp could not take advantage of the free ball and missed on the 5-ball, Gorst came off worst in a battle of safety shots as he missed a jump shot on 6-ball to allow his opponent to run out.
Breaking for the match, Yapp then missed the 2-ball, but Gorst failed to pot the 3-ball as he slammed his cue on the table knowing he had run out of chances.
After clearing the table to join legends Mike Sigel, Buddy Hall, Earl Strickland, Efren Reyes and Shane van Boening in the list of US Open winners, Yapp jumped onto it to celebrate the momentous victory.
Having extended his remarkable run to 27 straight match wins in the three majors, Yapp is projected to climb to world No. 2 in the WNT ranking behind Gorst.
Thanking his family, girlfriend, coaches, supporters and Gorst, Yapp also paid tribute to his friend and fellow pro, Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin, who died suddenly at 40 while competing in the Indonesia Open in Jakarta in July.
Gorst was also gracious in defeat, saying: “Unfortunately, I was a few racks short. At 11-11, I was trying to play with inside and missed by a mile and it was curtains for me when I missed the 3-ball in the final rack.
“Congrats to Yapp who played amazing. He works really hard and is playing the best pool of his life. We will see each other in the final again.”
Cuesport Singapore president Christopher Chuah said: “We are completely overwhelmed by our golden boy’s historic and record-breaking feat. He held his nerve and is definitely on a roll and growing in confidence with every match.”
“Undoubtedly, he has done Singapore and Cuesports Singapore proud and has placed Singapore firmly on the map of world pool billiards,” added Chuah, noting that another Singaporean player Nicholas Tan also made the top 64 and cashed out for US$3,000.
Next up is the Asian swing, which includes the Oct 16-19 Reyes Cup in Manila, where Yapp kickstarted his great run of results with an MVP performance to lead Team Asia to victory over Team Europe in the inaugural edition in 2024.
He said: “I’m starting to believe in myself a lot more but I still have got lots to learn.
“Team Asia is strong and we are the best right now. We are looking forward to it, so everybody better beware.”
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