Another major breakthrough for Aloysius Yapp with US Open victory
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Donning the prestigious green jacket for the victor, Singapore's Aloysius Yapp lifts the US Open Barry Behrman trophy as he completes an unprecedented three consecutive Matchroom major titles on Aug 23.
PHOTO: MATCHROOM POOL
Follow topic:
- Aloysius Yapp won the US Open, defeating Fedor Gorst 13-11, marking his third consecutive major title after the UK and Florida Opens.
- Yapp's victory at the US$500,000 event makes him the first to win three straight Matchroom majors, as he is set to climb to world No. 2 behind Gorst.
- Yapp dedicated the win to the late Taiwanese pro Chang Jung-lin and is now preparing for the Reyes Cup in Manila, aiming to continue his winning streak with Team Asia.
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SINGAPORE – After years of toil and 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 the 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 former 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 the Florida Open earlier in August.
No one had even won back-to-back majors before Yapp landed his first two. After completing his hat-trick at the US$500,000 (S$641,000) event, the southpaw 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 disappointments of falling to Filipino Carlo Biado in the 2021 final and an 11-0 whitewash by Taiwanese eventual champion Ko Ping-chung in the 2023 edition, and become the Ghostbuster as Gorst made more uncharacteristic mistakes in more roller-coaster 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 the 6-ball to allow his opponent to run out.
Breaking for the match, Yapp 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.
Aloysius Yapp celebrating atop the pool table after emerging victorious at the US Open with a 13-11 win over Russia-born American Fedor Gorst.
PHOTO: MATCHROOMPOOL/INSTAGRAM
After clearing the table to join legends Mike Sigel, Buddy Hall, Earl Strickland, Efren Reyes and Shane van Boening on 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 has also risen to world No. 2 in the WNT ranking behind Gorst. He now has US$325,278 in prize money this season, overtaking Biado (US$321,113), but still behind Gorst (US$560,186).
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 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 kick-started his great run of results with a Most Valuable Player 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.”
Having extended his remarkable run to 27 straight match wins in the three majors, Aloysius Yapp has also risen to world No. 2 in the WNT ranking behind Gorst.
PHOTO: MATCHROOMPOOL/INSTAGRAM
