Pool player Aloysius Yapp wins Florida Open for second career major

SINGAPORE – Reclaiming top spot by the end of 2025 is likely to be out of reach for Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, but there was some consolation for the world No. 3 on Aug 10 when he clinched his second major title at the Florida Open Pool Championship.

In May, he notched a career milestone on Mother’s Day, when he defeated Spaniard Jonas Souto 13-1 in the final of the US$200,000 (S$259,000) UK Open in Telford, England for his first major win on the World Nineball Tour.

This time, at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida, Yapp had to bounce back from 5-1 down to beat American world No. 12 Shane van Boening 13-10 and claim the US$40,000 top prize.

He is the first player to achieve back-to-back major titles on the tour.

“It feels unbelievable, it still feels like a dream to me. I started off the year just hoping that I would do well and hopefully win a major, but winning two… I just can’t believe it,” said the 29-year-old former world No. 1, who has over US$236,000 in earnings.

“My opponent made a really good comeback in the quarters to tie the match up, and then we had to play the deciding rack. And I got really lucky there, God blessed me and decided to give me another lifeline.

“I actually struggled a lot through the whole tournament, mentally when I played, doubting my fundamentals and decision-making...

“There were moments when I just didn’t feel confident on the table.

“But I got my coach here, so it’s nice to have someone to talk to and discuss how to tackle the problem.”

Yapp nearly did not make the final after a near miss in the quarter-finals. He blew a lead against Austria’s Max Lechner and was tied at 9-9, but with two balls left in the first-to-10 match, his opponent missed the 8-ball and Yapp went on to win 10-9.

He then beat Denmark’s Mickey Krause 11-9 in the semi-finals to set up a final showdown with van Boening.

The Singaporean player struggled in the beginning, going 5-1 down to van Boening, but he managed level things at 5-5 with four straight racks.

He then pulled ahead at 9-5 before the former world champion rallied with a four-rack burst of his own, capitalising on a rare scratch from Yapp to take the match to 9-9.

But, when the American produced a dry break in the final rack, Yapp closed in to win 13-10.

Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah said: “Cuesports Singapore congratulates Aloysius Yapp on his magnificent victory in the inaugural Florida Open event and first time in history that a player has achieved back-to-back victories in the World Nineball Tour Open events.

“This is indeed a wonderful and fitting birthday present for Singapore on the occasion of its 60th National Day. We sincerely hope that Aloysius will continue to grow from strength to strength and serve as a role model for our athletes.”

Yapp has a busy schedule ahead. He will travel to Virginia for the US$70,000 Battle of The Bull from Aug 13 to 16, before competing at the US$500,000 US Open in New Jersey from Aug 18 to 23.

He will then return to Asia for the Formosa Cup in Taiwan, before competing at the Zen Custom Cue & Yuan 8 Open in Shanghai in September.

He will cap off 2025 with the Reyes Cup and the Philippines Open in October.

While he will get opportunities to rack up ranking points, Yapp believes that reaching world No. 1 again will be a tall order – he previously held the top spot in 2021.

He said: “It’s going to be tough, because the world ranking is based on prize money and the world championship pays the biggest…

“So it’s going to be really tough to overtake the second place (Filipino Carlo Biado) now, because the ranking points are just way too ahead.

“I would have to win at least the next four tournaments, just to tie second place…

“So the only chance to (climb the rankings) is to win the world championship next year.”