American three-cushion championship

USBA National 3-Cushion Championships
Tournament dates
Tournament type:	Ranking tournament
Tournament format:	Round robin
Association / host:	USBA / State Association
Tournament details
Venue:	changing
Playing time:	since 1968
Current title holder:	Tae Kyu Lee
Records
Most wins: 12
Sang Chun Lee
Best GD: 1,892
Pedro Piedrabuena 2014, Houston , Texas
Best ED: 5,000 (40/8)
Pedro Piedrabuena 2014, Houston , Texas
Maximum series (HS): 18
Mazin Shooni / Hugo Patiño 2006, Miami , Florida / 2019, Houston , Texas
Position map
s. Top left

The US American three- cushion championship (officially: USBA National 3-Cushion Championships) is a national tournament series in the three -cushion carom discipline and has been held annually since 1968. Until 1988 it was organized by the "Billiard Federation of the USA" (BFUSA), since the merger with the "American Billiards Association" (ABA) to form the United States Billiard Association (USBA) in 1988 it has taken on the task. The respective state billiards association always acts as co-organizer. The annual winner is automatically qualified to participate in the Pan American Championship.

history

While amateur billiards was organized in Europe and South America as early as the 1920s, the USA continued to rely on the national and world championships for professional players such as Willie Hoppe , Jacob Schaefer senior , Welker Cochran , Edward, which had been taking place since the 1880s Lee , Jacob Schaefer junior etc. Since the mid-1950s, however, the professional scene had almost died out due to aging, there was a lack of young players and most players were more interested in easier pool than in the difficult three-cushion game. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on the occasion of the 1996 tournament, player Mike Lombardo, Sr., said of the US billiard scene:

“While European experts share their billiards skills with other players, Americans clasp them close to the vest. That's why I believe the sport is dying out in this country, because so many of the great players died and took those secrets to their graves. "

“While European experts share their billiards skills with other players, the Americans are buttoned up. So I believe the sport will die out in this country because so many of the great players died and took their secrets with them to the grave. "

- Mack Reed : Mike Lombardo Sr.

So it happened that the idea of ​​an amateur championship developed relatively late in 1966, which was then held for the first time in 1968.

In the early years, Allen Gilbert dominated the US three- band scene , followed by Frank Torres and George Ashby. In 1990, the US player Sang Chun Lee , who came from South Korea, started a 12-year winning streak , which was only replaced by Uruguayan Pedro Piedrabuena in the early 2000s .

Tournament records

The USBA's information on the general average (GD) only relates to the medal places, not to the entire field of participants. Not all values ​​have been preserved. Harry Sims was the first player to break the mark of 1 in the GD with 1.054 in 1983, Frank Torres had a GD of exactly 1,000 in the same tournament, as did George Ashby. Except for 1973, the values ​​of the maximum series (HS) were not regularly recorded until 1980.

General average (GD) GD Surname year 0.729 Allen Gilbert 1968 0.870 Allen Gilbert 1970 0.995 George Ashby 1976 1,054 Harry Sims 1983 1.094 Frank Torres 1985 1.104 Carlos Hallon 1989 1.471 Sang Chun Lee 1990 1,591 Sang Chun Lee 1992 1,835 Sang Chun Lee 1995 1,892 Pedro Piedrabuena 2014

Maximum series (HS) HS Surname year ? ? ? 13 John Bonner 1973 14th Allen Gilbert 1985 15th Sang Chun Lee 1990 17th Sang Chun Lee 1993 18th Mazin Shooni Hugo Patiño 2006 2019

Swell:

Tournament statistics

The given is the general average (GD) of the player. The 3rd place is played out. In 1988 there is no information available about 3rd place. The information about the HS reflects the tournament record.

•  Record in GD
•  Record in the HS

Billiard Federation of the USA (1968–1988)
No.	season	place							Maximum series ≤10
			Surname	GD	Surname	GD	Surname	GD	Surname	HS
1	1968	San Jose , California	Allen Gilbert	0.729	Bill Hynes	0.690	Bob Ameen	0.655		?
2	1969		Bill Hynes	0.710	Allen Gilbert	0.680	Harold Baker	?		?
3	1970	San Mateo , California	Allen Gilbert	0.870	Eddie Robin	0.695	William Romain	?		?
4th	1971	Burbank , California	Allen Gilbert	0.818	Bill Hynes	0.729	Mike Donnelly	?		?
5	1972	Medford , Oregon	Eddie Robin	0.846	Allen Gilbert	0.936	John Josephson	?		?
6th	1973	Portland , Oregon	John Bonner	0.685	Jose Hernandez	0.719	John Josephson	?	John Bonner	13
7th	1974	San Jose , California	Frank Torres	0.750	John Kinnane	0.556	William Spadafore	?		?
8th	1975		John Bonner	0.725	Ray Tajima	0.680	Frank Torres	?		?
9	1976		George Ashby	0.995	Jim McFarlane	0.648	Carl Baldwin	?		?
10	1977		Allen Gilbert	0.934	George Ashby	0.976	Frank Torres	?		?
11	1978		Frank Torres	0.835	Larry Johnson	0.830	Carlos Hallon	?		?
12	1979		Eddie Robin	0.889	Allen Gilbert	0.873	Frank Torres	?		?
13	1980		Harry Sims	0.848	George Ashby	0.924	Allen Gilbert	?	George Ashby	12
14th	1981		George Ashby	0.929	Harry Sims	0.878	Carlos Hallon	?	George Ashby	12
15th	1982		Carlos Hallon	0.929	Frank Torres	0.994	Larry Johnson	?	Don Brink Frank Papp	12 11
16	1983		Harry Sims	1.054	Frank Torres	1,000	Allen Gilbert	0.955	Harry Sims Allen Gilbert	11
17th	1984		George Ashby	1.018	Allen Gilbert	1.022	Adrian Viguera	0.961	Frank Torres Harry Sims	13 12
18th	1985		Frank Torres	1.094	Allen Gilbert	1.001	George Ashby	1.058	Allen Gilbert	14th
19th	1986		Carlos Hallon	0.915	Allen Gilbert	0.984	Frank Torres	?		?
20th	1987		Frank Torres	1.074	Allen Gilbert	0.951	Carlos Hallon	?		?
21st	1988	New York , New York	Allen Gilbert	?	Frank Torres	?		?		?
United States Billiard Association (since 1989)
No.	season	place							Maximum series ≤10
			Surname	GD	Surname	GD	Surname	GD	Surname	HS
22nd	1989	Miami , Florida	Carlos Hallon	1.104	Dick Reid	0.859	Allen Gilbert	1.005		?
23	1990	New York , New York	Sang Chun Lee	1.471	Kim Byung-soo	0.940	George Ashby	?	Sang Chun Lee George Ashby Carlos Hallon Khalil Diab	15 14 13 13
24	1991	San Jose , California		1.464	Frank Torres	1.154	Rick Bryck	?		?
25th	1992	Chicago , Illinois		1,591	Bill Smith	0.875	George Ashby	?	Sang Chun Lee	13
26th	1993	San Jose , California		1.489	Allen Gilbert	1.065	Kim Byung-soo	1.027	Sang Chun Lee	17th
27	1994	Chicago , Illinois		1.536	Carlos Hallon	1.245	Mazin Shooni	1.131	Kim Byung-soo	13
28	1995	New York , New York		1,835	Carlos Hallon	1.263	Sonny Cho	1,000		?
29	1996	Simi Valley , California		1.552	Mazin Shooni	1.087	Sonny Cho	1.025		?
30th	1997	New York , New York		1.492	Michael Kang	0.885	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.032	Sang Chun Lee Mazin Shooni	12
31	1998	Milpitas , California		1.478	Carlos Hallon	1.269	Frank Torres	0.997	Frank Torres	14th
32	1999	Miami , Florida		1.503	Carlos Hallon	1.219	Kim Byung-soo	1.059		?
33	2000	Tacoma , Washington		1.216	Michael Kang	1.012	Mazin Shooni	0.942		?
34	2001	Tucker , Georgia		1.756	Carlos Hallon	1.105	Adrian Viguera	0.991	Sang Chun Lee Carlos Hallon Michael Kang	12
35	2002	South Gate , California	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.190	Sang Chun Lee	1,199	Moon Bum Heo	?	Pedro Piedrabuena Sang Chun Lee	12
36	2003	Livonia , Michigan	Hugo Patiño	1.223	Miguel Torres	1.139	Yong Chan Kim	?	Hugo Patiño	13
37	2004	New York , New York	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.438	Young Kyu Lee	1.117	Mazin Shooni	1.071	Young Kyu Lee	11
38	2005	Tacoma , Washington	Sonny Cho	1.142	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.551	Michael Kang	?	Pedro Piedrabuena	14th
39	2006	Miami , Florida	Mazin Shooni	1.268	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.248	Sonny Cho	1,319	Mazin Shooni	18th
40	2007	Maywood , California	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.438	Mazin Shooni	1.168	Hugo Patiño	1.388	Carlos Palafox	16
41	2008	Louisville , Kentucky	Miguel Torres	0.970	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.157	Mazin Shooni	0.957	Sonny Cho	11
42	2009	New York , New York	Hugo Patiño	1.185	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.115	Miguel Torres	1.172	Hugo Patiño	14th
43	2010	Tacoma , Washington	Jae Hyung Cho	1.201	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.232	Miguel Torres	1.180	Michael Kang Pedro Piedrabuena	11
44	2011	Las Vegas , Nevada	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.469	Hugo Patiño	1.068	Frank Torres	1.065	Pedro Piedrabuena	15th
45	2012			1.497	Mazin Shooni	1.139	Sonny Cho	1.091	Hugo Patiño	12
46	2013	Edison , New Jersey		1.318	Hugo Patiño	1.191	Jae-hyung Cho	1.111	Jae-hyung Cho	11
47	2014	Houston , Texas		1,892	Hugo Patiño	1.401	Sonny Cho	1,349	Pedro Piedrabuena	14th
48	2015	New York , New York		1.714	Young-Gull Lee	1.070	Miguel Torres	1.081	Pedro Piedrabuena	12
49	2016	North Hollywood , California	Hugo Patiño	1.473	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.604	Jae-hyung Cho	1,348	Jae-hyung Cho	13
50	2017	Tucson , Arizona	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.584	Miguel Torres	1,233	Jae-hyung Cho	1.208	Hugo Patiño	15th
51	2018		Miguel Torres	1.037	Pedro Piedrabuena	1,572	Hugo Patiño	1.009	Pedro Piedrabuena	11
52	2019	Houston , Texas	Hugo Patiño	1.481	Miguel Torres	0.950	Pedro Piedrabuena	1.444	Hugo Patiño	18th
53	2020	New York , New York	Tae Kyu Lee	1,221	Raymon Groot	1.163	Kang Lee	1.369	Miguel Torres	11

Swell:

Medal table

Medal ranks	1.	2.	3.	Σ
Sang Chun Lee	12	1	-	13
Pedro Piedrabuena	9	7th	2	18th
Allen Gilbert	5	8th	2	15th
Frank Torres	4th	4th	2	10
Hugo Patiño	4th	3	2	9
Carlos Hallon	3	5	-	8th
George Ashby	3	2	1	6th
Miguel Torres	2	3	3	8th
Eddie Robin	2	1	-	3
Harry Sims	2	1	-	3
John Bonner	2	-	-	2
Mazin Shooni	1	3	4th	8th
Bill Hynes	1	2	-	3
Sonny Cho	1	-	5	6th
Jae Hyung Cho	1	-	3	4th
Tae Kyu Lee	1	-	-	1
Michael Kang	-	2	1	3
Young Kyu Lee	-	2	-	2
Byung-Soo Kim	-	1	2	3
Bill Smith	-	1	-	1
Dick Reid	-	1	-	1
Jim McFarlane	-	1	-	1
Jose Hernandez	-	1	-	1
Larry Johnson	-	1	-	1
Ray Tajima	-	1	-	1
Adrian Viguera	-	-	3	3
Raymon Groot	-	1	-	1
Bob Ameen	-	-	1	1
Kang Lee	-	-	1	1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Keith Power: Playing Like An Amateur. ..And Proud Of It, Young Frank Torres Will Challenge The Top Shooters In The World, Men With All Kinds Of Wizardry Up Their Satin Sleeves. Vault, March 25, 1974, archived from the original on October 21, 2019 ; accessed on October 20, 2019 .  
2. ^ ^{A b} Mack Reed: Top Players Pool Their Talents at Tournament. Los Angeles Times , July 5, 1996, archived from the original October 21, 2019 ; accessed on October 21, 2019 (English).  
3. ^ ^{A b c d} Robert Byrne, Bob Jewett: Three-Cushion National Champions. United States Billiard Association (USBA), 2019, accessed October 20, 2019 .  
4. ^ Sal Bello: USBA National 3-Cushion Champions. 3-Cushion Billiards, July 3, 2019, archived from the original on October 21, 2019 ; accessed on October 21, 2019 (English).  
5. ^ Bert van Manen: USA - National champions. Carompedia, 2019, accessed October 25, 2019 .  

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