U.S. Open Pool Championship

The U.S. Open Pool Championship, formerly the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship, is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976.

Over the years, the number of participants steadily increased, reaching its current level of 256 players.

The tournament's original venue was Q-Master Billiards pool hall, in Norfolk, Virginia, which hosted the event, other than one year, from 1976 until 1988.

Most professional pool "double-elimination" events, however, are not true double-elimination formats, where the player who reaches the finals from the loser's side has to defeat the winner's side player twice for the title.

However, the final match, as is customary with most professional nine-ball tournaments today, is one extended race.