Shane Van Boening is regarded by many as the United States best pool player of recent times. Despite this he has yet to win a world championship, but many see it as only a matter of time before he wins one of the WPA’s World Pool Championships. Shane Van Boening comes from Rapid City, South Dakota where he was born in July of 1983. The UPA rank him as the number one professional pool player in the USA. His best win to date was the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2007, when he beat Filipino Champion Ronnie Alcano in the finals, 13–10. Van Boening was not beaten for the entire event, which is traditionally held Chesapeake, Virginia yearly. Later that year Billiards Digest magazine name Shane Van Boening player of the year.