Shane Van Boening moved one step closer to Florida Open redemption as the five-time US Open champion returned to the semi-finals for a second consecutive year, alongside side Jesus Atencio, Eklent Ka\u00e7i and Alexander Kazakis.<\/p>\n
The second edition of the Florida Open Pool Championship returns to the stunning Caribe Royale Resort from 4-9 August, bringing six days of world-class nine-ball action as the World Nineball Tour\u2019s August USA Swing gets underway. With crucial ranking points, Mosconi Cup qualification and major silverware all on the line, the sport\u2019s biggest stars continue their battle in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n
FULL BRACKET<\/a> Van Boening continued his outstanding run in Orlando, defeating recently crowned UK Open champion Joshua Filler before overcoming Francisco S\u00e1nchez Ruiz to return to the Florida Open semi-finals for a second consecutive year.<\/p>\n The American has arguably navigated one of the toughest routes to the final four, defeating four former World Champions in succession to keep his pursuit of a first Florida Open title alive after falling just short in last year\u2019s final.<\/p>\n Van Boening said: \u201cI\u2019ve been practicing really hard this week, at least six hours a day. I\u2019m just staying in rhythm, staying focused and doing what I need to do to win.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve won a title on Tour, and I feel like this would be a great place to do it. I came so close last year, so I want to prove to myself that I can go one step further and win this title.\u201d<\/p>\n The first player to secure his place in tomorrow\u2019s semi-finals was Jesus Atencio, who continued his remarkable rise on the World Nineball Tour by defeating last year\u2019s Florida Open semi-finalist Chang Yu Lung before overcoming Indonesia\u2019s rising star Albert Januarta.<\/p>\n Atencio\u2019s run marks his first semi-final appearance at a Matchroom Major, having announced himself on the WNT last year at the Florida Open by reaching the Last 16. Just 12 months later, the Venezuelan has gone even further in Orlando.<\/p>\n Atencio said: \u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve reached a Matchroom Major semi-final, and to do it in front of my family and friends makes it even more special.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving them all in my corner this week has been a huge part of my success. Before every match, my goal is simply to make them proud, whether I win or lose. That\u2019s what keeps me focused.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead to the final day and the possibility of claiming his first Major title, Atencio added: \u201cI would be so happy. Every time I\u2019ve played on the TV table this week, I look at the trophy and imagine holding it in front of my family and friends. That would be amazing. But I still have two more matches to win before I can think about that. That\u2019s what I\u2019m focused on now.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining Atencio in the final four was Eklent Ka\u00e7i, who reached his third Matchroom Major semi-final of the year after overcoming Germany\u2019s Boris Ivanovski and America\u2019s Tyler Styer.<\/p>\n Ka\u00e7i said: \u201cI\u2019m feeling great. I\u2019ve been working really hard this year to get back to my best form, and I know what I\u2019m capable of. I know I can win these tournaments.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always need a little bit of luck to win a Major, and I feel like luck has been on my side this week. It doesn\u2019t matter who I play next. I trust my game, and if my break is working and I\u2019m in my zone, I know I can compete with anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Completing the final four was Alexander Kazakis, who produced two impressive victories to book his place in the semi-finals. The Greek defeated former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann before edging past Finland\u2019s Petri Makkonen in a dramatic hill-hill battle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shane Van Boening moved one step closer to Florida Open redemption as the five-time US Open champion returned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[148722,148723,28,30,29,148724,148525],"class_list":["post-366708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alexander-kazakis","tag-eklent-kaci","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-jesus-atencio","tag-shane-van-boening"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
WATCH ALL THE ACTION ON WNT TV<\/a><\/p>\n