United States National Snooker Championship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States National Snooker Championship (occasionally known as the United States Amateur Championship) is an annual snooker competition played in the United States and is the highest ranking amateur event in the country
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Established | 1991 |
| Organisation(s) | United States Snooker Association |
| Format | National event |
| Recent edition | 2026 |
| Current champion | Renat Denkha |
The competition was established in 1991 and was won by Tom Kollins, who went on to win the title again in 1992, 1998, 1999 and 2001.[1] After the passing of Kollins in 2020,[2] a new perpetual Championship trophy was named The Tom Kollins Trophy in his memory.[3]
Both the winner and runner-up are selected to represent the United States in the following IBSF World Snooker Championship,[4] and other annual invitational snooker events.
The Championship is open to U.S. citizens, and, from 2023, also U.S. permanent residents who have been a continuous resident of the United States for the past five years, and who have had no previous representation for another nation in any recognized international snooker competition.
The current champion is Renat Denkha from Chicago, after he won the 2026 Championship which was jointly staged in California at the PABSA Academy in Santa Clara and California Snooker in San Jose, from September 4-8.[5] It was Denkha's third successive Championship title victory.
Winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Final score | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Tom Kollins | John Abruzzo | 4–2 | Preacher's Pool & Billiards | Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois |
| 1992 | Tom Kollins | John Lewis | 4–3 | Pockets Billiards & Sports Bar | Aurora, Illinois |
| 1993 | David Yao | Mike Massey | 5–0 | Pockets Billiards & Sports Bar | Aurora, Illinois |
| 1994 | David Yao | Tom Kollins | 5–2 | Pockets Billiards & Sports Bar | Aurora, Illinois |
| 1995 | Tang Hoa | Orwin Ham | 5–1 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 1996 | Peter Ong | Piya Potanan | 5–0 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 1997 | George Lai | Truman Wu | 5–3 | Cue T's Snooker Club | Monterey Park, California |
| 1998 | Tom Kollins | Tom Karabotsos | 5–4 | Cue 'N' You | Grayslake, Illinois |
| 1999 | Tom Kollins | Murali Venkat | 5–0 | Cue 'N' You | Grayslake, Illinois |
| 2000 | Ajeya Prabhakar | Tom Kollins | 5–3 | Cue 'N' You | Grayslake, Illinois |
| 2001 | Tom Kollins | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–0 | Cue 'N' You | Grayslake, Illinois |
| 2004 | Kenny Kwok | Raymond Fung | 4–2 | New York Athletic Club | Manhattan, New York |
| 2005 | George Lai | Kenny Kwok | 4–2 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2006 | Paul Kimura | Romil Azemat | 5–3 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2007 | Jack Kung | George Lai | 5–3 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2008 | George Lai | Jian Qiang Wang | 5–2 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2009 | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–4 | Prince Snooker Club | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2010 | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Yi Fei Mei | 5–4 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2011[7] | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–3 | Prince Snooker Club | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2012[8] | Sargon Isaac | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–2 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2013[9] | Corey Deuel | Sargon Isaac | 5–1 | Snooker 147 Bar & Grill | Houston, Texas |
| 2014[10] | Ajeya Prabhakar | Raymond Fung | 5–2 | Top 147 Snooker Club | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2015[11][12] | Sargon Isaac | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | 5–3 | Prince Snooker Club | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2016[13] | Sargon Isaac | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | 5–1 | 147 Snooker Club | Houston, Texas |
| 2017[14] | Raymond Fung | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | 5–4 | New York Athletic Club | Manhattan, New York |
| 2018[15] | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Raymond Fung | 5–2 | Prince Snooker Club | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2019[16] | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Cheang Ciing Yoo | 5–3 | Q Ball Snooker & Pool | Houston, Texas |
| 2021[17] | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–0 | New York Athletic Club | Manhattan, New York |
| 2022[18] | Steven Wong | Raymond Fung | 5–3 | Ox Billiards | Seattle, Washington |
| 2023[19] | Daren Taylor | Steven Wong | 5–4 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2024[20] | Renat Denkha | Daren Taylor | 5–1 | Embassy Billiards Club | San Gabriel, California |
| 2025[21] | Renat Denkha | Ajeya Prabhakar | 5–3 | The Champion Snooker Club | Concord, California |
| 2026[22] | Renat Denkha | Hasanain Alsultani | 5–4 | PABSA Academy / California Snooker | Santa Clara, California / San Jose, California |
Stats
Finalists
| Rank | Name | Winner | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahmed Aly Elsayed | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Tom Kollins (†) | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| =3 | Sargon Isaac | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| =3 | George Lai | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Renat Denkha | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Ajeya Prabhakar | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | David Yao (†) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Raymond Fung | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| =9 | Kenny Kwok | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| =9 | Steven Wong | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| =9 | Daren Taylor | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| =12 | Tang Hoa | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Peter Ong | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Paul Kimura (†) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Jack Kung | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =12 | Corey Deuel | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =17 | Hasanain Alsultani | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Cheang Ciing Yoo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | John Abruzzo | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | John Lewis | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Mike Massey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Orwin Ham | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Piya Potanan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Truman Wu | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Tom Karabotsos | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Murali Venkat | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Romil Azemat | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Jian Qiang Wang | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =17 | Yi Fei Mei | 0 | 1 | 1 |