Van Boening cruises, Styer and Archer out in Shootout opener
The National Shootout's opening round ran from morning to past midnight on the TV Arena table — the holder and the headline name through, two of the field's biggest stars already out.
CHEROKEE, N.C. — Shane Van Boening and defending champion Craig Waddingham posted the day's two most emphatic wins as the National Shootout played out a first round that ran from Tuesday morning to past midnight on the TV Arena table at the Ultimate Pool USA Grand Finals.
Van Boening, the headline act of the evening session, beat Dalton Comstock 9-1, while Waddingham began his title defence with a 9-2 win over Jordan Helfery in the early afternoon. Chris Melling (6-1 over Joey Gray), Rodney Morris (8-2 over Alex Olinger) and Joven Bustamante (7-1 over qualifier winner Landon Hollingsworth) also won big; Dennis Hatch, Tom Cousins, Justin Bergman, Oscar Dominguez, Roberto Gomez, Joe Prince and Shane McMinn completed the day's winners.
Two of the draw's biggest names, though, are already gone. Tyler Styer — whose wife Margaret won the National Women's Shootout on Monday — lost 5-4 to Jesus Atencio, and Johnny Archer was beaten again by Declan Brennan, the man who ended his run in last year's quarter-finals. Brennan advanced after their match finished 3-3, and Manny Perez went through the same way past David Matlock at 5-5 — level scores at the Grand Finals being settled by the format's six-ball shootout tiebreaker. Skyler Woodward and Eric Charlton closed the card in the night’s last match, the 11:15 p.m. start finishing after midnight.
The evening also brought the first action in the week's open events, with the National Mixed Pairs and National Pairs both beginning 64-pair, race-to-6 draws that run through Friday, while the $282,000 8-Ball Teams championship ground through another day of bracket play across the hall.
Wednesday decides the Shootout itself: the last 16 from 10 a.m. ET, quarter-finals at 6 p.m. and the semi-finals and final under lights — Perez against Van Boening and an all-star Melling–Hatch tie among the pick of the second round.
Why it matters: The Shootout is the Grand Finals' showcase invitational — a 32-player knockout played entirely on the streamed table — and round one already halved the field. With Styer and Archer gone, the path is open toward a Van Boening–Waddingham collision for the title, while Atencio and Brennan's wins showed how quickly the format's match clock can cut down a big name.
Results via the official DigitalPool bracket, confirmed by Inside Spin's live results page. Full Grand Finals week programme and payouts.
