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Longmont
Colorado
80502
United States
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www.usbma.com

Friday 17 May 2024

All photography courtesy of ©Luby Publishing - used with permission.
Van Boening, Griffin, Panozzo Elected to BCA Hall of Fame

Media Contact: Freddie Agnir - United States Billiard Media Association
Media Contact: Shane Tyree - Billiard Congress of America

The Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame will welcome a generational talent, a league and tournament promotor, and a leader in billiard media to the Hall of Fame class of 2024. The United States Billiard Media Association today announced that South Dakota’s “SVB” Shane Van Boening, amateur league owner and professional tournament promoter Mark Griffin, and Billiards Digest publisher Mike Panozzo have earned induction into the sport’s most prestigious club.

Van Boening, 40, in his first year of eligibility, was the overwhelming leader in the voting, named on 96% of the voting ballots. He will enter the Greatest Players wing of the BCA Hall of Fame, while the late Mark Griffin and Mike Panozzo, 60, will be honored in the Meritorious Service category. The BCA and the USBMA will induct them on Friday, Nov. 29, at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando in Conjunction with the Mosconi Cup.

All photography courtesy of ©Luby Publishing - used with permission.
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Born July 14, 1983, to a pool-playing family in Rapid City, South Dakota, Shane Van Boening began playing pool as a young child and quickly became one of the country’s best bar table players, winning numerous national amateur titles.

Venturing into the professional arena in the early 2000s, the “South Dakota Kid” immediately established himself as a top-tier player. Since then, he has won virtually every significant title in the game, including a WPA World 9-Ball Championship, a WPA World 8-Ball Championship, and five (5) U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship titles. He is considered to be the greatest American player of his generation and arguably one of the top five players in the world over the last 15 years.

“Being inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame is the coolest thing ever,” Van Boening said about his election. “You think about how many years you’ve played pool and everything that it took to get to the top. It means you’ve won a lot of tournaments and championships. There are so many great players in the Hall of Fame, and now I get to be alongside them. It means a lot.”

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