U.S. Open pool championships and U.S. Open pocket billiards championships are generic terms that may refer to various professional pool tournaments, not all of them affiliated with each other. "U.S. Open Pocket Billiards Championship" as a proper noun most often refers to the straight pool (14.1 continuous pool) championship, the oldest of the events. Though "U.S. Open Pool Championship" as a stand-in for an official event name most commonly refers to the nine-ball event, it may, depending upon context, refer to any of six different annual tournaments, some of comparatively recent inception.
This long-running nine-ball tournament began at Q-Master Billiards in Norfolk, Virginia in 1976. It remains one of the most prestigious competitions in pool. In 2018 the tournament was purchased by Matchroom Pool who moved the event to the Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas.[1] In 2021 it moved again to Atlantic City, New Jersey.