Runner-up Karen Corr (left) and champion Ga Young Kim pose with their US Open 9-Ball Championship trophies. Photo by Anne Craig

Ga-Young Kim successfully defended her 2009 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship title (she won her first US Open in 2004) to become a three-time winner of one of the WPBA's most prestigious titles. On her undefeated way to the title, Kim took convincing stage one victories over Veronique Menard 9-2, Dawn Hopkins 9-5 and Monica Webb 9-4.

When the players re-drew into the final sixteen single elimination stage of the tournament, Kim re-drew Monica Webb! The match went to the hill, but Kim came away with the victory, 9-8. The final eight were broadcast by ESPN matches, lowering the race to 7. She defeated Austrian native and 2010 San Diego Classic champ Gerda Hofstatter 7-3 in the quarter finals, followed by former world champ Julie Kelly 9-2 in the semis.

Kim's opponent in the finals was Karen Corr. Corr had defeated veteran pro Vivian Villarreal 7-0 in the semifinal and looked to be the player to beat this trip. In a nailbiter final bout, both players arrived on the hill, 6 games apiece, with a single game on the line for the title. Ga Young Kim broke, pocketing the two, and took down a tough rack (see WPBA.com) that ended with a razor-thin cut on the nine to take the title!

64 of the world's top pros competed in this year's U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, held at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, Oklahoma.