Sanchez Ruiz Takes Second US Open 9-Ball Title

Francisco Sánchez Ruiz won the 2026 US Open 9-Ball Championship, beating Robbie Capito 13-12 in a hill-hill final. The Spaniard pulled on the green jacket for a second time in Frisco, Texas.

Trailing 10-12, the Spaniard won the last three racks

Capito won the lag and pushed hard from the start, but Sánchez Ruiz escaped a safety battle to take the opening rack. The two men traded the lead through the middle of the match, level at 4-4, then 5-5, then 7-7.

Capito found the better form late, winning three racks in a row to move 10-8 ahead. Sánchez Ruiz answered with a clutch 3-9 combination, closed to 10-9, and levelled at 10-10.

Capito reached the hill first at 12-10, one rack from his first US Open title. A missed 5-ball let Sánchez Ruiz back in, and he took the chance to reach the hill himself at 12-11.

In the decider, Sánchez Ruiz called a push-out. Capito took on the 2-ball, missed, and left the table open. Sánchez Ruiz cleared to seal the win.

Tenth player in 49 years to win it twice

The title came four years after his first, in 2022, and made him only the tenth player in the event's 49-year history to win it more than once. The result moved him to third in the world rankings, with $100,000 in ranking points. The 256-player field had gathered at the Embassy Suites over six days.

"When he was on the hill, I just stayed focused, believed in myself and trusted my game until the very end," Sánchez Ruiz told reporters afterwards. "I never gave up." For a player who calls this his favourite tournament, a second green jacket adds weight to an already settled reputation.