The 2016 Milwaukee Open featured nine-time Race 4 Eight champion Luis Moreno and six-time Race 4 Eight champion Sean Lenning aiming to meet in the Milwaukee Open final for the second consecutive year. Moreno and Lenning were joined in the early December classic by fellow Race 4 Eight pros Anthony Selestow, Dave Munson, Ryan Pesch, and Tyler Stoffel, as well Minnesota State University collegiate stars Luis Bustos and Matt Job and Midwest open stars Mike Munson and Carlos Lemus.
Moreno nabbed the top seed by virtue of winning last year’s Milwaukee Open title and had little difficulty booking his spot in this year’s final. Moreno eased past Minnesota State’s Luis Bustos in the quarterfinals and dominated Chicago’s Dave Munson to advance to the final.
Unlike Moreno, third-ranked Race 4 Eight pro Sean Lenning was tested in both of his matches en route to his second consecutive final. Lenning dropped game one to Ryan “DePesche Mode” Pesch before rallying to win in a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals and overcame a second-game surge by two-time Lenning conqueror and hometown favorite Anthony Selestow to win a tiebreaker in the semifinals.
Moreno and Lenning met for the second consecutive year in the Milwaukee Open final, with Lenning looking to exact revenge on last year’s defeat in Brew Town. Moreno owns a 11-2 Race 4 Eight head-to-head record against Lenning and appeared to be in control early in game one of the Milwaukee final, building an 8-1 lead. “Sean had a very weak start but Luis started missing shots and giving Sean setups,” reported Anthony Selestow. Lenning took advantage of the errors and setups to score 20 of the last 26 points of the game to take a one-game lead. Lenning picked up where he left off in game one and built a big lead in game two. “Sean was up all throughout the entire second game and appeared to be cruising with a 19-11 lead,” stated Ryan Pesch. Moreno scored eight straight to cut the deficit to one before a glove change and two quick points ended the match for Lenning.
Semifinals:
Moreno def D. Munson 21-17, 21-0
Lenning def Selestow 21-11, 12-21, 11-2
Final: Lenning def Moreno 21-14, 21-18
Photo courtesy of Aimee Ulbert (Right)
Editor’s Note: In the Women’s Bracket, Aimee Ulbert (GA) slipped past the field to take her first Milwaukee Open final ; meanwhile Nik Nahorniak/Vic Perez take the open men’s doubles with a two game win over the Munson brothers.
Draws/Results Here (not updated as of this post)
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David Fink
WPH Senior Writer