DAVAO City's Lee Vann Corteza emerged champion in the 2017 US Open Straightpool Championship at Table Magic in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA Saturday (Philippine time).
Corteza, who hails from Mintal, defeated Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 200-149, in their finale showdown.
The Dabawenyo ace outclassed Chris Melling of Great Britain, 150-89, in the semi-finals while Hohmann subdued Mika Immonen of Finland, 150-28.
In earlier matches, Corteza crushed American Bob Madenjian (150-113) after eking out victories over Alex Borukhovich (100-8) of the USA and Melling (100-53).
He was glad to have pulled off a huge win over formidable Hohmann.
"Maganda naging laban kasi si Thorsten four times nag-champion sa Straightpool," Corteza said in a Facebook chat Saturday afternoon while on his way to New York.
On his Facebook post, he thanked organizers on behalf of other Filipino players.
Corteza said, "To my sponsors Patrick Diveney and Josefina Diveney, Navigator Cues, Gil Leathergoods Castillo and to the US Open Straightpool organizers, thank you. JP Parmentier man, great photos again!"
He also thanked his family, adding: "Thank you for being my biggest support, cheerleaders and always believing in me. This is for you guys."
Former World No. 2 Corteza played for the country in several international competitions, winning gold medals in past editions Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. He was also champion in the China Open and World Cup of Pool in 2013 and the US Open 10-Ball in 2010, among others.