Shane Van Boening won his fourth annual Stevie Chan Memorial title at the 4th Annual event held Sept. 11-13 in Aurora, CO, despite a dramatic collapse on the loss side early in the tournament. As the highest FargoRated competitor (848) and clear favorite among 171 entrants, Van Boening was defeated by TJ Steinhaus (767), his closest rival for rating, after losing two consecutive double-hill matches to fall behind in a best-of-20 game series that ended with three ties.
The match turned on a critical error during the deciding rack where Van Boening failed to pocket the 1-ball and subsequently lost control of position play against Steinhaus's precise dot-connecting style, allowing his opponent to reach the hill first twice before tying in the final frame. While Van Boening had won six matches by an average margin of seven-to-one prior to this upset, he ultimately surrendered the championship after two straight losses that saw him extend leads only briefly before being overtaken by Steinhaus's consistent execution.
Van Boening advanced through a strong early run including shutouts over Chase Morrison and Kris Pipkin, but faced tough competition from opponents like Chris McDaniel and Ruben Silva Jr., who also reached the quarterfinals alongside Adam Sisneros in a field that included defending champion Joe Prince. The tournament organizers praised local host Tony Piazza for his enthusiastic support of the event's community spirit and honored namesake Stevie Chan as a Denver legend, while awarding cash prizes to top finishers including Van Boening himself and several competitors from various FargoRate brackets.