Sang Lee International Open

The Verhoeven Open is a three-cushion billiards tournament held in Flushing, Queens. The event is sanctioned by the Union Mondiale de Billard and the United States Billiard Association. The event was known as Sang Lee International Open between 2005 and 2008.

It was founded in 2005 as the Sang Lee International Open, named after Sang Lee, a Korean American player whose goal was to spread his principles as a player and restore the popularity of carom billiards in the United States. One year after his death in 2004, his widow Ira Lee initiated the tournament in tribute to him. It was organized by the United States Billiard Association (USBA) as a member of the world federation Union Mondiale de Billard. The venue for the tournament is the Carom Café, which was founded by Lee and his friend Michael Kang, who was also one of the best players in the United States at that time.

Contrary to most other tournaments it was not played in the set system, but to a predetermined score. The structure of the tournament has been changed several times since 2005.

The inaugural event (2005) was won by Sweden's Torbjörn Blomdahl. The 2006 and 2007 editions were both dominated by Frédéric Caudron of Belgium. Roland Forthomme, also from Belgium, won it in 2008. The 2008 edition was the last time the event was named as Sang Lee International Open.

After a four-year break, the tournament was relaunched in 2012 under the name Verhoeven Open Tournament (or short Verhoeven Open) by Cindy Lee, CEO of billiards-event organizer Dragon Promotions.

In 2012, 20 players participated at the tournament. Winner was the local hero Pedro Piedrabuena, who beat Torbjörn Blomdahl from Sweden with 40:37 in the final. After a long pause of playing tournaments, the 75-year-old Belgian "Mr. 100 " Raymond Ceulemans was honorous player of the tournament and could, after all, still occupy the seventh rank.

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