Ahmed Aly Elsayed has won the United States National Snooker Championship title for a record equaling fifth time, after defeating Cheang Ciing Yoo 5-3 in the 2019 final at Q Ball Snooker & Pool in Houston, Texas.

In reaching the final, Aly had set a new record for appearing in eight Championship finals, and no doubt he now has the appetite and drive to claim an outright record sixth title.

Yoo, who had never previously got passed the quarterfinals in the history of this event, played some excellent snooker to progress to his first final in which he did claim a surprise 2-0 win over Aly in their Group A encounter.

It was evident in the first four frames of the final just how well Yoo was playing, and that his Group win over Aly and also knocking out both the number two and three seeds of this Championship had been no fluke.

Playing in an extremely cool and calm manner, Yoo was stroking the balls in and looked completely at ease around the table as he took a very comfortable 3-1 advantage into the mid-session interval — even a break of 78 by Aly in frame two did not seem to unnerve the player from Washington state.

Aly came back from the interval with a steely look of determination, as he knew if he was to lose the fifth frame then he would be left with a mountain to climb.

Playing in your eighth final gives you a lot of experience to be able to cope with adversity in matches of this magnitude, and he used it to his advantage as he capitalized on what had been a rare mistake by Yoo early in the fifth frame.

The mistake resulted in a well crafted break of 64 by Aly which sealed the frame, and although Yoo built up a lead of over 40 points in frame six, Aly managed to chip away at it and take it on the final black ball much to his relief.

It was now evident that Yoo looked uncomfortable as errors started to creep into his game that had not been there before the mid-session interval, and he was looking vulnerable at each visit to the table.

At 3-3 the pressure had now completely shifted onto Yoo's shoulders, while Aly was getting stronger.

The player from Brooklyn, who serves as the billiard room manager of the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) in Manhattan, took a lead in the match for the first time when he comfortable sealed the seventh frame, and although Yoo put up some resistance in frame eight it proved to be futile as Aly's run of 30 helped to secure the frame for a 5-3 success.

Aly was full of delight after completing his victory, and joining Tom Kollins in winning a record number of five titles.

He told SnookerUSA.com: "I can't believe it, that I did it again! Winning this amazing tough tournament for the fifth time to equal the high record definitely has an awesome taste.

"On top of that, I would like to thank all the support I get from my club, the NYAC, this great place is my second home, who make me feel like a champion, and who I do it all for. I am a lucky man to be there."

Alan Morris, the Executive Director of the United States Snooker Association (USSA), said: "I would like to thank the players who came to Houston from right across the United States to spend their Labor Day weekend supporting the Championship, as it is their enthusiasm and passion for the sport that makes the Championship the fantastic event that it always proves to be.

"May I also thank Mr. Syed Hassan for his support again in hosting the Championship in Houston, and to congratulate Ahmed for his achievement in winning a fifth title."

The final result as follows:

Final (Best-of-9 frames)
Match ID	Player		Player
F	Ahmed Aly Elsayed (New York) 1	5 - 3	Cheang Ciing Yoo (Washington)
	Frame scores and 30+ breaks in brackets (Alys's score stated first): 1st. 41-72   2nd. 79(78)-47   3rd. 12-80   4th. 1-90(46)   5th. 64(64)-5   6th. 57-47   7th. 62-19   8th. 71(30)-47

Aly and Yoo have now gained automatic selection to represent the United States in the coming year's international snooker championships. Should any of the players be unavailable the USSA will have discretion on who it selects subject to performances, in addition to any further available entries into the Championships.