Derby City Starts Off With a Bang
Harriman is enjoying a streak of good fortune.
The 9-ball banks competition has wrapped up after four days, and Danny Harriman of Springfield, Mo., came out on top. Fresh off his first-ever pro tour win at the Predator UPA Pro Tour Championship, Dec. 8, Harriman seems to be on a roll. He defeated Steve McAninch of Toledo, Ohio, 3-0, in the final after making judicious use of the Derby City’s buy-back option to get back into the action and win.
Round four of the one-pocket division is now underway, and Alex Pagulayan, Charlie Williams, and Nick Varner, among others, are all contenders for the title.
Mosconi Cup First Day: Europe Sweeps America!
The Mosconi Cup matches held in London today had a surprising outcome: Europe, which suffered a crushing 12-1 defeat last year, has leapt to a 3-0 lead on the first day of this year’s competition.
In the first matchup, Team Europe team captain Oliver Ortmann and fellow German Ralf Souquet took on American team captain Johnny Archer and veteran pro Nick Varner. Team Europe took first blood with a 5-2 victory.
In the second match of the opening session, Scandinavians Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat faced American young guns Cory Deuel and Charlie Williams. Immonen won the lag and ran out to take a 1-0 lead, and that set the tone for the match. Europe picked up another point with a 5-1 victory.
In the final matchup of the evening, American spirits were flagging, and the European support was growing stronger by the minute as home-team favorite Steve Davis and fresh-faced rookie Nick van den Berg faced Americans Earl Strickland and Jeremy Jones. This match was closer, 5-4, but with the same outcome: Europe took another point.
The Mosconi Cup will head into its second day with Europe holding an unprecedented shutout advantage. Check our live-coverage link at the top of the page for on-site coverage, or visit www.mosconicup.com.
Men’s Pro Kim Davenport Suffers Eye Injury
At the end of October, veteran 9-ball star Kim Davenport was competing in the UPA Atlanta Open, fighting for a spot on the U.S. team for the upcoming Mosconi Cup in London. Today, the 47-year-old Modesto, Calif., pro is fighting for his professional pool player life. Davenport, the 1990 Billiards Digest Player of the Year and a many-times pro tour champion, has only limited vision in his right eye, the result of a freak golf accident at a local driving range on Nov. 16. His chances of regaining full vision in the eye are uncertain.
According to Davenport, an avid golfer who sports a 3 handicap, a lawn mower kicked up a golf ball, which ricocheted off a metal post next to Davenport’s practice tee, and struck him directly in the eye.
“It knocked me right to the ground,” said Davenport. “I didn’t know what happened. I couldn’t see a thing, and I was scared to death. An ambulance came and rushed me to the hospital.”
A CT scan eliminated concern over possible bleeding in the brain, but severe bleeding left Davenport completely blind in the eye for more than a week.
“The doctors don’t know what will happen,” said Davenport, who has regained some of the vision in his eye since the accident. “They don’t think I’ll ever get 100 percent of my vision back, and they’ve discussed a cornea transplant. They won’t really know what the options are until January.”
The setback comes during a period in which Davenport had regained a spot in the men’s top 10 rankings. He’s posted four top-10 finishes in 2002, including the Sands Regency title in June.
“I’ve been playing well,” Davenport said. “But if I never get to play pool again, I’ve had 17 great years. It’s just a bad roll. A nice sunny day that went dark.”
Karen Corr: Back on Top?
Karen Corr is fighting back.
Corr had been steadily losing her grip on 2001’s can’t-lose status, letting Fisher take three of the WPBA’s professional events in 2002. It was starting to look like Fisher had completely regained her former dominance. Before the Nationals win, Corr hadn’t posted a victory since the BCA Open in May, and in that event, she triumphed over Vivian Villarreal, not Fisher, in the final.
Corr took home $11,000 for her win, and she holds onto her 155-point lead, which she will bring with her into next season. Fisher’s second place earned her $8,000; Monica Webb to third for $6,000 and Hall-of-Famer Loree Jon Jones took 4th place and $4,800.
Allison Takes All
Allison Fisher continued her dominant play of late by defeating Karen Corr in a $25,000 sudden-death playoff in the International Tournament of Champions, held Nov. 6-7 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn.
In the finals, each player took a set in the race-to-five format, leaving a single game to determine the champion. Fisher won the lag, made the 1 ball on the break and proceeded to run the table. The champion pocketed $25,000 in the winner-take-all competition.
In the semifinals of the four-player tournament, Corr defeated Helena Thornfeldt, 5-1 and 5-2, while Fisher bested Jeanette Lee, 5-4 and 5-4.
Mosconi Cup Gets First-Ever U.S. Airtime
Expect to see Johnny on your television at the end of December.
Matchroom Sport Chair Barry Hearn said, “This is great news for American pool fans who will at last get the opportunity to sample the unique atmosphere of the sport’s greatest event.” Hearn voiced the hope that the event would draw large numbers of non-pool-playing viewers.
Hearn also discussed the possibility of moving the Mosconi Cup to the United States in the future. “Hopefully this will be the start of a beautiful relationship that will see the Mosconi Cup taking place in the United States and being broadcast live from coast-to-coast.”
Corr Falls to Fisher at Fall Classic
Continuing a streak that’s starting to look like a comeback, Allison Fisher defeated longtime rival Karen Corr, 7-1, in the finals of the Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s Fall Classic, Oct. 2-6 at Amsterdam Billiards in New York, N.Y.
Fisher’s first game of the tournament brought an unexpected scare, when Canada’s Anita Kuczma took it to the hill before Fisher pulled off the 9-8 win. Fisher went on to win decisive victories over Julie Kelly, 9-1, Vivian Villareal, 9-2, and Monica Webb, 9-4, before another surprise trip to the hill, this time against Belinda Campos, put Fisher on the losers’ side. Fisher got her wind back, defeating Helena Thornfeldt, 7-4, Campos, 7-2, and finally Corr.
With this win, Fisher continues to creep up on Corr in the point rankings. This event earned Fisher 75 points, bringing her to 1615, while Corr holds steady at the top of the chart with 1770 points.
Souquet Wins U.S. Open
Ralf, triumphant.
Souquet’s triumph over the Canadian contender was completed just three minutes before the plug was to be pulled on pool’s first pay-per-view effort, and brought the normally emotionless German to his knees in exultation.
In winning his first U.S. Open title, Souquet earned $30,000 from the $150,000 prize fund. Pagualyan, the 24-year-old Canadian-by-way-of-the-Philippines, played 11 consecutive matches in the loser’s bracket of the 215-player field, and earned $15,000 for his efforts. Five-time U.S. Open champion (and reigning WPA World 9-Ball Champion) Earl Strickland finished third ($10,000), followed by Hawaiian Rodney Morris ($7,000).
Souquet Wins in Nashville
Ralf Souquet dominated Johnny Archer in the finals to win the IBC U.S. Championship, his second straight IBC event title. Souquet took the title from Archer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, at J. O. B. Billiards in Nashville, Tenn. Following about a week of on-site qualifiers, the event ran Sept. 13-15.
Souquet also racked up wins over Travis Stamper, 6-2, 6-3; local player Bobby Pickle, 6-4, 6-1; Japan’s Tetsu Haraquchi, 6-3,6-2; Jimmy Reid, 6-0, 6-1; and Canada’s Edwin Montal, 7-6, 6-1; before going on to crush Archer in the finals.
If $80,000 in prize money weren’t enough of an incentive, the event offered a unique chance for glory: The winner is to be immortalized in a wood carving commissioned by room owner Jim Blaylock.
Always a Bridesmaid, Finally a Bride
Thornfeldt finally overcame them all. (Photo: Carla Bonner)
Thornfeldt’s win was worth $11,000. Runner-up Fisher took home $8,000, and third-place Corr settled for $6,000. The WPBA’s next stop is the Cuetec Cues Fall Classic, Oct. 2-6, at Amsterdam Billiard Club East in New York City.