IPT Open Continues: Filipinos Dominate; Fisher’s Perfect While Most Women Falter
The IPT’s North American 8-Ball Open is shaping up to be the Philippines 8-Ball Smackdown.
The Filipino contingent flew their flag high and often on Monday — the second day of the history-making, $2 million event — as six Pinoy shooters scored perfect 4-0 records in round-robin play: Efren Reyes, Alex Pagulayan, Francisco Bustamante, Marlon Manalo, Dennis Orcollo and Ronato Alcano.
Joining the ranks of the undefeated was Brit snooker and 9-ball superstar Allison Fisher, who steamed through a fairly soft bracket to qualify for the next round of play. However, she was one of only two women of the 15 female tour members to score a winning record, and one of only four to advance. The U.K.’s Sarah Ellerby had the other winning record, 3-1.
Top female pros making early exits Monday included Ireland’s Karen Corr, who went 1-3 in a particularly tough draw; the U.K.’s Kelly Fisher, 1-3; Helena Thornfeldt of Sweden, 0-4; and American Monica Webb, 0-4.
Play on Monday centered on the second set of 100 competitors in the 200-player field, divied up into 20 groups of five. The top three in each group advanced to today’s round, featuring the remaining 120 players, parsed into 20 groups of six.
The 80 eliminated players from the first round will settle for $2,000 each. The winner of the event will pocket a record $350,000.
Here’s a brief wrap-up of Monday’s highlights:
• One of the biggest surprises of the Open so far is the number of players who qualified for the event — those not among the 150 regular IPT tour members — who are posting undefeated records. These surprise contenders from Monday’s play include Dutchman Rico Diks; England’s Karl Boyes; and Anthony Ginn of Australia.
• Keith Bennett, a 27-year-old house pro at Breaktime Billiards in Wilmington, N.C., who made it into the Open as alternate after Hall-of-Famer Jim Rempe bowed out, posted a 4-0 record in the first-round on Monday.
• The four women to advance to Tuesday’s matches in the round-of-120 were Allison Fisher, 4-0; the U.K.’s Sarah Ellerby, 3-1; Hall-of-Famer Loree Jon Jones (U.S.), 2-2; and Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter, who managed to limp into the next round with a 1-3 record when her games-won percentage topped two other players in her group with the same record (Ed Kelly and Jim Weast, both of the U.S.; Hofstatter’s games-won percentage was in fact just 1 percent higher than Weast’s).
• Beyond the Filipinos, who were expected to do well, several favorites sent messages to the field that they were not to be underestimated. Also posting 4-0 records were well-regarded Americans Johnny Archer and Shannon Daulton, and Germany’s Oliver Ortmann.
Ouschan Upsets Fisher; Souquet Gives Archer Second Second-place Finish
Jasmin Ouschan, who has become known as the “Ice Princess” for her arctic facial expression during competition, couldn’t help but crack the no-nonsense mask, revealing a stunning smile after ousting the undefeated defending champion Allison Fisher, 7-5, in the 2006 Enjoypool.com 9-ball Championship final, held May 20 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
Ouschan joined German Ralf Souquet in the winner’s circle after Souquet gave Johnny Archer his second second-place finish at the event, 7-5, after a 7-0 whitewashing by Thorsten Hohmann last year. Both victors worked hard for the $20,000 payout, battling back from the one-loss side, where they had to overcome some stringent competition.
Just 20 years old, Ouschan is an Austrian native who came onto the U.S. women’s pool scene four years ago. Ouschan made waves early on in the tournament, knocking two-time World Champion Ga-Young Kim to the losers’ side in the first round. She had a mettle-testing road to the finals after Melissa Herndon knocked her down to the one-loss side in the third round. She beat the likes of Dawn Hopkins, 9-8, Karen Corr, 9-7, Kelly Fisher, 9-3, Pam Treadway, 9-3, fellow Austrian Gerda Hofstatter, 9-3, and Shin-Mei Lui, 9-2, to meet Helena Thornfeldt in the semifinal, who she defeated, 7-6.
In the final Ouschan faced the favorite Allison Fisher, who remained unscathed through the winners’ side. Fisher was flawless early in the match, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Ouschan then came back and won 3 games of her own to tie the match at 3-3. The match was tied again at 4-4, but Ouschan won two in a row to get to the hill at 6-4. From there, they split racks on their breaks and Ouschan won, 7-5.
After making it to the fifth round by beating the revered Efren Reyes, 11-8, Souquet was knocked to the one-loss side by Archer, 11-8, where he had to face Reyes again. He came out on top once again to redeem himself against Archer in the final, 7-5.
Both Archer and Fisher took home $10,000 for their efforts.
Fisher Wins WPBA U.S. Open
Allison Fisher beat Karen Corr, 7-6, in the final of the Cuetec Cues WPBA U.S. Open, held Oct. 12-16 at the Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, N.M.
Fisher was sent to the one-loss side by Monica Webb, 7-5, in the winners’-side fifth round. On the left side, Fisher beat Helena Thornfeldt, 7-4, and advanced to play defending champ Ga Young Kim of Korea. Fisher took a 4-1 lead over Kim, and though Kim fought back to a tie, she never held a lead. Fisher won, 7-5, and moved on the play Webb.
Against Webb, the going was tougher for Fisher. Fisher took the first lead, but Webb got ahead 4-3. Tied at 5-5, Fisher again converted her opportunities into wins and took the match, 7-5. Webb collected $7,000 for third place.
Corr was waiting for Fisher in the hotseat. They tied on the hill and Fisher made the most of it, winning 7-6. Fisher took home $16,000 for first place, while Corr settled for $9,500 in second.
Practically Perfect, Fisher Seizes Fourth Trophy of the Season
Still struggling with a stiff neck and playing a bit out of sorts, Allison Fisher nonetheless pulled it all together in the final of the WPBA’s Midwest Classic and played nearly flawless pool to flatten challenger Helena Thornfeldt, 7-1.
“That was the best I’ve played all week,” the Duchess of Doom said after the match, in which she missed just two balls and ran the final rack. As scored by the Accu-Stats system (percentage of balls pocketed vs. table errors), Fisher played at a .962 clip — an astonishingly high figure.
Fisher was coming off a disappointing, medal-less trip to the World Games in July, and a fourth-place finish at the WPBA’s Southeast Classic in June, where she developed intense muscle spasms in her neck the morning of the final TV matches. It forced her to play left-handed for part of her match, as well as with a bridge for normally routine shots.
The malady hadn’t entirely disappeared by the beginning of the Midwest Classic, held Aug. 4-7 at the Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino in East Peoria, Ill. Fisher struggled through the pain, however, and managed to get through the tournament undefeated despite lackluster showings against Sarah Ellerby in the quarterfinals, 7-2, and Monica Webb in the semis, 7-3.
Against Sweden’s Thornfeldt in the final, Fisher found her speed and raced to a 5-0 lead. Frustrated by small but costly errors and a dry break, Thornfeldt got on the board finally with an aggressive 2-9 carom in the left foot-rail corner. Fisher countered with a sporty shot of her own, a 7-9 combo that put her on the hill, 6-1. Thornfeldt again broke dry, bringing Fisher up for a typically elegant runout and the $16,000 title.
Fisher now has won four of the six Classic Tour points events so far in the 2005 season. With just two remaining, she is the leading contender for Player of the Year.
Duchess Continues Her Reign in Carolina
“Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher won the season-opening Women’s Professional Billiards Association’s Carolina Classic, defeating Helena Thornfeldt, 7-4, in the final to collect the $10,000 prize.
This is the tour’s first visit to the community of Rocky Mount, N.C., where the event was held, Feb. 9-13, at Nash Community College. The town responded with enthusiastic, sold-out crowds. After her win, Fisher (who lives just outside of Charlotte, N.C.) commented, “I hope we’ll be back next year, especially as it’s home turf for me. I haven’t quite picked up the accent yet, as you can tell, but I’m working on it. This is a very good way to start my year.”
Karen Corr took third and Monica Webb came in fourth place.
Fisher Breaks Corr’s Winning Streak, and Her Own Losing Streak
Allison Fisher defeated first-seed Karen Corr, 7-1, to win the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Cuetec Cues Players Championship. This is Fisher’s first classic tour win since the WPBA Nationals in December 2000; her victory snapped Corr’s winning streak of six consecutive WPBA Classic Tour titles.
The Cuetec Cues Players Championship was held March 15-17, at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pa. It was the first stop on the WPBA 2002 Classic Tour. Upcoming events on the tour include the Spring Classic on April 17-21 in Alpine, Calif. and the Midwest Classic on August 21-25 in East Peoria, Ill.
Fisher’s winning check was $10,000, while Corr settled for $7,000 and second place, followed by Helena Thornfeldt with $5,000 for third.
Fisher crowned “Champion of Champions”
Allison Fisher captured her biggest victory of the year by beating Karen Corr in sudden death to claim the winner-takes-all International Tournament of Champions at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., on Nov. 8. The victory netted Fisher, the No. 2-ranked player on the Women’s Professional Billiard Association’s Classic Tour, $25,000 for first place in the four-play star-studded event to be televised on ESPN.
Fisher, who handed over the WPBA’s top ranking to a red-hot Corr in June, has lost to Corr in the last three Classic Tour stops. At the Tournament of Champions, though, Fisher controlled the deciding sudden-death tiebreaker game to secure the win. “I feel like I just won an Olympic Gold Medal,” said Fisher, who topped Helena Thornfeldt in the semifinals. “One shot missed and you can lose $25,000! Your emotions are off the chart during the entire tournament.”
Cannon blast
Shannon “The Cannon” Daulton tore through a deep field to earn his second Music City Classic championship at J.O.B.’s in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 9-14. Daulton, who twice knocked off defending champion and recent Mosconi Cup teammate Johnny Archer to claim the top spot, collected $2,500 for his efforts.
On the women’s side, Swedish transplant Helena Thornfeldt edged Monica Webb in the final for first place worth $670. Thornfeldt, who finished the 2000 Classic Tour season ranked No. 3, closed out the season with five straight top-four finishes, including back-to-back runner-up honors in August and September.
Archer on Top at Valley Forge
Archer ended a long dry spell at Valley Forge
Archer felt a year’s worth of frustrating, close-but-no-cigar finishes lift from his shoulders. “Any time you win a tournament, it takes the heat off of you,” he said. “It doesn’t make ’em any easier, that’s for sure, but it does take a little bit of pressure off, because now in the back of your mind you know you can do it, so if you get there again, just go ahead and perform again.”
The tournament was held March 21-23 in conjunction with the Super Billiard Expo in Valley Forge, Pa. The Expo also hosted an eight-player round-robin event featuring top women pros. Helena Thornfeldt and Karen Corr emerged from the pack and faced off in a two-set final. Corr dominated the first set and capitalized on a rash of Thornfeldt scratches in the second to win, 6-3, 6-4.