The Heat Is On In San Diego
Ready, set, rack! WPBA President Kim White of Texas and Val Finnie of Scotland rack in the first round.
Defending champion Kelly Fisher won her first match over California’s Darlene Stinson, 9-1, and looks well poised to make her way to the finals. Local favorite Tina Pawlowski suffered her first loss at the hand’s of Virginia’s Sueyen Rhee, but will return today to compete against Wisconsin’s Jeri Engh.
First round upsets included #51-ranked Lisa D’Atri over Colorado’s #24-ranked Laura Smith; #42-ranked semi-pro Leslie Anne Rogers of Texas over #26-ranked pro Melissa Little; newcomer Julia Gabriel over #31-ranked Stacy Hurst of Southern California; and the Florida Flash, #43-ranked Ellen Van Buren over #19-ranked Romana Dokovic.
Big matches in the winner’s bracket will take place tonight, including Jeanette Lee vs. Kelly Fisher and Kim Shaw vs. Dawn Hopkins, who dismissed both Tiffany Nelson, 9-5, and Kim White, 9-7, in preliminary rounds.
Stay tuned for more coverage here at HeadString, or follow updated tournament brackets and highlights at www.wpba.com.
European Pool Championships Wrap-up
The European Pool Championships, held April 20-30 in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, has wrapped up the last of the divisions, with 9-ball and team competitions finishing up over the weekend.
The 9-ball competitions began with double-elimination brackets, and became single-elimination showdowns in the final 32. On the men’s side, the final four were Alex Lely, Thorsten Hohmann, Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet. Lely beat Souquet, 9-8, in the final. In 9-ball, Jasmin Ouschan, Kim Shaw, Katrine Jensen and Charlotte Sörensen were the last four women in the arena. Ouschan took the title, making her a double-title winner in Veldhoven (the first being in straight pool).
In the men’s team championships, Team Germany looked like the team to beat from the start, with Souquet, Hohmann and Oliver Ortmann, among others, on board. Indeed, they beat the team from the Czech Republic, 4-0. In the women’s team event, Germany was again the victor, with The Netherlands in second.
9-Ball Finals Approach at European Pool Championships
The 8-ball and straight-pool divisions completed, and 9-ball fields are narrowing in on a champion at the European Pool Championships. The multi-part event being held in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, started April 20 and goes through tomorrow, April 30th.
Both men’s and women’s 9-ball will play a single-elimination semifinal early this evening, with a final following at 8pm, Netherlands local time.
In the women’s division, Jasmin Ouschan will play Kim Shaw and Katrine Jensen will play Charlotte Sorensen in the semifinals. The men’s semifinals pit Alex Lely against Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen against Ralf Souquet.
Team competitions are ongoing, and will wrap up tomorrow evening.
Results Rolling in for European Championships
The European Pool Championships are well underway, with winners in from many divisions. The multi-part event started April 20, in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, and goes through April 30th. An all-time high of 34 countries are represented.
The men’s and women’s straight pool and 8-ball divisions have crowned champions. On April 26, Alex Lely bested Thomas Kaplan, 8-7, in the men’s 8-ball final. The same day, Cristine Naeff took the women’s 8-ball, 6-2, over Wendy Jans. It is Naeff’s first European title.
Friday the 24th, In straight pool, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann beat countryman Nicolas Otterman to the title by a lopsided 125-3. On the women’s side, former WPBA National Amateur champion Jasmin Ouschan squeaked by Diana Stateczny, 75-60.
The 9-ball divisions, men’s and women’s, are still in progress, and will conclude on Friday. The team competitions wrap up on Saturday evening. Among those still alive in the single-elimination men’s final 32 are Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, Niels Feijen, Hohmann, and Marcus Chamat. Among the women, Ouschan and Jans are still in action, as is WPBA regular Kim Shaw.
Fisher Three-peats In Peoria
Fisher took a crushing victory.
Fisher took home $9,000 for the top prize, and Corr settled for $6,500 for second. Monica Webb and Kim Shaw took home $5,000 and $4,000 for third and fourth places, respectively.
For brackets, visit www.wpba.com
Duchess On Top Again!
Allison Fisher beat down her rivals with a smile.
The new alternating-racks format shook up the charts some, with Corr going to the loser’s bracket care of snooker import Kim Shaw and Lee losing to come-from-nowhere Texan Kim White, both in the second round. Both Shaw and White finished unexpectedly high in the field, with formerly 28th-ranked White taking fifth place, and formerly 19th-ranked Shaw taking fourth place and making her first appearance in the television rounds.
Fisher claimed $9,000 for her win, while Lee settled for $6,500. Taiwanese starlet Jennifer Chen took home $5,000 for third place and Shaw took home $4,000 for fourth. Helena Thornfeldt tied White for fifth place and $2,800.