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.
Ga-Young Kim Takes Second World Championship in Taipei
The world has a new women’s 9-ball champion in Ga-Young Kim of Korea. It’s a title she’s had before, in 2004, and one that she stole away from former 2002 champion Shin-Mei Liu, in the final match of the 2006 Women’s World 9-Ball Championship that took place in Taipei, Taiwan. The four-day tournament culminated March 5.
Kim was the favorite against American Jeannie Seaver in the quarter final. Seaver’s break was plagued by scratches and Kim was victorious, 7-5.
Her next match was a defensive battle against Japan’s Akimi Kajitani. With Kim on the hill, 8-6, Kajitani’s scrupulous safety placement escaped her and she left the opening Kim needed to run the remaining balls for a spot in the final, where she would meet Lui.
In the all-Asian final, points didn’t come easily and the defensive play that ruled the day continued. Kim eventually made it to the hill, 10-8, on an awe-inspiring pocket-speed shot. Within one game of the championship, Kim left Liu an opening, which she took and ran with, until she faced a poor lie on the 9. Liu went with a thin cut-shot, and the 9 ball rattled between the jaws, coming to rest just shy of the pocket. Kim easily knocked it in for the world title.
This year, the tournament yielded 64 participants from all over the world, competing for the high distinction. A few headliners were not in attendance, including Allison Fisher and Jeanette Lee.
Robert Huang, organizer of the Amway Cup was quoted in the Tapei Times as saying, “Jeanette Lee’s appearance fee rose to US$10,000 per day this year. We weren’t prepared to pay that type of money for her to play.”
Fisher Takes Fifth Amway Title
Fisher grabbed Amway title number five.
In the final, televised live on Taiwanese television station Videoland, Fisher bested Korea’s Ga Young Kim, 11-6. Fisher collected $24,000 for her win. Kim took home $12,000 for second place.
The rest of the field finished as follows: 3. Karen Corr; 4. Shin-Mei Liu; 5. (tie) Yuan-Chun Lin, Wendy Jans; 7. (tie) Jasmin Ouschan, Jennifer Chen; 9. (tie) Shu-Han Chang, Jeanette Lee; 11. (tie) Jennifer Barretta, Kajitani Akimi.
Finals Set for Amway Cup
The quarter- and semifinal rounds are complete at the Amway Cup World Women Billiards Invitational, being held May 6-9 in Taipei, Taiwan. Korea’s Ga Young Kim is slated to face British “Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher in the final tonight.
In one quarterfinal round, Karen Corr bested Yuan-Chun Lin, advancing to a semifinal against Fisher, where Corr was eliminated, 7-3. In the other quarterfinal, Shin-Mei Liu beat young Belgian Wendy Jans, 7-5. Liu then took a 7-2 beating from good friend Kim.
The playoff for third place between Corr and Liu takes place this evening before the final. All matches are being shown live on Taiwanese television.
Fisher Takes Amway Cup
Allison Fisher is off to a blazing start. After taking the $10,000 title at the Cuetec Cues Players Championship in Valley Forge, Penn., March 15-17, she jetted to Taipei, Taiwan, to win the title at the Amway Cup, April 5-7, for $20,000.
She beat Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter, who took $10,000 for second place, as well as host-country hero Shin Mei Liu, who took $8,000 for third. Chun-Chen (Jennifer) Chen, also of Taiwan, came in fourth.