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.
Corr Recovers to Capture Southeast Classic Crown
After losing in the second round of the WPBA’s Southeast Classic, Karen Corr went on a tear that landed her in the final match against rising star Ga Young Kim. After trading blows with Kim to 4-4, Corr reeled off three straight games to win her first classic Tour event of the 2005 season, 7-4.
Going into Sunday’s final three matches at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., the marquee matchup appeared to be the first tilt pitting WPBA No. 2 Corr against No. 1 Allison Fisher, who likewise lost in the second round. But Fisher woke up Sunday morning with muscle spasms on the left side of her neck that severely limited her mobility around the table, forcing her to consider forfeiting against Corr. Fisher, always a gamer, ultimately decided to play on, improvising during much of the early games by shooting left-handed or with a bridge. By the time her body loosened up, the score was already 6-2 in Corr’s favor. The Irish Invader went on to win, 7-3.
Corr then faced WPBA No. 6 Monica Webb, who had yet to finish higher than 3rd in a Classic Tour event. The always-consistent Webb continued that streak, falling 7-4 to Corr after scratching in the 10th game, and then watching Corr break and run out in the final frame.
The last match was the third finals meeting between Corr and Kim, with each having won a U.S. Open title at the other’s expense. By this point in the day, Corr was in dead stroke, while Kim came out shooting a bit carelessly and blew some chances to take a decisive advantage. After battling back from a 4-2 deficit to tie the match at 4-all, Kim fell victim to Corr’s clever safety play in game 9, and then fell out of line in game 10 to hand the keys to victory to her opponent. A break-and-run in game 11 sealed Corr’s win.
Kim and Corr Face Off in Florida
The final match has been set for the WPBA Southeast Classic at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Karen Corr, currently ranked second on the Classic Tour, will face reigning world champion Ga Young Kim.
Coming through the one-loss side, Corr bested top-ranked Allison Fisher, 7-3, and advanced to face Monica Webb. Corr had a similarly decisive victory over Webb, beating her 7-4 to earn her spot in the final against Kim.
Kim takes Florida hot-seat
The TV Matches are now set for the WPBA Southeast Classic at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood Florida.
In the hot seat sits reigning world champion Ga Young Kim, who defeated Monica Webb 9-6 on Saturday.
Webb, will await the winner between #1 ranked Allison Fisher and #2 ranked Karen Corr in the first match on Sunday. Karen Corr defeated Jeanette Lee 9-3 on Saturday night, while Allison Fisher defeated Kelly Fisher 9-6.
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 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
Liu Takes Amway Title for Taiwan
Liu remained placid, even after winning a momentous title for her country.
This time, the British perennial champ took a brutal 11-2 loss . She did not score a point until a seventh-game run out brought the score to 6-1, and she failed to pick up momentum from there, scoring only once more. Fisher didn’t capitalize on several of Liu’s mistakes, including a 7-ball bank that left the ball sitting on the lip of the pocket.
Liu took the final game with a tricky run-out that included jumping out of a safety on the 1 and recovering from poor position on the 4. As icing on the cake, she sank the 5 and 7 in one shot before running what was left of the rack. She registered little emotion as she won the title, but did say that this was the first time that she had beaten Fisher in Taiwan.
Fisher took home $10,000 for second place, Monica Webb took $8,000 for third, Karen Corr took $7,000 for fourth, and Jeanette Lee and Korean Ga-Young Kim tied for fifth and $5,000 each.
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.
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.
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.