Hopkin moves into first place in NWPA rankings after undefeated win on Stop #4

Mary Hopkin picked up her second victory on the 2013 Northwest Women's Pool Association Tour by going undefeated on the tour's fourth stop. She had won the tour's second stop in April. The win moved her into the #1 slot in the tour's standings, replacing Liz Cole, who has won the other two stops on the tour, but was absent for this most recent event. The  $500-added, June 22-23 event drew 22 entrants to Black Diamond Billiards in Spokane, WA.
 
It was a five-match journey for Hopkin that was almost derailed in the battle for the hot seat. She had defeated Adrianne Beach 7-1, Amber Foster 7-5, and among the winners' side final four, Alicia Kvasnicka 7-3, when she met up with Natalie Seal in that hot seat match. Seal had survived a double hill, opening match against Sheila Clark, defeated Joyce Robinson 7-2, and Elaine Eberly 7-5, before meeting and defeating Alisha Rogers 7-5 in the other winners' side semifinal. Hopkin and Seal, in their first of two, battled to double hill before Hopkin prevailed to sit in the hot seat, awaiting her return.
 
On the loss side, Kvasnicka ran into Elaine Eberly, who, after being sent west by Seal, had shut out Sharon Bledsoe and defeated Suzanne Smith 6-4. Rogers drew Suwanna Matarazzo, whom she'd sent to the loss side in the second round, and was on a four-match, loss side streak that included victories over Julie Valdez 6-1 and Amber Foster 6-4. Kvasnicka defeated Eberly 6-2, and in the quarterfinals, faced Rogers, who'd successfully defeated Matarazzo a second time 6-4.
 
Kvasnicka dropped Rogers into the fourth place slot 6-4, earning herself a shot against Seal in the semifinals. Both were looking for a second chance against Hopkin, but it was Seal who earned it, allowing Kvasnicka only a single rack in their semifinal match.
 
Seal got her second chance against Hopkin, with thoughts of their double hill hot seat match relatively fresh on her mind. Hopkin, though, had those thoughts in her head as well, and left little to chance. She defeated Seal 9-4 to claim the event title, as well as first place in the tour rankings.