In her second round match of the Kamui WPA Womenâs World 9-Ball Championship, Jasmin Ouschan found herself trailing Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Karen Corr 4-0 in a race-to-seven before rallying to win the, 7-6.
The next night against Germanyâs Melanie Sussenguth, the Austrian once again found herself staring up at a big deficit. This time, however, she was unable to pull off the late match rally, as the two-time World Womenâs 9-Ball runner-up was defeated 7-2 in her winnerâs qualification match Friday night at Harrahâs Resort and Casino in Atlantic City. Ouschan now moves to the one-loss side of the bracket in this 64-competitor, double-elimination tournament, where she will face the winner of the match between Caroline Pao and Xin Yu Hong Saturday morning.
After splitting the first four games, Sussenguth appeared to be in position to take the lead but left the 2 ball siting in the corner pocketâs jaws. With an open table, Ouschan could not capitalize as she overran position on the 9 ball and initiated a safety exchange which her opponent ultimately won. After the German used more safety play to tack on another rack, Ouschan had an opportunity to narrow the gap when her opponent scratched on the break but again failed to get out when she could not secure position on the 6 ball. After Sussenguth tucked the cue ball behind the 8 ball on a safety, Ouschan fouled when her attempt to jump the cue ball touched the blocking ball, handing Sussenguth ball-in-hand and a 5-2 advantage.
Ouschan had one last chance to make up some ground when her opponent failed to secure position on the 5 ball in the eighth game and the two traded safeties again. The Austrian went to her jump cue and popped the 5 ball into the corner pocket then she missed a cut shot on the 6 ball, allowing Sussenguth to take a commanding 6-2 lead. The German didnât allow her opponent another shot, breaking and running to close out the set in the subsequent game.
In other matches from the winnerâs side qualification, reigning champion Kelly Fisher pitched a 7-0 shut out over South Koreaâs Woojin Lee, Filipino Chezka Centeno gutted out a 7-5 win against Rubilen Amit, Allison Fisher got by Eylul Kibaroglu, 7-5, and Pia Filler defeated Bulgariaâs Kristina Zlaveta, 7-3. Reigning World Womenâs 10-Ball Champion Chieh-Yu Chou defeated Tani Miina, 7-1, Hye Ju Jin survived against Kristina Tkach, 7-6, and Japanâs Yuki Hiraguchi gutted out a 7-5 against Wan-Ling Wang.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, it almost happened again to Margaret Fefilova Styer.
Playing Elise Qiu of France, she jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage and was in the process of clearing the table in the fifth game when she missed a cut shot on the 6 ball. Qiu capitalized by winning the next three racks to pull within 4-3 and appeared positioned to tie the match but failed to convert a bank shot on the 6 ball. Fefilova Styer stroked in a long cut shot down the rail on the ball then finished off the rack to pull ahead by two games but forfeited the table again when she misplayed a safety on the 1 ball in the next game.
Qiu again took advantage of her opponentâs mistake, clearing the table then breaking and running to tie the match. Fefilova Styer left another chance in the 11th game after misplaying a safety but Qiu scratched in the side pocket after making the 2 ball. This would be the last time she would come to the table, as Fefilova Styer cleared the table to take a 6-5 lead and then broke and ran to close out the match.
Fefilova Styer had a bit of an easier time in her next match, defeating Veronique Menard of Canada, 7-4, and will face Kim Witzel of Germany when play resumes Saturday morning with eight matches from the one-loss side on Saturday at 10 a.m, local time. Live coverage begins at 10 a.m. local time on the CueSports International YouTube page as well as on Billiard TV.
Chia Hua Chen was sailing along in her second-round match against Rubilen Amit, holding a decisive 5-0 advantage in a race-to-7, when she played a safety on the 2 ball after the break in the sixth game.
Needing some luck to get back into the match, Amit kicked at the ball and watched as it crossed the table twice then fell into the side pocket. The Filipino took full advantage of the fortuitous kick, clearing the table then winning six of the next seven racks to snatch a 7-6 victory and remain on the winnerâs side of the Kamui World Womenâs 9-Ball Championship at Harrahâs Resort and Casino in Atlantic City.
Amit was both lucky and good throughout the second half of the match, breaking and running four consecutive racks to tie the score, then using a successful safety exchange on the 1 ball to take the lead for the first time in the match, 6-5. Chen was able to tie the match in the following rack when she locked down her opponent with a safety of her own but then failed to pocket a ball on the break in the deciding match. Amit worked her way through the balls and left a mild cut on the 9 ball into the corner pocket for the win which she missed but watched as the ball bounced two rails and dropped into the side pocket, leaving her stunned and also victorious.
Margaret Fefilova Styer was in a similar situation in her opening round match against another Filipino, Chezka Centeno, on Thursday morning.
After the Filipino snagged the first game, she a missed 2 ball in the following rack and her opponent used the opportunity to take control of the match with five straight wins. At the table again with a chance to increase her lead in the seventh rack, Fefilova Styer missed a sharp cut on the 1 ball and the Filipino rallied, rattling off four straight wins to tie the match until a scratch on the break in the 11th game halted her momentum.
After the American used the unforced error to regain the lead, Centeno was able to use a victorious safety exchange to tie the match once more, then tacked on another break-and-run to close out the set and send her opponent to the one one-loss side of the bracket.
Centeno remained in stroke in the second round, defeating Dawn Hopkins, 7-4.
Later in the evening, reigning Predator World 10-Ball champion Chieh-Yu Chou literally jumped into the third round with a 7-3 victory over South Koreaâs Seoa Seo.
Thanks to the accuracy of her jump cue abilities, Chou was able to build an early 4-2 advantage but missed a long 2 ball in the seventh game. Seoa cleared the table to cut the deficit to a single game and had a chance to tie the match in the eighth rack but left the 3 ball in the corner pocketâs jaw. With the cue ball blocked by the 5 ball, Chou again picked up her trusty jump cue, pocketed the ball and cleared the table, then used a break-and-run and a safety exchange to secure the victory.
In other notable matches from the first day of play, reigning champion Kelly Fisher trailed early in her second-round match against Germanyâs Ina Kaplan but survived, 7-5, and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Karen Corr jumped out to an early leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in her second-round match against Jasmin Ouschan but the Austrian battled back to win the set, 7-6.
Play resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. local time with the first round of play from the one-loss side, with American Jennifer Barretta taking on Canadian Brittany Bryant and Margaret Fefilova Styer meeting Elise Qiu.
As the clock struck midnight and the calendar turned to a new year, Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Kelly Fisher had one goal on her mind: defending her World Womenâs 9-Ball Championship.
Given that the championship has belonged to her since 2019, sheâs gotten rather attached to it.
âIâve managed to hold onto my title through default for three years now so Iâd like to keep it for a fourth year,â said Fisher, who defeated Jasmin Ouschan of Austria in the finals of the 2019 Open, the last one held before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the event for four years.
Much as changed since Fisher last hoisted the trophy. For starters, the event has been acquired by Predator Group and Cue Sports International as part of its growing portfolio of international tournaments.
Additionally, the 64-player tournament has been relocated from China, where it had been held since 2009, to Harrahâs Resort and Casino in the New Jersey beach destination of Atlantic City as part of CSI League Atlantic City League Championships.
Lastly, Kamui, an industry leader in pool and billiards cue tips, chalk and supplies, has partnered with Predator and CSI as the official title sponsor of the Womenâs World 9-Ball Championship, with company founder and Chief Executive Officer Masato Hiraoka attending this weekendâs tournament.
The first day of play kicks off with notable matches such as Chezka Centeno versus Margaret Fefilova Styer, Ouschan taking on Meng-Hsia Hung and Karen Corr facing LoreeJon Brown. Live streaming coverage of the tournament will be available on CSIâs YouTube channel as well as Billiard TV, which is available on Roku and numerous streaming applications.
This weekendâs World Womenâs 9-Ball Championship, which carries a total prize fund of $148,000 with $30,000 given to the winner, also kicks off the third year of Predatorâs Pro Billiards Series, which is slated to be the biggest schedule to date with 21 total events paying out over $2 million in prize money.
After the World Womenâs 9-Ball Championship, the Series moves to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the CSI Expo and the Alfa Las Vegas menâs and womenâs open, scheduled for February 22 through 27th. The Predator Las Vegas 3-Cushion World Cup will take place from February 26 through March 4 and the Predator World 10-Ball Championship, which carries a $250,000 prize fund, will be held from February 28 through March 4.
The Seriesâ spring schedule concludes with the Wisconsin Open at Ho-Chunk Gaming in the Wisconsin Dells, with menâs event scheduled for May 17th through the 20 and the ladies competing from May 18 until the 21st.
The Pro Billiards Series travels abroad over the summer with the Croatia Open menâs and womenâs events scheduled for June 27 through July 2 in Murter and the Japan Open womenâs tournament taking place from September 5 through the 8th in Shizuoka and the World 8-Ball Championship slated for September 7th though the 10th. Additionally, Predator will again be hosting the World Junior 9-Ball Championships in Shizuoka from September 6 through the 9th.
The Series returns state-side in the fall for the Michigan Open, with the menâs event scheduled for September 19 through the 23rd and the womenâs event taking place from September 21 through the 24th. The following month, the third-annual Ohio Open menâs event will take place from October 11th through the 14th in Wilmington.
For the second consecutive year, the World Womenâs 10-Ball Championship will be held in Ouschanâs hometown of Klagenfurt, Austria, with competition beginning on October 18, finishing on the 21st and carrying a prize fund of $150,000.
The Series will once again conclude in the tropical destination of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a menâs and womenâs Puerto Rico Open, scheduled for November 14th through the 18th and the World Team Championships, which are slated to take place from November 16 through the 19th and carrying a $200,000 prize fund.
After a successful Pro Billiard Series womenâs season in 2022, the Womenâs Professional Billiards Association has decided to not sanction the events this year, which will not affect the players or their status. The Pro Billiard Series and the WPBA remain on good terms and we wish our former sanctioning partners the best for their upcoming season of events.
Karen Corr, Bethany Sykes, CC Strain and Briana Miller
Tour director Linda Shea officially hands tour reins to Briana Miller
Though it lacked the formality of any sort of official transfer of power, the season finale of the 2022 J. Pechauer Northeast Womenâs Tour (JPNEWT) was significant as the last event at which Marylandâs Linda Shea would preside as its tour director, a title she has held for 14 years. This was announced and for all intents and purposes begun back in July when it was first reported that beginning officially with the season opener of the 2023 JPNEWT season, Pennsylvaniaâs Briana Miller would be the tourâs new director. Beginning with the fifth stop on the 2022 tour, Shea and Miller have been working side by side, co-directing the last seven stops on the tour. Itâs been a transfer of power unlike anything that could be dreamed of in a political arena; an incoming US Senator, for example, working side by side with the incumbent to âlearn the ropesâ of the job, while at the same time, beginning to exert a measure of influence, actually acting as the in-power Senator to accomplish specific policy objectives, so that when the time came, he/she could hit the ground running, to the benefit of the entire country.Â
Day by day, month by month over the past five of them, Shea and Miller have worked together toward this past weekend, Sheaâs last tournament as its director. Miller has, in consultation with various long-standing members of the tour, including Shea, begun to change things, bringing a new âlookâ to the tour Web site, seeking out new rooms, making plans to include more âbar boxâ events, investigating ways of marketing the tour, initiating a new event format to the JPNEWT mix and making plans to grow the tour beyond Sheaâs leadership. At this past weekendâs season finale, for example, Miller, Shea and other tour competitors were engaged in a combination round-robin, single-elimination format event that hadnât been experienced by them on the tour before.
The $500-added season finale drew 26 entrants to Triple Nines in Elkridge, MD this past weekend (Dec. 3-4). Both Briana Miller and Karen Corr went undefeated through both stages to arrive at a final match and then opt out of playing it, choosing instead to split the top two cash prizes. More on the event itself later.
There was also an unofficial, low-key âtransfer of powerâ moment at the event, during which Shea, who, like the incoming tour director, Briana Miller, competed in the event itself, was presented with a trophy/plaque, recognizing and commemorating her 14 years of service to the tour.Â
The new round-robin/single-elimination format offered existing and potential future competitors on the tour an opportunity to play more pool. Previously, the JPNEWT was adhering to standards that by rule, aligned them with the WPBA; in game choice (9-ball), format (double elimination) and without handicaps. According to Shea, some of the previous WPBA requirements have been relaxed to accommodate such format (and other) changes. But throughout most of Sheaâs tenure as tour director, it meant that a newcomer to the tour might, as an example, travel some distance to compete, find themselves up against two tour veterans in an early draw and be headed home before mid-afternoon of the first day. With the round robin format as a beginning, such a player would, for their entry fee money, play all day, win or lose. Two losses wouldnât disqualify her from further competition, although she wouldnât likely be moving on to the single elimination phase of the event.
âI enjoyed it,â said outgoing tournament director, Shea. âWith its (round robin format) races to 4, you had to come out concentrating hard.â
âGetting to four doesnât take much,â she added, âand I liked it in the sense that you had to come out focused.â
And she did. There were five âflightsâ of round robin matches, four of them with five competitors and one with six. Shea won all four of her round robin matches, advancing with nine others to the single elimination phase of the event.Â
Also advancing to the eventâs second stage undefeated were incoming TD Briana Miller, Bethany Sykes and Eugenia Gyftopoulous. Advancing on the strength of 3-1 records were Ada Lio, Carol V. Clark, Kia Burwell, June Prescop and Karen Corr. Cecilia Strain advanced with a 3-2 record and a better, overall game-winning percentage than two other competitors with 3-2 records in the round robin phase. Shea, Miller, Corr, Burwell, Sykes and Gyftopoulous were awarded opening-round byes in the single-elimination bracket.
In the two matches that comprised the opening round of single-elimination play, Clark defeated Prescop 7-3 and Strain got by Lio 7-4. In the quarterfinals, Sykes defeated Clark 7-5, Corr downed Gyftopoulous 7-3 and Miller eliminated Burwell 7-2. Shea and Strain battled to double hill before Strain advanced to meet Miller in one of the semifinals. Corr and Sykes squared off in the other one.
In their first match of the event, in the round robin phase, Sykes had handed Corr what turned out to be her only loss in the tournament 4-2. Corr came back in the event semifinals to win their second match 7-4. Meeting for the first time (in this event), Miller defeated Strain 7-4 as well. It was at this point that Corr and Miller opted out of a final and split the top two cash prizes. It was also the final match held under the auspices of Shea, whose reign as JPNEWT TD came to something of an unofficial end. The opening of the tourâs 2023 schedule will be solely under Briana Millerâs direction.
âI havenât been the director for the last few months, really,â said Shea. âI just helped her, introduced her to the people and assisted.â
âIt felt good,â she added of her thoughts following the end of her official TD duties, noting that there were no sad thoughts about her âretirementâ from director status. âNone at all. I get to just play now. I get to come in and not have to be there two hours early. I might even play in the Super Billiards Expo next year.
âIâm happy that Briana was interested in the position,â she went on to say. âI think sheâs going to do a good job and itâs going to be great.â
Shea knew when it was over that she was leaving the tour in good hands. Though she admitted to a twinge of sadness that she was saying goodbye to the role of tour director, she was, overall, thankful for it.
âVery true,â she said. âYes.âÂ
In parting, Shea offered thanks to all of the players and tour assistants with whom she has worked over the past 14 years, and those who participated in her TD âswan song.â She, along with Briana Miller thanked tour sponsor J. Pechauer Custom Cue and George Hammerbacher, pool instructor and commentator on the tourâs live streams. Information on the JPNEWT 2023 schedule will appear on the tourâs listing, to be found in the âTours/Eventsâ tab on the AZBilliards Web site.Â
Jungo wins roller coast final vs. Zielinski/Tkach defeats Corr in Womenâs event.
You had to be there.
As itâs been for a number of years, the annual American Straight Pool Championships, held this past week (Oct. 24-29) at Q-Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA were not just about who beat who, by how much. Or the specifics of about how the male and female fields whittled down from 56 men and 15 women to Switzerlandâs Dimitri Jungo, who won the Menâs event and Russiaâs Kristina Tkach, who won the Womenâs event; each, right after it was over, holding their 17th annual traditional clock and collecting their envelopes with $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.
It was, too, about the gathering of world-class competitors, kicking back in the highly-congenial atmosphere of this countryâs largest pool room, regaling each other with stories of past exploits, current battles in their individual matches and where theyâre headed next. Itâs a pool player knocked out of the competition early, preparing for this weekâs International Open, about 20 miles away, by practicing one type of shot (a corner-to-corner, stop shot) for hours. Or a female competitor describing the dancing skills of two female friends in a long-ago moment after an event that had an entire table of people in stitches. Itâs about the photos of all the US Open Champions crowned in the room, the commendations from 50+ years of pool players, and of course, scores aside, the quality of play.
âThe quality of play this year was just unbelievable,â founder and Chairman of the American 14.1 Straight Pool Championships, Peter Burrows told a packed arena at the conclusion of the Menâs event. âItâs why we come here every year.â
â(Jungo and Zeilinski) had a number of exquisite safety battles tonight that were really remarkable,â he added of the final match.
In his first time competing in these straight pool championships, Jungo revealed that it was only the second time that he had played the game competitively all year. He recalled being here in the US in 2001; a year he referenced as â9-11.â
âAnd now,â he said, shortly after claiming the Menâs title, âhere I am, 18 years later.â
Though hesitant to single out one particular discipline as his âfavorite,â he admitted to an affection for straight pool that has lasted for a long time. He admits to playing it a lot more by himself than in competition.
âI like it,â he said. âWhen I play it alone, I can challenge myself.â
In the more-than-just-winning-or-losing department, he was impressed with the milieu associated with Q Master Billiards. He admitted to being enchanted by it and used a somewhat dated expression to describe it.
âI like the âgrooveâ here,â he said. âItâs like. . . pool, where itâs born. I feel like itâs home. The way they treat the people here is very special.â
âI was very comfortable here,â he added of the week heâd spent at the tables, moments after that week was over, âand Iâm feeling good.â
As well he might have, having just won a tournament that at its start a week ago, had other competitors âpeggedâ for the win; among the others – Jayson Shaw, Fedor Gorst, the surging-in-Europe Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, final European member of the 2022 Mosconi Cup Team, David Alcaide, Josh Filler and Filipino Lee Van Corteza, who would finish the Round Robin Phase of the event with the highest point differential (504) of the eight groups of seven players each. Jungo would finish third overall in that department at 460, behind Van Corteza and Josh Filler (498).
Polandâs Wictor Zielinski, in the meantime, was #1 in his group, as well, downing his own list of top-ranked pros – Thorsten Hohmann, Ralf Souquet, Denis Grabe, Bart Czapla and the USAâs Pascal Dufresne, who, when he done competing, became a statistician for the event, seated behind a computer, using a 14:Straight Pool program he had written to input analytic data about each match he was able to witness. Zielinskiâs loss in the Round Robin phase was to Finlandâs Jani Uski.
All four of the eventâs semifinalists â Jungo, Zielinski, Mario He and Mieszko Fortunski â were #1 in their Round Robin groups. They, along with the other four top competitors to come out of the Round Robin phase â Josh Filler, John Morra, Francisco Candela and Lee Van Corteza were awarded opening round byes as second- and third-place competitors (16 of them) squared off in the opening round of the single elimination phase of the event, racing to 150. Gone at the conclusion of that opening round were (among others) Jayson Shaw, Darren Appleton and Albin Ouschan. In the final 16 round, Lee Van Corteza, Ralf Souquet, Sanchez-Ruiz (downed by Zielinski), The Lion (Alex Pagulayan) and Carlo Biado (defeated by Jungo) were gone as well.
The quarterfinal matches saw Jungo eliminate Morra, Mario He defeat Lebanonâs Bader Alawadhi, Mieszko Fortunski get by David Alcaide in the closest match of the tournament 150-148, and Zielinski wave goodbye to Joshua Filler (not literally) in the most lopsided match of the single elimination phase, 150-38.
The racing-to-175 semifinals, which guaranteed that one of the finalists would be from Poland, saw Zielinski down Fortunski 175-55. Jungo joined him after defeating Austriaâs Mario He 175-85.
As noted by Burrows earlier, the final match was a bit of a roller coaster ride. If you werenât aware that fouls can send scores moving in the opposite direction, you might have been surprised if you stepped away when the score was tied at 55-55 and returned to find out it had backed up to 54-53 in favor of Jungo.
â(Zielinski) got out to a lead early,â noted Jungo. âbut I made it to 67 (ahead by 14), and then, we had those safety battles in the middle; four or five of them.â
Zielinski kept fighting back and took the lead back at the 131-130 stage of the game, at which point, the scores went backwards again, to 129-128. Jungo re-established the lead and expanded it to 147-136. With 28 balls to go, he got them all. At 162-136, right after his break had left 14 on the table, with only 13 to go, Jungo ran the table to claim the title.
Kristina Tkach
After protracted absence since 2019, Irelandâs Karen Corr makes it to Womenâs final
Irelandâs Karen Corr has been making her presence known on the womenâs circuit since her somewhat unofficial return from an unofficial absence since 2019. Sheâd appeared on the J. Pechauer Northeast Womenâs Tour this year, finished 3rd at the WPBAâs Michigan Open (tied with Allison Fisher) and made an appearance at last weekâs Sledgehammer Open, the 1st memorial tournament for Helena Thornfeldt. She âchoseâ to record her highest return-finish in Virginia Beach at an event not without its favored competitors. Some were looking ahead almost from the start to a rematch between Tkach and the eventâs defending champion, Kelly Fisher, who had matched up twice against each other at the Sledgehammer Open; Tkach taking the first in a winnersâ side semifinal and Kelly, the second in the final.
Not so fast. There were three round robin âflightsâ with five players each, from which Corr, Tkach and Fisher emerged undefeated. Joining them in an opening, single-elimination round were Bethany Sykes (vs. Tkach), Dawn Hopkins (vs. Corr), Billie Billing (vs. Fisher) and Bean Hung, squaring off against Pia Filler. Racing to 80, Tkach allowed Sykes one ball, Hung gave up 23 to Filler, Fisher gave Billing 42, while Corr and Hopkins played the closest match; won by Corr 80-50.
The potential Fisher/Tkach final was still on, but not for long. In the semifinals, Tkach downed Hung 100-49, as Corr was likely surprising Kelly Fisher with a 100-36 win that put her in her first (recorded) final in two years.
Tkach has won the European straight pool championships twice, though like many others, itâs not a discipline that she gets to play that often.
âWhen I was very young, about 16 or 17, I played a full-year of straight pool every day,â she said, noting that her coach at the time was trying to get her to that oft-elusive first run of 100 balls, âbut I was at a different level back then, too.â
âIt is a game that you play maybe once a year,â she added, âbut once you learn how to play it, itâs like riding a bicycle. Once you understand it, itâs really just about making balls.â
She got on the bike, made the balls and claimed the second American Womenâs 14.1 Straight Pool Championship Title.
Many of the competitors who were in Virginia Beach over the past week have already moved on to Norfolk, VA, about 20 miles west of Q Master Billiards, to compete in Pat Flemingâs International Open, which began on Friday, Oct. 28 with a $10,000-added One Pocket tournament (to which many knocked out of the straight pool at Q Master Billiards migrated). The One Pocket will conclude today (Sunday, Oct. 30) and give way to the $50,000-added 9-Ball Tournament set to begin tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 31), which should make for an interesting Halloween night. Later in the week, the Junior International Championships will conclude their 2022 season with championship tournaments for the 18 & Under Boys and Girls divisions of the series.
And a final unofficial and unquoted word from Peter Burrows about the 18th Annual American 14.1 Straight Pool Tournament next year, which he has promised (with a little help from his friends) will be bigger and better with more players and more money.
Jungo will face either Miesko Fortunski or Wictor Zielinski in final Menâs match at 8 p.m.
Prior to this year, Irelandâs Karen Corr had not recorded a payout with us here at AZBilliards since 2019. When she returned in August to make an appearance on the J. Pechauer Northeast Womenâs Tour, finishing 4th and a month later, at the WPBAâs Michigan Womenâs Open, she finished in a tie for 3rd with Allison Fisher. Last week at the 1st Annual Sledgehammer Open at Janet Atwellâs room, Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN, Kelly Fisher and Russiaâs Kristina Tkach played a pair of matches; Tkach winning the first in a winnersâ side semifinal and Fisher winning the final. When pool-watchers woke up this morning (Sat.Oct. 29), with their eyes focused to the ongoing brackets of the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championships being held at Q Master Billiards in Virginia Beach, VA this week, they would have noticed that Fisher and Tkach were still a possibility for a repeat final.Â
They reckoned without Karen Corr. Making her way into the eventâs final 24 with a 4-1 record in the Round Robin stage, Corr moved through the single elimination phase, downing Billie Billing 80-42 and in the semifinals, Kelly Fisher, the eventâs defending champion, 100-36. Tkach, whoâd defeated Bethany Sykes 80-1 in the quarterfinals and Bean Hung 100-49 in her semifinal will now have the chance to meet Corr at 5 p.m. EDT, a match that could run live (via links) on the American 14:1 Straight Pool Championshipsâ Web site (www.americanstraightpool.com.
Waiting in the wings for an 8 p.m EDT menâs final will be Switzerlandâs Dimitri Jungo, who defeated Mario He 175-85. Jungo will play someone from Poland; either Mieszko Fortunski or Wictor Zielinski, who are continuing their semifinal match; a race to 175, with Zielinski ahead 29-13 at approximately 4 p.m, EDT.
On the long weekend of Sept. 21-25 in Battle Creek, MI, Caroline Pao became the top-ranked USA player on the WPBA, moving ahead of Jennifer Baretta into fourth place behind the UKâs Kelly and Allison Fisher and Canadaâs Brittany Bryant. She did this after finishing in the eight-way tie for 9th place at the Predator US Pro Billiard Series at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek. Her rise to this pinnacle in her career, her best-recorded earnings year since she began appearing on our payout lists over 20 years ago, has been the result of hard work, dedication, practice-practice-practice, and the assistance of a number of sponsors. Not to mention a little bit of luck related to recent WPBA history, which saw the number of yearly events diminish over the past few years and gradually, over the past year or so, saw the event-numbers go up, dramatically, in part due to the tourâs ongoing association with the Predator US Pro Billiard Series.
The WPBA ranking system doesnât work the way many regional-tour ranking systems do, confining its rankings to a single season and starting over when a new season begins. The WPBA allots points to its members over a series of associated events, and as the points associated with a recent event are recorded, the oldest event on the ongoing list drops off the ranking radar. The ranking list that was updated after the Michigan event listed 10 events, dating back to Wisconsinâs Aramith/Doctor Pool Classic in November, 2019, at which Pao finished in the tie for 17th place. The next event, moving forward in time occurred in 2020 and the next in 2021. The next seven have occurred in this calendar year; three of them (so far) associated with the Predator US Pro Billiard Series. The number of offered events had a way of drawing more foreign competition back to the North American WPBA Tour, which accounts for some of Paoâs surprise that in the midst of this rejuvenation of the tour and the return of many competitors, she has somehow managed to move from 11th place on the ranking list when the year started, to 4th on that list, and as it turned out, the top American on it.
She wasnât surprised because she had any doubts about her skills or dedication to the task(s), but because of this particular yearâs worth of challenges. It is, sheâll tell you, something that she loves to do and given the fact that she also holds down a full-time job as a representative for Mezz Cues here in the US, her status as a member of the pool community is 24/7.
âI feel really lucky to have this ranking as the top USA player on the WPBA,â she said, âHowever, I want to say that the competition has been a lot more stern than it has been over the last few years because of all of the international players whoâve come back to play.â
Along with the top three on the WPBA ranking list (the Fishers and Brittany Bryant) whoâve been here right through the tourâs âleanâ years, are (among others) such players as Taipeiâs Tzu-Chien Wei (runner-up to Kelly Fisher in Michigan), Spainâs Amalia Matas and Indonesiaâs Angeline Ticoalu (tied for 4th in Michigan), and in a welcome return that could signal more events to come for her, Irelandâs Karen Corr.
According to Pao, coming to terms with playing that level of player requires a kind of mental adjustment that is not easy to accomplish. As standard as the âplay the table, not the opponent,â may be, it is definitely easier said than done.
âI think that whenever you do play big-time players, (the Fishers, Tzu-Chien Wei, Barretta and others), their presence is known,â she said. âWhether you like it or not, or try not to focus on it, theyâre there and you know it. For you to forget about that and focus on you is harder with them, just because of who they are.â
Itâs a strange human trait to note the presence of a particular human being across the table from you and allow that to affect the skills, concentration and focus that as a player, youâve put in so much time to accomplish.
âIt really is and no matter how hard you try to fight it and tell yourself (not to be influenced), this game is about 80% mental,â she said. âThereâs skill involved, but overall the mental process overtakes it all and while you might make a certain shot nine out of 10 times, in one moment, your percentage might fall.â
âIâve seen so many countless players miss a key shot like that, but itâs not the same scenario,â she added. âThis one moment might be the shot that can make or break you and you might have made it a thousand times, but this one time, you twisted your wrist, or your timingâs a little off, or you shanked it a little bit or held your cue too tight. It could be any of those reasons to throw that one shot off, at that particular time.â
Though she has yet to win a WPBA event, she is a regular competitor on them and is regularly among the top players at the end.
âI think itâs just that my play has been consistent and I tend to come into the top 16,â she said of her advancement to the top US spot in the rankings. âThatâs how the points add up to do it.â
She is already looking ahead, not only to specific events in the future, but to ways that she can improve her skill set and approach to the game. And though âgrateful and excitedâ with her recent results, sheâs not quite where she wants to be. Yet.
âMy dream, and itâs a long shot, is to win a WPBA event,â she said. âIt is so hard with (the likes of) Kelly, Allison and Kristina (Tkach). Itâs great to come out on top with one of these players in a match or event, but to do it consecutively is Hard!!â
âI think I still need to fine-tune some things in my game,â she added, âthings that theyâve already taken care of. For me to beat them consistently, aside from confidence and a strong mentality, I still need to work on a lot of aspects of my game.â
âPocketing the balls and running out, for example, is one big part of the game, but defense, safety play, kick safes, kicking balls in, all of that also is a big part of the game. The (higher-level players) are better in that part of the game. Even if I play a decent safe, their chances of kicking it in or kick-safing it back to me are a little higher in percentage than me.â
Sheâs also looking ahead to some events that will not offer her WPBA opportunities in pursuit of the dream, like an upcoming stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour and continuing to compete on the J. Pechauer Northeast Womenâs Tour, at which she has had considerable success over these past couple of years. Sheâll also continue her dream quest at the WPBAâs Sledgehammer Open, a Helena Thornfeldt Memorial event at Janet Atwellâs room (Borderline Billiards in Bristol, TN; Oct. 19-23), could compete in another of the Predator US Pro Billiard Series event in Puerto Rico (Nov. 15-19) and travel to Rothchild, WI to compete in the Dr. Pool Classic (Dec. 7-11).
She is immensely grateful to her sponsors – Mezz Cues, Sugartree Cues, Raxx Pool Room (West Hempstead, NY), Kurweilâs Country Meats, Three-Second Cases.
âWithout them,â she said, âhonestly, it would have been pretty rough to attend all the events.â
Aloysius Yapp successfully defended his Seybertâs Michigan Open title with a 4-2, 4-1 win over Robbie Capito in the final, and Kelly Fisher won her fourth Pro Billiard Series event with a shootout victory over Wei Tzu Chien in the womenâs final at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
Fisher, previously a Pro Billiard Series winner in Austria, Las Vegas and Germany, came back from losing the first set against Wei to win a high-quality final by shootout and admitted that, given the way she played earlier in the week, she hadnât been expecting to take home the title.
Yapp had defeated Chang Jung-Lin by shootout in his semi-final earlier on Saturday but didnât allow the final to go that far as he took every chance offered to him to earn the trophy for a second successive year.
Capito had reached the final with a 4-0, 4-1 win against Vitaliy Patsura in the semi-finals earlier on Saturday and when Yapp missed a jump to the 1, it was Capito who had the first opening of the match, and he took full advantage to clear for the first rack.
However, a dry break presented Yapp a shot on the 1 and this time it was the Singaporean who took a rack on his opponentâs break.
A break and run took Yapp into the lead for the first time but he broke dry in the fourth. Capito had a clear shot at the 1 but after finding perfect position, missed a simple 3 to the middle. He would get another chance when Yapp left a long effort at the 3 and Capito made a tough shot down table.
At the recent Predator Canada Open, Capito was in the corner as partner Chia Hua Chen took the title, and this time it was roles reversed as âAmberâ was supporting Capito from the bleachers. She watched on as he made it 2-2 but Yapp regained his set lead when Capito overhit a 5, which had only required the feintest of touches to find the middle pocket. Yapp then completed the set, despite breaking dry, after executing a jump shot on the 1.
The Singaporean continued his run into the second set, taking the first rack and then cutting the 4 with plenty of speed to land perfectly on the 5 as he doubled his set advantage to 2-0, and another break and run took him to the hill before Capito could register a rack.
Capito finally got an opening when Yapp left him sight of the 4, but after making the 5, the cue kicked the 7 to the side rail. A glance off the 10 helped Capito line up position for the 7, but he overhit it and the cue ran into the 8. A thin cut made it to the left corner but Capito then needed to jump the 10 in order to make the 9. He executed that shot superbly, and then made a difficult, high-pressure 10 to give himself hope.
However, unable to afford a mistake, Capito came up dry on his break again. Yapp had a clear shot at the 1 but missed a 2/7 combo he called. Yapp didnât have to wait too much longer; a chance to seal the title for a second consecutive year came after Capito played an aggressive bank but left a straight 3.
It was a nervy runout at times from there, but Yapp completed it to earn the $20,000 prize and keep hold of his Seybertâs Michigan Open title.
The final of the womenâs event was a fitting finale to a high-quality event, with Wei and Fisher both in fine form as they battled for the $13,000 title.
After Wei took the first rack of the opening set, a brilliant 8/10 carom had Fisher level. Weiâs lead was reinstated after Fisherâ dry break left an open table, and 2-1 soon became 3-1 after Fisher scratched when making the 6 ball in the fourth rack.
A great bank to make the 4 got Fisher on her way to 3-2 and the Brit, gold medal winner at The World Games this summer, got the better of a safety battle in the sixth rack to tie the set at hill-hill.
Fisher had the advantage of the break but, despite making the wing ball, found herself with the cue tied to the 9. Wei took out a difficult 1 down the rail to earn herself an opening and followed it up with a long 3. The 6 presented another challenge but Wei found no problems in completing the rack to take the set and a big step towards the title.
A high-quality final showed no sign of abating in the second set. Both players won two of the first four racks but when Wei snatched at the 3, it clipped the 8, missed the pocket, and Fisher cleared to lead 3-2.
Breaking for the last time, Kwikfire Fisher took the 1 down and had nice position on the 2. She had work to do in the rack and played the 5 nicely along the top rail to gain position on the 6 and from there completed a controlled clearance to win the set 4-2 and take the final to shootout.
Having won the lag, Wei was first to shoot and found the heart of the pocket from the spot. Fisher did exactly the same but Weiâs second clipped both jaws and returned up table. Fisher seized the advantage with her second shot, piling the pressure on Wei, who missed again with her third.
That meant Fisher needed one successful shot to win the title. However, she then missed for the first time herself. Wei would still have to make her fourth shot and hope Fisher missed again for the shootout to go to sudden death, but it didnât go that far as Wei missed for a third time, crowning Fisher a Pro Billiard Series champion for the fourth time.
âI am a bit in shock,â said Fisher. âI got to the final and that was unexpected of me this week. I never got settled until my last match last night against Angeline Ticoalu, that was the first match where I felt I got flowing, so I had a battle all week just trying to find myself, find my game, let alone expecting to go on and win it.
âOnce I got that gear it carried on today, thankfully. Today, I performed really well against Karen and pretty steady in the final. Wei came up with all different shots, put me under pressure and I held it together through the shootout.
âI am really ecstatic to win and get another title under my belt. These events, the excitement they create, I really like; when we have a shootout and the crowd is crammed around the table. The format is tough on the players but it is the future to put this sport on the map. It has been a great event and I am looking forward to the next one.â
Fisher had beaten Karen Corr 4-1, 4-0 in an impressive semi-final performance, while Wei had reached the final with a shootout win over Allison Fisher. The Duchess of Doom won the first set 4-1, but Wei took the second 4-2 before winning the shootout 2-1 to reach her second final of the month.
The next US Pro Billiard Series event is the Fargorate Ohio Open, October 19-22 in Wilmington, Ohio.
Karen Corr will face Kelly Fisher and Allison Fisher will take on Wei Tzu-Chien in the Seybertâs Michigan Womenâs Open semi-finals, while the open division is down to the last eight with Jayson Shaw, Chang Jung-Lin, Fedor Gorst and defending champion Aloysius Yapp all still standing.
Vitaly Patsura, Joven Bustamante, Robbie Capito and Mika Immonen are also into the quarter-finals at the Kellogg Arena, on what is the fourth stop of the year on the Predator US Pro Billiard Series, presented by CSI.
Both the open and womenâs events will play to a conclusion on Saturday, and the semi-finals on the womenâs side have a very British feel after a trio of decorated Hall of Famers all made it through.
On the TV table, Corr was up against Margaret Fefilova. After the first two racks were shared, Corr took the third and banked the 1 for a 1/7 combo to open up the fourth rack and run the table for a 3-1 lead. Fefilova pulled one back but a scratch on the break brought the Brit back to the table, and the three-time Womenâs World Snooker Champion took advantage of an open table to take the set 4-2.
Corr had stayed on the winnersâ side to qualify for the last 16 and had claimed some big wins on her way to the quarter-finals, including a shootout victory against Canada Open champion âAmberâ Chia Hua Chen.
She began the second set as she ended the first, adding two racks to the board to leave Fefilova needing a quick turnaround. However, a foul during a safety battle allowed Corr to line up the 1/10 with ball in hand to reach the hill 3-0 up.
A dry break afforded Fefilova an opportunity she couldnât afford to let slip. The 25-year-old, who has played so well this week, didnât have a clear path and both players had several visits during the rack before Corr attempted and brilliantly executed an 8/10 combo to the middle to wrap up a 4-2, 4-0 win.
âItâs amazing,â said Corr. âItâs one match at a time and I have been nervous all the way through but in that match I felt comfortable. I felt like I have nothing to lose; I didnât expect a lot of myself coming into this event because I havenât played for four years.â
Corr is certainly no stranger to her semi-final opponent, fellow Hall of Famer Kelly Fisher. The pair have met many times in major pool and snooker events over the last three decades and will face off for a place in the final after Fisher won four matches on Friday.
Starting the day on the losersâ side of the brackets, the three-time Pro Billiard Series champion beat Cristina Schneider 4-1, 4-0 and then knocked out Kristina Tkach 3-1 in a shootout. The Brit was then forced to come from behind to defeat Silviana Lu 3-4, 4-3, 3-1 by shootout but she ended the day with a straight-sets win against Angeline Ticoalu, 4-1, 4-0.
Allison Fisher will face Wei Tzu-Chien in the streamed semi-final after both won quarter-final shootouts. Wei was runner-up in the Predator World Womenâs 10-Ball Championship earlier this month and made the semi-finals with a win against Amalia Matas. Wei took the first set 4-2 but Matas inflicted Weiâs first set defeat of the week by taking the second 4-3, only to lose 3-0 in the shootout after missing her first two spot shots.
Fisher lost the first set of her quarter-final 4-2 to Jasmin Ouschan but a reversal of that scoreline in the second set took the match to a shootout, and the Brit, finalist at last monthâs Canada Open, made all four of her spot shots for a 4-2 shootout success.
âIâm ecstatic to be in the semi-final,â said Fisher. âToday wasnât my best day at the table so I am really, really delighted. I have come through two good shootouts this week and made four in a row tonight; I canât believe it.â
In the open event, Aloysius Yappâs defense of his title continued with a shootout win over John Morra. Yapp took the first set 4-1 but Morra clinched a hill-hill second set after the 2021 champion conceded ball in hand by failing to hit a rail after a safety shot.
Both players were faultless with their first two spot shots, as many in attendance at the Kellogg Arena gathered around the TV table to witness the drama. Yapp made it three out of three before the first mistake was made by Morra, allowing the Singaporean a spot shot for a place in the quarter-finals, which he made to complete a perfect shootout.
Yapp will face Jayson Shaw in the quarter-finals after the Scot defeated Sharik Sayed 4-1, 4-2. A monster semi-final is in store in the bottom half of the draw with Shaw or Yapp to face the winner of the Chang Jung-Lin vs. Fedor Gorst quarter-final. Chang has only lost one set all week while Gorst has won two shootouts to remain undefeated.
Ukraineâs Vitaliy Patsura recently won the biggest tournament check of his career so far at the Texas Open and has carried his form on to Michigan. Like Chang, he has only lost one set this week, against Alex Pagulayan, and will face Jovan Bustamante in the quarter-finals.
Robbie Capito takes on Mika Immonen in the other quarter final after both players won shootouts in the last 16. Immonen was 4-2, 1-4, 4-3 winner over Kang Lee while Capito defeated Wu Kun Lin 3-4, 4-2, 4-3.
Play continues from 10am local time on Saturday, with six more matches to be broadcast live on watchbilliard.tv and the World Billiard TV YouTube channel.
Jayson Shaw, Mika Immonen and defending champion Aloysius Yapp are all through to the last 16 of the Seybertâs Michigan Open, while Jasmin Ouschan, Allison Fisher and Margaret Fefilova are into the single elimination stage of the womenâs event at the fourth 2022 stop on the Predator US Pro Billiard Series presented by CSI.
Fefilova followed her opening-day victory over Kelly Fisher with a 4-0, 4-1 win against Shanelle Loraine to come through the winnersâ side of the draw and into the last 16. Karen Corr rolled back the years to beat Canada Open champion âAmberâ Chia Hua Chen by shootout for her place in the single elimination stage, and Allison Fisher defeated Kristina Tkach, also by shootout.
In the open event, Immonen produced a strong performance to beat Naoyuki Oi 4-0, 4-3 for a place in the single elimination stage. The Finnish Hall of Famer won the lag and ran three racks before a dry break allowed Oi out of his chair. However, a misplayed 1-ball bank left a 1/10 combo for Immonen to win the set.
In a reversal of the first set, Oi took the first three racks of the second. However, Immonen was determined to avoid the shootout and put together a brilliant four-pack to win the set 4-3.
âThat is probably the best I have played in a little while,â said Immonen. âIt was nice to come out of the gates strong and put a three pack on him. He got into the game a little bit in the second set and was 3-0 up. I made a few mistakes but I finally ran out and broke and ran three to close the door to him. When you win the first set, the worst case is you go to shootout, but it was nice to close the door.â
Chang Jung-Lin was taken to a shootout by Sharik Sayed after their first two sets finished 4-1, 2-4. Sayed had sent Carlo Biado to the losersâ side earlier in the day with a 4-3 shootout win, but wasnât as sharp from the spot against Chang, missing his first two as Chang made three in three to advance to the last 16.
Yapp and Shaw both also needed shootouts to advance. Yapp, winner of this event last fall, won 4-1, 1-4, 3-2 against Bader Alawadhi and Shaw was a 4-2, 1-4, 4-3 winner against Pijus Labutis.
Fedor Gorst, Vitaliy Patsura, Robbie Capito and Joven Bustamante complete the eight players who have made it through to the last 16 from the winnersâ side, with three rounds of play on Friday set to determine the other half of the single elimination draw.
Among the big-name players returning on the losersâ side are Alex Pagulayan, who lost in a shootout to Ukraineâs Vitaliy Patsura on Wednesday, John Morra, who was defeated 4-0, 4-1 by Shaw, and Biado after his defeat to Sayed.
Recent World Womenâs 10-Ball Championship runner-up Wei Tzu-Chien is among the players who join Fefilova, Corr, Allison Fisher and Ouschan in reaching the last 16 without defeat.
Play continues from 10am local time on Friday, with six more matches to be broadcast live on watchbilliard.tv and the World Billiard TV YouTube channel.
