Allison Fisher Scores in San Diego
WPBA San Diego Classic / Alpine, CA
by InsidePOOL Staff
Allison “The Duchess of Doom” Fisher has triumphed at the Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) San Diego Classic, winning 7-4 over Austria’s Gerda Hofstatter in the finals to cap off a four-day run of excellent play. This event was hosted by the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA, and began Thursday, April 9.
Having come through undefeated to the semis by virtue of wins over daunting opponents such as Jennifer Barretta, Vivian Villareal, and Helena Thornfeldt, Fisher was primed for her semifinal match against Karen “The Irish Invader” Corr. In the shortened race to 7, Corr was the one to take an early two-rack lead, which she kept until the fifth game when she missed a 4-9 combo. Gaining momentum with every ball she sank, Fisher climbed back until the score stood at 4 apiece. She then took the next two games as well to reach the hill. Fisher, however, missed a key 5-9 combo in the next rack for the win, and Corr fought back to make it a double-hill nail-biter. The last rack was a real killer: Fisher broke and ran out to the 5 ball but locked her cue ball up on the 6. She tried to play safe, and Corr reversed it on her, playing the 6 and the cue to opposite end rails. Fisher went for the uncompromising shot and attempted the long bank but missed; however, Corr was unable to capitalize, missing a straightforward shot on the 8 ball in order to get position on the 9 ball, and Fisher finished the match off with a 7-6 win.
In the second semifinal match, Hofstatter and former Player of the Year Ga Young Kim matched up for the right to meet Fisher in the finals. Kim took command from early on, but her aggressive play caused some unexpected errors that Hofstatter benefited from to make the score 6-4 Kim. Two more key missed by Kim brought the score to hill-hill with Kim breaking in the final rack. She made the 1 ball on her last break but opted to play a bank on the 3 ball, having missed position off the 2. Kim missed, and Hofstatter calmly picked her way through the final six balls for a 7-6 victory.
Having made their way to the ESPN-televised final match, Fisher and Hofstatter squared off to fight for first place. It was a great match, but in the end, Fisher walked away the 7-4 winner, taking home yet another first-place trophy to add to her collection.
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