Final Four Left at Pacific Coast Classic

Final Four Left at Pacific Coast Classic
WPBA Pacific Coast Classic / Lincoln City, OR

by InsidePOOL Staff

The semifinal matches are set for the WPBA Pacific Coast Classic, held this weekend at the Chinook Winds Resort Casino in Lincoln City, OR. The first match will feature Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan against veteran player Allison Fisher, while the second will see Karen Corr face Xiaoting Pan.

In the final round of 16, Ouschan eked out a hill-hill nail-biter over Kim Shaw 9-8 to advance to the quarterfinals to play Line Kjorsvik of Norway. Kjorsvik had just sent Dawn Hopkins home 9-7. Both players were undefeated to that point. Ouschan quickly took a 2-0 lead, but Kjorsvik countered, tying the score at 2 apiece. From there the players traded racks until the score reached 4-all. Kjorsvik scratched off a jump shot in the next, giving Ouschan ball in hand and the game. Ouschan returned the favor in the following rack by giving Kjorsvik ball in hand after hooking herself and fouling, but Kjorsvik missed position on the 9 ball and ended up giving that game to Ouschan as well. In the final rack, both players had innings at the table, but when Kjorsvik missed a cross-bank on the 7 ball, Ouschan managed to pocket the remaining balls and advance to the semifinals.

In less than five minutes, the score between Allison Fisher and Ga Young Kim was at 2 each, as the ladies played speedily and efficiently. Excellent safety play peppered the next few racks, with the two trading games to bring the score to 4-all. Kim took the lead briefly after Fisher snookered herself behind the 5 ball, but Fisher came back to tie the score yet again in the next and then took the hill when Kim gave her ball in hand. Kim almost made the 9 ball on her next break but played safe behind a cluster of balls. Fisher jumped for the 1 and pocketed it in the side pocket, and from there she was able to clear the table to win the match 7-5.

Corr, who has not won a WPBA title in a couple of years, went after her quarterfinal opponent, Jennifer Chen, with a vengeance. An empty break and then a missed cut on the 5 ball by Chen put Corr up 2-0 from the beginning, and she continued to surge ahead, as a failed safety by Chen gave her ball in hand and another game. A spectator’s camera flash sharked Chen in the next rack, and Corr scooped up that one as well, making it 4-0 in the shortened race to 7. Chen made a spectacular jump shot on the 7 but rattled the 8 ball in the next, and then she missed a one-rail kick shot on the 7-9 combo, allowing Corr to reach the hill with Chen still at zero. Chen played safe after her last break, but Corr scratched on the 1 ball. However, while Chen was busily running out, her 7 ball drifted off and rattled in the pocket, and Corr easily pocketed the remaining balls to win by a stunning 7-0.

View the WPBA Pacific Coast Double Elimination tournament brackets

View the WPBA Pacific Coast Single Elimination tournament brackets

The last quarterfinal match saw Gerda Hofstatter start strong with a 3-0 lead over Xiaoting Pan, but a safety battle in which Hofstatter blinked first saw Pan get on the board 3-1. They traded the next two racks, and then Hofstatter got one rack closer to the finish when Pan missed a bank into the side pocket, making the score 5-2 Hofstatter. Both players exchanged several innings at the table in the following game, but when Pan missed the 3 ball, Hofstatter buckled down and cleared the table to reach the hill.

That was when Pan made her move. She won the next three racks in a row to draw within a game of the Austrian veteran player and then broke and ran the next to take the hill. A safety exchange saw Hofstatter scratch off the back rail out of massé, and Pan was given ball in hand and an easy layout for the 7-6 victory.

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