Carolina Billiards Tour / Monroe, NC
by Lea Andrews
Despite a brief setback which came courtesy of Kelly “Kwikfire” Fisher, “The Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher came back in the finals to earn her revenge and become the first winner on the Carolina Billiards Tour, a WPBA-sanctioned regional tour founded by Kristi Carter and WPBA player Kim Shaw. Held on August 8-9, the $1,900-added event, which was a qualifier for the WPBA Colorado Classic, drew 28 players from as far as Canada to Burrkats Billiards and Grill in Monroe, NC.
Though she was challenged early by fellow pro Gerda Hofstatter, A. Fisher moved otherwise easily into the winners’ side final four, where she knocked aside Dana Aft 9-2 to advance to the hot seat match against K. Fisher, who’d just won 9-1 over Lara Rossignol. The two Fishers had met twice in back-to-back matches at the WPBA U.S. Open, with A. Fisher coming out on top both times, but K. Fisher had something different in store this time around, allowing her opponent to get to the hill but no further.
On the one-loss side, tournament director Shaw got past Veronique Menard 9-3 to meet up with Hofstatter, who’d just shut out Cheryl Pritchard. Meanwhile, Katie Cowan edged out Buffy Jolie 7-5 to meet Val Finnie, who was coming off a strong 7-2 win over Holly Sholes. Both Shaw and Cowan got their last match scores reversed on them, as they dropped into seventh 9-3 and 7-5, respectively. Hofstatter continued her top-heavy trend by ousting Aft 9-3, while Finnie did the same to Rossignol 7-3, leaving the question of the qualifier spot, which would go to the highest-finishing amateur, still unanswered. The resolution came in the form of a single race between Aft and Rossignol, with Aft claiming her spot with a hill-hill victory.
Still on a hot streak, Hofstatter blew past Finnie 9-2 in the quarterfinals to meet up with Fisher in the semifinals, but “The Duchess of Doom” brought her A-game, refusing to allow Hofstatter to notch up even a single rack.
It was time, then, for the Fishers to meet yet again, this time with first place on the line. In true world-class style, A. Fisher put the heat on “Kwikfire,” earning the win by holding her to 6 games in the race to 9. But both ladies were treated to a little added bonus in the form of a $500 anonymous tournament pot donation, which was split 60/40 between first and second places.
Despite a brief setback which came courtesy of Kelly "Kwikfire" Fisher, Allison “The Duchess of Doom” Fisher came back in the finals to earn her revenge and become the first winner on the Carolina Billiards Tour.
Results:
1st Allison Fisher $705 + $300 donation
2nd Kelly Fisher $485 + $200 donation
3rd Gerda Hofstatter $390
4th Val Finnie $265
5th Dana Aft $170 + qualifier spot
Lara Rossignol $170
7th Kim Shaw $120
Katie Cowan