Allison Fisher Interview After Winning Her 5th US Open in Tulsa, OK – June, 2011: No Gloom For The Duchess of Doom!
June 30, 2011
Allison Fisher with her 2011 US Open trophy
By NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie
Allison, first let me take this opportunity of congratulating you on your 5th US Open win in Tulsa, Oklahoma last weekend… and I know that I speak for Allison Fisher fans everywhere when I say that the pool world is very excited about your latest title.
I remember back in March ’09 when I interviewed you at the Super Billiards Expo immediately after you had won the women’s pro event (And, I remember that you made me carry the huge trophy to your booth) that you said to me toward the end of the interview that you felt like you had a new lease of life for pool, and that you saw many more wins in your future.
Maybe we shall find out what sparked of this new interest in pool, that has propelled Allison into being one of the elite players in the world some two years later… when we read the answers to the following ten questions!
Geoff Conway: What does it mean to you right now having just won your 5th US Open title? Did you realistically think that you would still be winning such prestigious events after so many years as a pro, and more importantly, did you ever think that you would still have the passion to win after so many years at the top of your profession. What is the secret, other than great talent?
Allison Fisher: Winning this US Open was such a great moment in my career. I haven’t won a WPBA event in a while, so it is nice to come back with one of the majors. I still love to compete, no matter what I have achieved in my career. I believe my best is yet to come. I have been working on my game, and improving various aspects, and so I felt that I just needed to be patient.
GC: Do you have a daily practice regimen, and how do you hone all of the attributes to your game? Please give us your core secrets, so that your fans can beat you at your own game.
AF: Now that would be telling! I have been working with Charlie Williams, and am managed by Dragon Promotions. Charlie has given me various things to work on and I am enjoying the challenges. It is just what I needed.
South Korean Newcomer Erica Park Surprises All at US Open 9-Ball Championship
June 29, 2011
Erica Park
In recent years, Korea has brought the pool world some of it’s brightest stars on the WPBA women’s pro tour, including Ga Young Kim and Yu Ram Cha. However, there was a new face seen in the spotlight of the WPBA’s recent US Open in Tulsa, OK, in the form of 23-year-old Erica Park. Park had an unprecedented performance in her first-ever WPBA event to finish in the semifinals, and we may see much more of her on tour in the future. Read more about Erica Park’s story in the press release by Cindy Lee of Dragon Promotions.
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Tulsa, Oklahoma USA – The Women’s Professional Billiards Association had their biggest tour event of the year with the annual Women’s US Open 9-Ball Championship. Players from all over the world attended this event where only top ranked women pros or qualifiers could play. The field included England’s four-time US Open Champion Allison Fisher, World Champion Xiao Ting Pan of China, Austria’s World Games Gold Medalist Jasmin Ouschan, USA’s top pros Vivian Villarreal and Jeanette Lee, and two-time defending champion of the US Open, Ms. Ga Young Kim of South Korea. But the surprise story of the field was 23-year-old newcomer Erica Park, who had entered her very first US pro tournament here coming from South Korea. Park made US Open history by becoming the first unseeded qualifier winner to reach the televised semi-finals.
Erica Park, who’s given Korean name is Eunji, won a qualifier for the US Open back in April. She recently moved to the United States in February to Orlando, Florida where she is coached by top professional men’s player Charlie Williams. Williams has coached many aspiring players including Korean superstar Yu Ram Cha, whom he coached for 3 years becoming one of the best women players in the world. Williams company Dragon Promotions also manages Park as well as other top pros. Park is also supported and sponsored by Yalin Tables, a top billiards company out of China.
Continue reading “South Korean Newcomer Erica Park Surprises All at US Open 9-Ball Championship” »
NYC Area Players Honor a Legend in The 1st Annual George “Ginky” SanSouci Memorial Tournament: Raj Vannala Takes the Amateur 9-Ball while Mike “Fireball” Dechaine Wins the Open/Pro 10-Ball
June 28, 2011
A painting of Ginky displayed during the 1st Annual Ginky Memorial Tournament (Photo by William Fuentes)
Story by NYC Grind Founder & Creative Director, Jerry Tarantola
The Pool World was changed forever on 3-8-2011.
A NY Legend passed away well before his time… and will forever be remembered.
George “Ginky” Sansouci rose the ranks as a pro pool player in the 90′s to eventually be known as one of the most dominant players to ever played the game. “Ginky” (or “The Ginkster” as he was known to many of his friends) had an impeccable cue ball and relentless competitive nature on the table.
Off the table, Ginky had a lighthearted demeanor and approachable nature, which helped make him one of the most inspiring and influential players in pool. This event was a great way to help keep his memory and impact alive in the hearts and minds of the NY billiards community, and beyond.
http://www.vimeo.com/21177413Ginky was a dominant player on all three tours based in the tri-state area; The Predator Tour, The Mezz Tour, and The Tri-State Tour. In a moving and creative action, the three tours teamed up to best honor the late legend, George “Ginky” Sansouci. Each player received 25 points for each tour, just for playing in the event.
George Sansouci passed away just two days before the Super Billiards Expo event in Valley Forge, PA last March, and the outpouring of support from both amateurs and pros, as well as vendors, helped us all truly reflect on the loss that the pool world had experienced.
The 1st Annual George “Ginky” Memorial Tournament at Amsterdam Billiards would have made Ginky proud. His family, including his sister Irene, stayed in support for the entire event. Ginky’s family, along with other spectators, were treated by top amateur and pro play for two days, as players all wore Ginky Memorial stickers given out by the tournament staff.
One of Ginky's close friends, Gregg McAndrews, and other players show support. (Photo by William Fuentes)
Shane Van Boening Wins Cliffhanger Over Wu Jiaqing and Moves Into The Last 64 At The World 9-Ball Championship in Doha, Qatar
June 28, 2011
Shane Van Boening in Doha, Qatar (Photo by Ted Lerner)
The WPA Men’s World 9-Ball Championships has completed its third day of competition in Doha, Qatar, where Shane Van Boening has been leading the charge as one of only two American players in this prestigious event, along with Hunter Lombardo. Van Boening went undefeated in the preliminary rounds to move into the Final 64 single-elimination bracket. Meanwhile, Lombardo lost his first match in the preliminary rounds, but made a comeback to win the following two matches and also move into the group of the final 64 players. Read on for the breakdown from Ted Lerner for the update on the World 9-Ball Championships.
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(Doha, Qatar) — Shane Van Boening will be the first to admit that he hasn’t performed up to his self-imposed high expectations when he plays overseas. The American star, who continually travels the globe to play tournaments, has only won twice outside of his native USA. To Van Boening, though, those two victories were small events close to home; a 10-ball tournament in Aruba and another small event in Nicaragua. The American has much higher aspirations. He wants to win the world championship overseas.
Tonight on the center table at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar, Van Boening took a big step towards achieving his dream when he narrowly defeated former double world champion Wu Chia Ching(now known as Wu Jiaqing) in a 9-8 cliffhanger. With the victory the American qualified for the business end of the 2011 World 9-ball Championship, the single elimination knockout round of 64 which begins on Wednesday.
Van Boening, however, nearly found himself on the ropes and in the losers bracket. He was up 7-3 in the race to 9, alternate break contest. But Wu fought back to close to 7-6. Van Boening pushed the score line to 8-6, before Wu rallied to tie. Wu broke in the final rack and potted a ball, but uncharacteristically played a bad safety on the 1, which left the American a clear shot. In his trademark nonchalant style, Van Boening picked off the remaining colors for the big win.
While the South Dakota native craves a big win overseas, he isn’t just trying to win the world championship for himself either. In what has to be one of the biggest ironies seen in the sport of pool in sometime, only two Americans have bothered to travel to Qatar and enter the world championship of the American game of pool. And the other American player beside Van Boening, Hunter Lombardo, is making his first ever appearance on the big stage. Continue reading “Shane Van Boening Wins Cliffhanger Over Wu Jiaqing and Moves Into The Last 64 At The World 9-Ball Championship in Doha, Qatar” »
Accu-Stats Introduces Its New Live Stream Challenge Match Series Featuring The Arena Rules Format with the Kickoff Match Between Jeremy Sossei & Victor Nau
June 27, 2011
Jeremy Sossei was victorious in the opening event in the Accu-Stats Challenge Match series (Photo by Daniel Dagotdot)
By NYC Grind Contributor, Geoff Conway “Pool Junkie”
Accu-Stats, in conjunction with London Bridge Promotions, put on a live-streamed Accu-Stats Challenge Match on the evening of Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 8:30 pm at the Simonis Arena in Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ
The match featured pro player Jeremy Sossei from Connecticut, a regular winner on the Joss Tour, Mezz Tour, and Predator Tour, and presently ranked 15th in the USA, versus veteran NYC player Victor Nau, in what would be a very interesting match that used the much-talked-about Arena Rules created by Pat Fleming of Accu-Stats.
The match was a race to thirteen, with the winner breaking. However, to make the match more exciting for the viewer, the match would become hill-hill at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, and of course, at 12-12 also.
To briefly explain the Arena Rules, suffice to say that they are used solely to ensure that both players are guaranteed to shoot in every game, due to the “push out” rule implemented after the break. If you make a ball on the break you can either elect to push out or force your opponent to push out. If no ball is made on the break, the incoming player can either push or force his opponent to push. When beginning your turn at the table, you must take the shot on if you can see any part of the ball. If a player gets hooked by his opponent, he may push out.
This avoids run outs from the break, which ensures that the viewer gets to see both players shooting at the table. The winner will invariably be decided by clever push outs and safety play, with the player deciding when to take on a difficult shot to start his/her run out.
Richard Ng Takes Charge in The Tri-State at Sandcastle
June 24, 2011
Pat DiBuono (2nd), Richard Ng (1st), Paul Spaanstra (3rd)
On Saturday, June 17, Richard Ng proved himself to be one of the players to beat at the Tri-State Tour’s B/C/D stop at Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ.
Rich, a player based out of Sandcastle, played confidently at his home room all day and into the night against the field of 44 total players. Regardless of the score, Richard fired in one shot after the other, no matter if it was do or die.
His trail to victory in this event included wins over Dave Ascolese 7-3, Rajesh Vannala 7-6, Gary Murgia 7-3, Ben Castaneros 7- 6, and Christian Smith 7-4, before losing the hot seat match to Pat DiBuono 7-4.
On the one-loss side, Richard squeaked by Paul Spaanstra in the semifinal at 7-6 for chance to redeem himself against Pat DiBuono in the finals.
Rich led that final match until Pat tied it at 5-5 and took the lead at 6-5. Coming from the one-loss side in the final, Rich had to reach seven games before Pat in order to extend the match for a chance to win, should he reach nine games. On the other hand, Pat could reach either seven first, or nine games to win.
Continue reading “Richard Ng Takes Charge in The Tri-State at Sandcastle” »
Free Live Stream on Accu-Stats Tonight: Jeremy Sossei vs Victor Nau
June 23, 2011
Jeremy Sossei (Photo by Charles Eames)
Tonight, Thursday, June 23, two of the New York area’s top competitors will be going head to head, live on Accu-Stats.com in the Simonis Arena at Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Connecticut-based Jeremy Sossei, one of the Northeast’s leading young pro players on the Joss Tour, Mezz Tour, and Predator Tour, will be taking on veteran NYC player Victor Nau.
While Victor was born in the Dominican Republic, he came to New York as a child, and originally took up pool as a teenager. After being drafted into the army, Victor picked up pool again, and now that he is retired from driving bus for 30 years, he has been able to dedicate more time to his game.
Victor Nau has been playing in the Tri-State’s regional tours for many years, and while he is a strong competitor, he also has a lighthearted approach to pool. Both Victor and Jeremy will also be playing in the upcoming George “Ginky” SanSouci Memorial Tournament at Amsterdam Billiards.
Victor Nau playing on the Predator Tour at Raxx (Photo by Alison M. Fischer)
This 10-ball Challenge Match (which will use the fast-paced Arena Rules) will get underway at 8:30pm EST, and will be streamed live for free on Accu-Stats.com.
Continue reading “Free Live Stream on Accu-Stats Tonight: Jeremy Sossei vs Victor Nau” »
Billiards Instruction: CueTips #70 – The Drag Shot and Other Safeties
June 23, 2011
CueTips #70
By NYC Grind Contributor, Mark Finkelstein
After watching a lot of 10-ball and 9-ball over the last few days, I more and more see how strong safety play really distinguishes the great player from the good player. The great player manages to get the cue ball hooked behind a ball, where as the average player has the cue ball leak out just a little, giving one’s opponent a chance for a hit. It is this fine control of the cue ball that makes the difference.
The question is: “How do we move the cue ball a little as possible, yet hit the object ball with enough force to push it where we want it to go?”
What are the secrets that we need to know to master these skills?
Take a look at this situation…
Continue reading “Billiards Instruction: CueTips #70 – The Drag Shot and Other Safeties” »
Amsterdam Billiards Features Renowned Trick Shot Artist Mike Massey Tonight while The 1st Annual George “Ginky” SanSouci Memorial Will Be Held This Weekend
June 21, 2011
Mike Massey
Tonight at 8pm, world-renowned trick shot artist Mike Massey, known as one of the most amazing entertainers in the history of billiards, will be appearing at Amsterdam Billiards to give a free exhibition.
Also known by his nickname “Tennessee Tarzan,” Mike Massey has won numerous World Artistic Pool Championship titles, as well as ESPN Trick Shot Magic titles, and in 2005, Mike was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. Mike Massey is sure to put on a tremendous show that is not to be missed.
Amsterdam Billiards also has another big event on the horizon this weekend, June 25-26, as they host the 1st Annual George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial Tournament.
The 1st Annual George Sansouci Memorial
In a joint effort to remember and celebrate the life and game of one of New York’s most legendary players, The Predator Tour, The Mezz Tour, and The Tri-State Tour are coming together to produce this memorial event.
With fields limited to 48 A/B level players and 48 C/D level players, both brackets are currently filled. However, there are still a few spots available in the Open/Pro division, which will feature virtually every major name in the area.
The current list of registered players, which totals 120, is listed on the Predator Tour website – www.predatorproamtour.com
Read on in the announcement from Tony Robles of the Predator Tour for more information…
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Legendary Allison Fisher Wins Her 5th WPBA US Open Title in Tulsa, OK
June 20, 2011
2011 WPBA US Open Champion Allison Fisher
The 2011 WPBA US Open was held on June 16-19 at the River Wind Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Elite female players from around the world took to battle for this prestigious title, while fans were treated to world-class competition. Read on for Geoff Conway’s story on the finals of this event, and check out the complete brackets on the WPBA’s website here: http://www.wpba.com/images/stories/brackets/2011usopen.pdf
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Multiple-time World Champion and Hall of Famer Allison Fisher fought her way through to the final of the WPBA US Open in an attempt to win her 5th US Open Title this weekend, to play reigning champion and two-time US Open winner Ga-Young Kim.
Does the old gal still have it, I am sure some were thinking. Are you kidding me, this is the “Energizer Bunny” we are talking about here. Allison just keeps on going and going and going! She is a legend in her own lifetime, and after a close match at the start she ended up the clear winner at 7-4 to grab her fifth US Open title.
However, her opponent Ga-Young Kim, was certainly a formidable one. While few women on tour are forerunners for this title, the 2011 Amway Cup Champion was among those favorites in this event.
In the first rack of this final match, Allison broke after winning the lag, but the game eventually went to Kim. However, Allison pounced on a missed jump shot by Ga-Young, and soon took the next two games to put the score at 3-1.
Kim then capitalized on a rare mistake by Allison and ran out rack five to get a little closer at 3-2. In the next game, Ga-Young missed a bank and brought Allison to the table for what looked like an easy run out. Oops, “The Duchess of Doom” made a rare forced error and left the nine ball in the pocket. Score now tied at 3-3.
Kim took the next game making a combo on the 6-9, to take the lead at 4-3. In the next rack, Ga-Young only got to the three ball and scratched, handing the eighth rack to Allison, to allow her to tie the score again at 4-4.
Continue reading “Legendary Allison Fisher Wins Her 5th WPBA US Open Title in Tulsa, OK” »
