The last time that Chieh-Yu Chou and Allison Fisher met in the championship of a professional tournament, the reigning world champion in both 9 and 10-ball white-washed her opponent in the finals of the World 9-Ball Championships in January at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City.
Squaring off today in a rematch Sunday evening in the finals of the Apex Wisconsin Open, Fisher gave Chou everything she could handle and then some before ultimately falling in three sets at Ho Chunk Gaming in the Wisconsin Dells, 2-4, 4-2, 4-1. The victory in the 58-player event was Chou’s first in a Pro Billiard Series, having previously placed third at last year’s World Team Championships and Puerto Rico Open.
The players traded the opening two racks of the first set, then Chou took the lead after Fisher failed to get a ball to fall on the break in the third game. The reigning World 10-Ball champion appeared to be in position to convert a missed 3 ball by her opponent into another winning rack but missed the 9 ball in the corner pocket, allowing the Hall of Famer to tie the score again. Fisher then used a combination shot on the 10 ball in the fifth rack to take the lead and a safety on the 1 ball after the break in the following rack to secure the first set, 4-2.
©Pro Billiard Series
After Chou successfully landed a combination on the 6 and 8 balls in the opening rack of the second set, she appeared to be on her way to taking an early lead – until she missed a makable 7 ball in the corner pocket and allowed Fisher to get on the board first. The 35-year-old from Chinese Taipei then used successful safeties in the next two games to take a 2-1 advantage and capitalized on a missed 2 ball by her opponent to climb onto the hill. With the 6 and 8 balls tied up in the following game, Chou attempted to play a safety but instead left a wide-open shot for Fisher, who cleared the table to cut the deficit to 3-2. Standing at the table with the break and a chance to tie, Fisher scratched and Chou ran the rack to take the second set and tie the match.
Chou opened the final set by forcing Fisher into a foul then used ball-in-hand to clear the table. Hall of Famer responded by executing a safety that resulted in a scratch by her opponent in the following game. Rather than attempt to run out, Fisher elected to attempt another safety in the hopes of forcing another foul but Chou was instead able to get out and increase her lead. Now trailing 2-0, Fisher cut the lead when her opponent broke dry and left an open table but back-to-back misplayed safeties in consecutive games down the stretch allowed her opponent to close out the match and win the championship.
Kristina Zlateva｜©Pro Billiard Series
Chou reached the finals by defeating Bulgaria’s Kristina Zlateva in the semifinals, with the two players splitting the first four racks of the opening set. Chou broke the tie with a break-and-run and reigning world champion was in position in the following game to claim the set but misplayed position on the 5 ball and fouled. Zlateva used the opening to tie the match and she had a chance to steal the set in the next game but her cue ball was kicked into the corner pocket on the break. After receiving ball-in-hand, Chou missed a 3 ball but was able to maintain the table through a safety and won the opening round, 4-3.
Chou took a 2-0 lead in the second set through a handful of successful safeties. Zlateva had a chance to get on the board in the third rack after winning a safety exchange on the 2 ball but missed the 5 ball. Chou was able to claim the rack through a safety exchange then sealed the victory and a trip to the finals after Zlateva missed the 4 ball in the fourth game.
“The Crystal” Kristina Tkach｜©Pro Billiard Series
The second semifinal pitted Fisher against Russia’s Kristina Tkach, who got on the board first after forcing a Fisher foul. She added to the lead when her opponent left a wide open 1 ball after a safety but Fisher cut her deficit in half when used a long cut shot on the 7 ball after a safety to propel her to a run out. Tkach pushed the lead back to two racks when she forced her opponent into committing three fouls then closed out the set when Fisher scratched while pocketing the 9 ball in the fifth rack.
Tkach got on the board first in the second set but a missed the 8 ball in the next game, which allowed the Hall of Famer to tie the score. Fisher took the lead with a safety on the 8 ball in the next rack, then scratched on the break in the next game to allow Tkach to tie the score. After the Russian failed to land a ball on the break in the fifth game, Fisher had a chance to regain the lead but came up short on position on the 6 ball. After it appeared Tkach had won the rack on a safety, she forfeited the table when she scratched while trying to pocket the game-winner. Tkach again tied the score when she won a safety battle on the 1 ball and appeared to be in position to close out the match in the next game after winning a safety exchange on the 2 ball but again scratched into the side pocket while trying to secure position on the 10 ball, handing fisher ball-in-hand and a 4-3 second set win.
©Pro Billiard Series
Fisher used solid safeties to win back-to-back games to open the deciding set and had a chance to increase her lead even further but missed the 10 ball in the third rack. The Russian had a chance to tie the score when her opponent missed a bank attempt on the 3 ball and left an open table but she missed the 7 ball in the corner pocket, instead handing Fisher a 3-1 lead. The Hall of Famer had another opportunity to close out the match after another safety exchange in the fifth game, but jumped the cue ball off of the table and gave her opponent an open run out which cut the lead to 3-2. After Tkach missed the 7 ball in the following rack, Fisher took a scenic and stressful route to victory, successfully executing a table-length bank shot on the 9 ball while nearly scratching in the side pocket in the process.
“That was the most unbelievable match that I think I’ve ever been in,” said Fisher. “Kristina started out like a train and had me under all sorts of pressure. I really wasn’t in it and she had a couple of funny shots and it gave me new life. It was the most weird match.”
The Apex Wisconsin Open was the second tournament of the season for this year’s Predator Pro Billiards Series schedule. The Pro Billiard Series is a series of open, professional events held around the world to provide more opportunities for professional and aspiring pool players to compete in high-quality events, earn more income, sharpen their skills, and earn their way into the Predator World 10-Ball Championship held in Las Vegas each year as part of the CueSports International Expo.
©Pro Billiard Series
隨著女子組在今晨的冠軍出爐之後，2023 美洲豹美國職撞系列賽第二站威斯康辛公開賽也正式在 Ho-Chunk 賭場酒店順利落幕。最終58名女子選手在經過四天比賽的爭奪之後，”大眼妹” 周婕妤 擊敗在台擁有高人氣的 “毀滅女公爵” Allison Fisher 奪得冠軍。
周婕妤 (HOW Tip) 在半決賽中迎戰保加利亞選手 Kristina Zlateva (Mezz) 並以直落二淘汰對手拿下首張決賽門票；她的對手 Allison Fisher (Mezz) 則以 2-1 擊敗俄羅斯好手 “The Crystal” Kristina Tkach (Predator) 晉級威斯康辛女子公開賽冠軍戰。
周婕妤與 Allison Fisher 今年初在美國大西洋城所舉辦的世界女子9號球錦標賽的決賽中交手，當時周婕妤以零封之姿完美奪下世界女子9號球冠軍，並成為繼柳信美與林沅君後，第三位在女子9號球世錦賽奪冠的選手。
©Pro Billiard Series
開賽後首盤 Fisher 與周婕妤在局中幾番的安全球來回，周婕妤利用 Fisher 解 4號球後留下機會，順利解決台面上球型拿下首局。第二局周婕妤 1-3組合球未能入袋，Fisher 把握機會扳平比分。第五局 Fisher 靠著打7號借10號號，以及第六局成功的 1號球安全球連下兩局，以 4-2 舉得首盤。
周婕妤在第二盤開始後，以 6-8 組合球拿下首局，緊接著再靠著成功的安全球與對手失誤很快地取得 3-1 領先。第五局周婕妤 6號球安全球給對手留下繼續進攻機會，讓 Fisher 追回一局。Fisher 在接下來第六局衝球後母球落入底袋，再加上隨後 6號球安全球留下的機會，周婕妤 4-2 扳回一盤。
雙方 1-1 平手進入第三盤，周婕妤 2號球防守成功迫使 Fisher 解球犯規，取得自由球並順勢拿下第一局。緊接著周婕妤在解到 3號球後母球洗袋，獲得自由球的 Fisher 希望再次以安全球迫使對手犯規，然而並未有所成效，反倒是讓周婕妤再下一局，2-0 拉開差距。Fisher 隨後雖拉回一局。然而，連續的安全球失誤讓 Fisher 最後斷送的比賽，終場周婕妤 4-1 拿下第三盤，並以 2-1 比分擊敗名人堂球員 Allison Fisher，拿下個人在 “美洲豹” 職撞系列賽的首座冠軍並收穫 17,000美元獎金。