Now that Jasmin Ouschan's memorable victory at the BCA "Enjoypool.com" Open is in the books, it is time to consider it in the historical perspective of women's pro pool....
...the two most memorable wins by a very young player in recent times are Ga Young Kim (22 years old) at the 2004 US Open and Jasmin Ouschan (20 years old) at the 2006 BCA Open. Which rates the more impressive?
Actually, this is no contest. In winning the 2004 US Open, the victim's list of Ga Young Kim was Hurst, Crimi, Lee, Little, Herndon and Corr. But the victims list for Ouschan at the 2006 BCA Open included these players:
Ga Young Kim - 2 time world champion, US Open champion, #4 ranked
Karen Corr - #2 ranked player, 3 time BCA Open champion
Kelly Fisher - winner of previous WPBA event, ranked #3
Gerda Hofstatter - 1995 world champion, former #2 ranked player
Shin Mei Liu - Multiple winner of both World Chammpionship and Amway Cup
Helena Thornfeldt - Former US Open champion and former #3 ranked player
Allison Fisher - #1 in the world
This accomplishment is without equal in the thirty one years that I have followed women's pro pool. The last time a young player pulled off something like this, in my opinion, was when Jean Balukas beat then-dominant Dorothy Wise in the final of the (1972?) US Open Straight Pool Championship.
Jasmin won in her third ever WPBA event. Allison Fisher, of course, won in her second ever WPBA event. It will be exciting to watch the continued emergence of Ouschan.