OK, now that I've come down to earth, I've had a greater chance to reflect on the last two WPBA events I attended, and the more I think about them, the more excited I get.
At San Diego, the four who made the TV round were Monica Webb, Ga Young Kim, Jeanette Lee and Gerda Hofstatter. On Sunday at San Diego, Monica Webb produced some of the best pool we've seen in years to capture the title. So those were the four to beat in Michigan City, right? Wrong! At Michigan City, four different players reached the TV round, as Karen Corr, Xiaoting Pan, Kelly Fisher and Jasmin Ouschan were Sunday's participants. Again, a WPBA Sunday produced a brilliant and memorable performance, with Jasmin Ouschan the one dishing out the punishment on the occasion.
..... and it all got me thinking. On AZB, when it comes to the history of women's pro pool, I'm usually the one with the answers, but on this occasion I must ask the question: When was the last time that back-to-back WPBA tournaments produced eight different semifinalists? My guess is that it hadn't happened in this entire decade until last Sunday, but I don't really know for sure.
Of course, more to the point is the implications of such an occurrence. These results serve testament to the unbelievable depth of the WPBA tour and how special a TV round appearance has become. Indeed, the quarterfinal round on Saturday has become a clash of titans, as it did in Michigan City (Allison Fisher vs Kelly Fisher, Jasmin Ouschan vs Ga Young Kim, Karen Corr vs Yu Ram Cha and Xiaoting Pan vs Vivan Villareal). To be honest, the quarterfinal round of a WPBA event now has the feel of a TV round, with a comparable quality of play.
If you get the chance, go and watch a WPBA event. You won't believe your eyes, for the quality of competition has never been as good as this in the eyes of this WPBA fan of many, many years.
I can't wait for the WPBA US Open in late July! Hope to see you there.
At San Diego, the four who made the TV round were Monica Webb, Ga Young Kim, Jeanette Lee and Gerda Hofstatter. On Sunday at San Diego, Monica Webb produced some of the best pool we've seen in years to capture the title. So those were the four to beat in Michigan City, right? Wrong! At Michigan City, four different players reached the TV round, as Karen Corr, Xiaoting Pan, Kelly Fisher and Jasmin Ouschan were Sunday's participants. Again, a WPBA Sunday produced a brilliant and memorable performance, with Jasmin Ouschan the one dishing out the punishment on the occasion.
..... and it all got me thinking. On AZB, when it comes to the history of women's pro pool, I'm usually the one with the answers, but on this occasion I must ask the question: When was the last time that back-to-back WPBA tournaments produced eight different semifinalists? My guess is that it hadn't happened in this entire decade until last Sunday, but I don't really know for sure.
Of course, more to the point is the implications of such an occurrence. These results serve testament to the unbelievable depth of the WPBA tour and how special a TV round appearance has become. Indeed, the quarterfinal round on Saturday has become a clash of titans, as it did in Michigan City (Allison Fisher vs Kelly Fisher, Jasmin Ouschan vs Ga Young Kim, Karen Corr vs Yu Ram Cha and Xiaoting Pan vs Vivan Villareal). To be honest, the quarterfinal round of a WPBA event now has the feel of a TV round, with a comparable quality of play.
If you get the chance, go and watch a WPBA event. You won't believe your eyes, for the quality of competition has never been as good as this in the eyes of this WPBA fan of many, many years.
I can't wait for the WPBA US Open in late July! Hope to see you there.
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Anne from the WPBA Office! As a matter of fact, we do have past tournament chart archives located on the website - go to the homepage then click the "WPBA Tour" tab, scroll down and voila! There it is!