Just when it looked as though this would be the year that the duchess of the pool world might finally be dethroned, Allison Fisher closed out the 2006 Classic Tour schedule with back-to-back tournament victories and secured her No. 1 spot well into the New Year.
After struggling (by Duchess of Doom standards) with only one tournament championship win in 2006, Fisher found herself having a cancerous growth removed from under her eye just days before the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in October. Not sure whether she should compete in the event, and with Karen Corr right on her heels in the Player Rankings, Fisher decided to go to Albuquerque for the tournament.
Fisher shutout Caroline Pao 9-0 in her first match, and went on to defeat Helene Caukin, Laura Smith and Wendy Jans before finding herself in a hill-hill battle with Helena Thornfeldt. Fisher would win the match and then defeat Vivian Villarreal in the semifinals.
In the finals, Fisher met Kim Shaw who was having the best tournament of her WPBA career. Shaw took an early 4-1 lead in the match, but Fisher stormed back to tie it at 4-all. Fisher would go on to win the match 7-5. The victory earned her $14,000, while Shaw won $8,600. Villarreal and Monica Webb tied for 3rd Place and each received $5,700.
The Tour made its last stop of the year in Lincoln City, Oregon, for the WPBA Nationals. While the event and venue had changed, nothing had changed in Fisher’s game since Albuquerque.
She opened the tournament against recently crowned WPBA Rookie of the Year Xiaoting Pan, who had been somewhat of a spoiler for Fisher in ’06. A 9-7 win over Pan would set the stage for another outstanding tournament run.
Fisher would lose no more than two games to any of her next four opponents—including good friend Gerda Hofstatter. In the semifinals, it was a “Battle of Fishers” with Kelly Fisher squaring off against the Duchess of Doom for a spot in the finals. The Duchess won the match 7-5 and moved on to meet Ga-Young Kim in the finals. The match went hill-hill before Fisher emerged victorious, going undefeated for her second consecutive tournament.
Fisher took home $14,000 in 1st Place prize money, with Kim receiving $8,600 as the Runner-up. Kelly Fisher and Karen Corr tied for 3rd Place and both won $5,700.
The 2007 Classic Tour season begins in February in Rocky Mount, N.C.
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