Fisher, Allison

▪ 2005

      Continuing to rack up impressive victories on the Women's Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) tour in 2004 was England's Allison Fisher. The woman known as the “Duchess of Doom” for her deadly consistent shot making and no-nonsense style of play won a high-profile showdown with her fiercest rivals in November. In the single-elimination Ladies Challenge of Champions, held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., Fisher met Karen Corr of Northern Ireland in the semifinals. Despite having traded the WPBA's number one ranking with Corr during the past several years, Fisher seemed to have little trouble earning a win in straight sets. In the finals she then met American Jeannette Lee, who had defeated Fisher to clinch the 2003 Challenge. This time Fisher took advantage of some early mistakes by Lee and never looked back, coasting to another straight-sets victory and the winner-take-all purse of $25,000. Her performance at the Challenge of Champions followed a string of first-place showings at other WPBA events during the year, including the Delta Classic in Robinsonville, Miss., in February; the San Diego (Calif.) Classic in March; and the Midwest Classic in East Peoria, Ill., in June. By the end of 2004, Fisher had amassed a record 48 WPBA tour titles and regained the number one position. She was also the all-time leading purse winner on the tour and owned the record for consecutive tournament wins (eight in 1996–97). These achievements led many observers of cue sports to deem Fisher the best female pocket billiards player in history.

      Fisher was born on Feb. 24, 1968, in Cheshunt, Eng., near London. At the age of seven, she developed an interest in snooker after she saw the billiards game played on television. By her early teens she had joined a league and begun practicing under the guidance of coach Frank Callan. She won a national title at age 15 and in 1985 won the first of her seven individual world professional snooker championships.

      Relocating to the U.S. in 1995, Fisher joined the WPBA tour and quickly became one of its marquee attractions. She placed ninth in her first tournament but won two of the next three, and by the following year she was virtually unstoppable. From September 1996 to June 2001, Fisher held the first-place spot in the WPBA's player rankings—an unprecedented stay at the top—and she was named Billiard's Digest and Billiards Magazine's Player of the Year five consecutive times during that span.

      Although Corr overtook Fisher in the WPBA rankings in 2001, Fisher bounced back with strong 2002 and 2003 seasons to reclaim the number one position. Aside from her demanding tournament schedule, Fisher made many exhibition appearances and also kept busy as a pool instructor at the school she cofounded, Allison's World Champion Academy, in Charlotte, N.C.

Sherman Hollar

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