2009 WPBA U.S. Open

After winning the Gold medal at the World Games my confidence was at a high. The U.S. Open was at the Riverwind Casino in Oklahoma. I really like this venue.  It is great for spectators, as well as for poker players, and the staff treats all of the players really well.

I was pleased overall with my performances. I had great focus and solid match wins over top players. I played the no. 1 seed and reigning U.S. Open Champion, Kelly Fisher in third round, only to have the misfortune of her drawing my name to play again in the single-elimination final 16 round.  The second was intense for both players and I was glad to get over the winning line against a great opponent.  

During the TV rounds, I played near perfect pool in the second half of my quarter-final match against Xiao-Ting Pan after being down in the first half.  But struggled the second half of my semi-final match against Karen Corr.  She broke and ran three of her last racks and I wasn’t able to capitalize on my break.

Ga-Young Kim defeated Karen Corr 7-5 in the finals to win her second U.S. Open title, and her first WPBA title in two years.  Congratulations!

It felt great to reach the final day of the tournament and be back on TV.  I’m looking forward to the WPBA Colorado Classic where I hope to bring home the trophy.  ☺

Match Results (and also link to Allison’s U.S. Open stats)
Helene Caukin 9-1
Ramona Biddle 9-2
Kelly Fisher 9-6
Kelly Fisher 9-7
Xiao-Ting Pan 7-4 (airs on ESPN 9/13 at 4PM EST)
Karen Corr 3-7 (airs on ESPN 9/27 at 4PM EST)