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Karl Lueders Sunday, October 05, 1997, 08:04 PM
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If nothing else, Johnny Archer and Allison Fisher showed all who watched the finals of the World Pool-Billiard World 9-Ball Championships how to dominate like a world champion. Both players dominated their matches from beginning to end, showing little -
if any - signs of weakness. Though Archer gave up the first game to
Taiwan's Kun Fang Lee, and actually trailed 2-1 to at one point, Archer
rattled off seven straight games to all but seal the match, winning by a
9-4 margin.
Archer, who has been struggling with success all year, displayed the form that has won him three player-of-the-year crowns as well as the 1992 WPA World Championship. Archer later said that it helped to have his fellow players in the crowd behind him. "It was great to have the guys on the Tour backing me up," said Archer. "It puts pressure on you to win, but it also makes you more relaxed knowing you have support behind you." On the table just next to Archer, Fisher put on a clinic matched by few players of any tour. Fresh off a rare loss in the Women's Professional Billiards Association's Dallas event, Fisher rolled through the World Championships like a woman with something to prove. Yet, in classic Fisher self-effacing style, she claimed her 9-2 win over Taiwan's Jennifer Chen wasn't as easy as it looked. "I got off to a great start and wanted to make every game count," Fisher later said. "But I did make a few mistakes during the match. All in all, I played we ll." Chen, was also riding a hot streak to the finals, but simply ran out of gas at the end. "I played badly," said Chen. "I wouldn't feel so bad if I played well and lost but that didn't happen." It's Chen's second runner-up finish to Fisher. Two months ago, Chen lost to Fisher at the finals of the Brunswick New York Classic. "She's a great player and you can't make mistakes when you play her," said Chen. Enough said. |
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