Time Frame

Archer hopes for a few more years as a heavy hitter on the international circuit. (Photo by Lawrence Lustig-Matchroom Sport)

THE OBVIOUS choice for Player of the Decade for the 1990s, despite being around for little more than four full seasons, Allison Fisher entered the new millennium in a perfect position to continue her dominance. She was four years into a 9-ball career that was without compare. She was coming off a 1999 season in which she won seven major titles. And she was 32 years old, an age considered prime for pool players.

But another import from the North Atlantic announced her intention to unseat the Duchess in 2000. Karen Corr, making the switch from snooker to 9-ball with Fisher-like ease, snapped off the Players Championship, the first pro event of 2000. Corr finished the year with three major titles, still well behind Fisher’s seven, but she proved to be a worthy rival.

The very next year, Corr overtook Fisher as the WPBA’s No. 1, by winning all six Classic Tour events for the year, edging Fisher in three finals. Not only had the Irish Invader presented a challenge to Fisher, Corr — by winning an entire year’s worth of titles — accomplished the unprecedented, dominating at a level even Fisher hadn’t achieved.

Fisher’s response, though, speaks volumes about her mental toughness and competitive drive. Fisher responded by winning the next five Player of the Year awards, often edging Corr by the slimmest of margins. If Corr won three WPBA events, Fisher won three tournaments and a world title. If Corr won another three WPBA events the next year, Fisher won four.

Even as Fisher’s stranglehold on the WPBA’s top spot started to slack in 2007, as a new generation of stars like Ga Young Kim, Kelly Fisher and Xiaoting Pan played their way into the tour’s top tier, Fisher found a way to finish one more year on top.

Without a title for the first four events of 2007’s eight-stop season, she won three of the year’s final four events, including both the year’s majors (the U.S. Open and Tour Championship), to win her final Player of the Year award for the 2000s. While Fisher won the most, she also won when it most counted.

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