Triple Crown

Kim erased the final 9 ball for her fifth WPBA title.

THE CHANCES of picking the finalists at any Women's Professional Billiard Association event aren't exactly easy these days. Despite two players (Korea's Ga Young Kim and Austria's Jasmin Ouschan) taking a half dozen titles in the last season and a half, the women's tour is tilting toward a level of parity unseen in more than a decade's time.

But when the WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship rolled into the Riverwind Casino in Norman, Okla., in July, a repeat of last year's final, matching Karen Corr against Kim, seemed plausible, if not likely.

Before this year's event, the two had met in the final of the U.S. Open three times, with each final producing its own brand of drama. In 2003, their first meeting just three events into Kim's career on the women's tour, the young Korean was in perfect shape to bury the case-game 9-ball for her first win on Classic Tour. But she jarred the clincher, leaving Corr a welcome gift that she sank for the title. The very next year, however, Kim had another chance to clear the case rack against Corr - which she did (after "shushing" the crowd before the final 9-ball) to take her first WPBA title.

The rivalry was rekindled last year, when the two met again the final, with Kim taking her second of three against Corr. This time, though, Kim was in complete control of the final, finally claiming the title by a count of 7-5.

With that win a year ago, Kim vaulted to the top of the WPBA rankings for the first time. She firmly planted herself atop the ever-increasingly cosmopolitan Classic Tour with another win at the 2009 Colorado Classic.

So, with this year's U.S. Open triumph, Kim is content to hold onto the No. 1 ranking. And considering the dwindling number of Classic Tour events, she appears to be in position to finish the season in the top spot for the second year in a row.

Inside the Riverwind Casino, Kim barreled her way into the 16-player single-elimination bracket, trouncing Veronique Menard, 9-2; Dawn Hopkins, 9-5; and Monica Webb, 9-4. But after the redraw (where each of the eight players from the one-loss side are paired with an undefeated player), Kim narrowly escaped an upset bug that spread to the other title hopefuls.

Drawing Webb for a second straight match, Kim held a 7-5 lead in the round of 16. But Webb, who won back-to-back titles just 18 months ago, took the next three racks to get on the hill, 8-7. Just one 9 ball from a ninth-place exit, Kim rallied to take the final two games and a spot in the quarterfinals, 9-7.

Other top players weren't so lucky. Allison Fisher dropped her set to Kyoko Sone, 9-8; Xiaoting Pan was eliminated by Julie Kelly, 9-8; and Kelly Fisher crashed out against Kim Shaw, 9-5.

At that point, Kim caught fire with the races shortened to seven games for taping for eventual showing on ESPN. She had her way with Gerda Hofstatter, winner of the 2010 debut in San Diego, 7-3. Surprise semifinalist Julie Kelly also presented little challenge, as Kim sent the Irish veteran out, 7-2.

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