Kim Pierce
Never before in the existence of the two Texas ladies 9-ball tours — one formerly known as the Hunter Classics Women’s Tour and the other now known as the OB Cues Ladies Tour — has a person been named Regional Tour Champion and Most Improved Player within the same year. Well, lo and behold, history has now been made and Kim Pierce, from Austin, Texas, has accomplished this double-feat.
Kim started playing in the Hunter Classics Women’s Tour back in 1994 and has been a loyal member ever since. She has always had a passion for pool, and her hard work, dedication, fun spirit and compassion have paid off.
The OBCLT Board of Directors voted her as the 2012 Most Improved Player based on the following yearly points rankings:
- In 2009, she finished 16th place;
- In 2010, she finished 13th place;
- In 2011 she finished 12th place;
- And by December, 2012 she was sitting in the #1 spot.
Then she went on and won the tour championship. Let’s reminisce through the awesome year that she has had and how she earned both coveted titles:
Stop #1 – Rusty’s – Arlington, TX – 51 players attended the event. Kim was blazing through all her opponents and made it to the hot seat match vs. Ming Ng. She lost the hot seat but then earned her way back to the finals to try to avenge her earlier loss to Ming Ng. Kim finished 2ndplace. What a start for her 2012 year!
Stop #2 – Billiard Den – Richardson, TX – 46 players attended the event. Kim was once again winning all her matches and for the second time made it to the hot seat match. This time it was against 4-time OBCLT Tour Champion Lisa Marr. She lost the hot seat but like déjà vu at Stop #1, she made it back to the finals against Lisa. Kim once again finished 2nd place. And with two back-to-back finals, it was certain that Kim was indeed a serious contender and force to be reckoned with.
Stop #3 – Casper’s Billiards – San Leon, TX – 30 players attended the event. Kim had a rough start where she lost her 1st match. She then battled back with 4 straight wins but eventually lost to Amanda Lampert and finished 5th/6th.
Stop #4 – Jamaica Joe’s – Midwest City, OK – 30 players attended this event. Kim won her 1st match, and then lost her 2nd. She fought to win her next 3 matches but lost to Amanda Lampert and finished 7th/8th.
Stop #5 – Click’s Billiards – San Antonio, TX – 42 players attended this event. Kim won her first 2 matches, and then lost her 3rd. She came back on the B side by winning her next 5 matches and losing the 6th match to Tara Williams. She finished 4th.
Stop #6 – Casper’s Billiards – San Leon, TX – 24 players attended this stop. At this tournament, Kim had the toughest draw out of everyone. Her 1st match was against Tara Williams, who has won many OBCLT stops throughout the years, and Kim prevailed as the winner of this tough match 7-4. Her 2nd match was against Amanda Lampert, another champion of many, many OBCLT stops and Kim emerged the victor of the hard fought hill-hill match 7-6. She then won her next match but was knocked to the loser’s side by Orietta Strickland, another champion of multiple OBCLT stops and eventual winner of this Casper’s stop. On the B-side, Kim would be matched up once again with Amanda who scored the match with a 7-3 win; thus handing Kim a 5th/6th finish.
Stop #7 – Championship Stop – Billiard Den, Richardson, TX – As the point standings showed, there was no outright leader for the Regional Tour Champion. Kim had moved into First Place at Stop #5, but going into the seventh and final event of the year, her race with Amanda was tight:
1st – Kim Pierce – 645
2nd – Amanda Lampert – 595
Kim lost her 1st match of the day to Melinda Bailey and Amanda lost her 3rd match to Lisa Henderson-Major. Now things got real interesting, as both players battled to stay alive. Kim won her next 2 matches but her next opponent was none other than Amanda. All eyes were on their match with Amanda knocking Kim out of the tournament with a 7-4 score and Kim finishing 9th/12th. Kim’s final yearly points total was 695
Amanda needed to finish 3rd or better to be the Regional Tour Champion. She won her next match against good friend and solid player, Orietta Strickland. It was her next match with Jennifer Kraber that became the real heartbreaker for Amanda. Both players were playing strong but it came down to a hill-hill match, where Jennifer defeated Amanda, giving her 5th/6th place and causing her to miss the tour championship by a mere 20 points.
Kim was very excited about her accomplishments in 2012 and looks forward to a greater 2013. She is continually training and learning every day. Her pool mantra is to “Work hard. Be dedicated. Stay disciplined and most of all - never give up.” She has a wonderful support group including her wonderful sons, Chad and Zach and all the friends and people who have supported her passion and always believed in her.
Kim finished the 2012 tour year with both the OB Cues Ladies Regional Tour Champion title as well as Most Improved Player. As an added bonus, the tour provides $200 cash drawing to one lucky person who has perfect attendance. This year we had 7 stops and 5 players were vying for the Perfect Attendance monies. Kim completed her memorable day by picking the lucky number and walking away with the $200.
Congratulations Kim on an awesome year. We are very proud of you!
