This past weekend, the Kwikfire Tour held its last event of 2009 at Mr. Cues Billiards in Atlanta, Georgia. Many local fans came to watch 24 players compete, including 13 APA players and 2 top WPBA professionals, Allison Fisher and Kim Shaw.
Allison Fisher won three out of four events and finished strong by defeating Kim Shaw in the final match, 9-2.
The top story was the close points race to determine who would qualify for the WPBA Regional Tour Championship. Top semi-pros and amateur women players from all over the globe will be vying for a limited number of spots into the 2010 WPBA Classic Tour. The Kwikfire Tour will receive at least one spot in the RTC, and is pending official notice from the WPBA as to whether additional spots will be awarded. The Kwikfire Tour would like to congratulate Katie Cowan from Charlotte, NC, for her consistent performances and well-deserved invite into the RTC! Katie also won the “Highest APA Finisher” with an impressive 5th place finish in the last two events.
Sunday's winner-side matches paired Allison Fisher vs. Holly Sholes and Katie Cowan vs. Kim Jones. Neither match was close with Allison and Kim winning 9-1 and 7-1, respectively. Allison and Kim went on to play for the hot-seat, and Kim played strong to take a 4-2 lead, needing to get to 7, but then Allison came back to win 7 straight games and the match, 9-4.
After losing to Allison early on, Kim Shaw clawed her way through the one-loss by defeating Dana Aft, Marianne Merrill, Katie Cowan, Holly Sholes, and 3rd place finisher Kim Jones, which set the stage for a rematch of the last Kwikfire Tour finals.
Marianne Merrill from Charlotte, North Carolina says, “I'm very happy with the way I played. I had opportunities and felt like I had a chance to win. I was surprised to make it to the final eight and knew I would have a tough match against Kim Shaw, but I hung in there and played the best pool I've played in awhile.”
A notable mention is Cheryl Pritchard from Chesapeake, VA, who has participated in all Kwikfire Tour events, and drove 10 hours to play this past weekend – We appreciate her dedication and look forward to watching her improve.
Kristen Malone from Atlanta, GA won the Second Chance tournament by defeating the fierce, Lisa Davids, with a hill-hill thriller ending with Kristen getting a fortunate roll on the 7 ball – You know what they say, “An ugly win, beats a pretty loss.” Congratulations to both ladies!
The Kwikfire Tour players, fans, and Mr. Cues' customers continued the spirit of raising money to benefit Michaela Pittman. Allison Fisher provided products, Sulli Sullivan donated Indigo Girls merchandise, Lara Rossignol donated Allison and Johnny HOF photos, and we received great support from Mr. Cues. All in all, we raised $900, which we will add to the $1200 from last weekend!
A special thanks goes out to Susan Sweet, Rick Sweet, and all of the Mr. Cues staff for their support and generosity this past weekend. Our thoughts and prayers remain with you during this time – The Kwikfire Tour appreciates you welcoming us into your poolroom.
We'd also like to thank Kwikfire Cues, Charlotte Metro APA, Atlanta APA players, and Blue Moon for the coolest trophies! We look forward to working with all of you in 2010.
For more information about KFT events, please email kristi@kwikfiretour.com.
