She wasn't even sure that she should play in the event, but in the end Allison Fisher still defended her title at the WPBA US Open 9-Ball Championship.
Fisher was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and had surgery on Monday to remove a growth under her eye. She admitted that she thought seriously about not competing in this event, but decided to give it a shot. That decision turned out to be the right one for Fisher. "I thought about not playing. I even called my Mom and she encouraged me not to play. But I thought I would give it a shot to see how I did. " Fisher said, "But then I played well in my first couple matches, so I decided to stay."
Fisher won her first four matches without letting an opponent win more than four games against her. That string of strong wins ended though, when the TV matches started on Saturday. Both Fisher and her opponent Helena Thornfelt struggled badly in a hill-hill match before Fisher pulled out the win.
Fisher's first match on Sunday saw her take on Vivian Villarreal. Villarreal had ran over Pamela Treadway 7-2 on Saturday, but Fisher took complete control to earn a 6-0 lead. Then it was Villarreal's turn to make a comeback as she won five straight games before Fisher was finally able to put the match away.
In the finals, Fisher took on Kim Shaw. This match saw Fisher struggling again, as Shaw took an early 4-1 lead. That lead was short lived as Fisher came back to tie the score at 4-4 and then move on to win the match 7-5.
Fisher earned $14,000 for first, while Shaw settled for $8600. Villarreal and Monica Webb finished tied for third place.
