Jasmin Ouschan completed an undefeated run through a field of 64 entrants at the WPBA Pacific Coast Classic on the weekend of October 15-18, with a 7-5 win over Xiaoting Pan on Sunday, October 18. It was her second title of the year, having defeated Kelly Fisher in the finals of the Great Lakes Classic back in June.
Ouschan had opened up her tournament bid with two victories over Joanne Ashton and Jennifer Chen, both 9-3, before running into Sarah Rousey and Kim Shaw, both of whom, back-to-back, pushed Ouschan into a final hill-hill match, that she managed to survive. The victory over Shaw put her into one of the four quarterfinal matchups, against Line Kjorsvik. Her 7-4 win over Kjorsvik set her up for one of the two semifinal matchups versus Allison Fischer. Pan, in the meantime, after two 9-4 wins over Heather Pulford and Rhio Anne Flores, and 9-3 wins over Dawn Hopkins and Eleanor Callado, ran into her own hill-hill struggle against Gerda Hofstatter. Pan, too, survived, to face Karen Corr in the second semifinal matchup.
In something of a generational battle, Ouschan and Fisher took to the tables at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, OR at around 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. The two were tied at 2-2, when Ouschan used a bank-carom shot to sink a 5-9 combination that put her up by one. Fisher broke the sixth rack and with a little 7-ball help and a cheering crowd, the 9-ball dropped into a corner pocket to tie things up again. Ouschan then won three in a row to reach the hill first. Fisher took advantage of an Ouschan ‘push' to run out the 10th rack, and receive a standing ovation from the crowd. Ouschan failed to sink a ball on the subsequent rack, but Fisher overcut a shot on the 4-ball and left Ouschan with a runout that finished it.
Like Oushcan and Fisher, Xiaoting Pan and Karen Corr traded racks through the early going of their semifinal matchup and got to a 4-4 tie. Pan broke and ran the 9th rack and then, when Corr missed a shot on the 6-ball in the 10th rack, she ran out to reach the hill first. Corr took advantage of a missed 5-ball in the 11th rack to pull within one and had the break for the 12th rack. She made a ball, but was forced to play safe on the 1-ball, which opened the door for Pan to kick it successfully, be in perfect shape for the 2-ball, and then use a 3-9 combination to send her into the finals versus Ouschan.
Pan and Ouschan fought back and forth to a 5-5 tie in the finals. Pan drew first blood with a winning lag, and a run out. Ouschan responded quickly, and though she came up dry on the break, she took advantage of a 2-4 combination miss by Pan to run out. Pan broke and ran to re-take the lead. Ouschan tied things back up with a break and run of her own that was highlighted by some tricky cut shots and then, when Pan pushed out on the subsequent break, used a bank shot to start a run that put her ahead 3-2. Ouschan played safe early in the 6th rack and when Pan missed a three-rail bank shot, Ouschan took advantage of ball in hand to go up by two.
Pan fought back, taking advantage of an unexpected drop of the 9-ball in the 7th rack and a miscue in the 8th rack, to tie things up at 4-4. Ouschan won the 9th game, playing safe on the 2-ball, and when given the opportunity, ran out. Pan attempted an unusual 2-9 combination that drove the cue off the short rail, and hit the 9-ball in game 10. Spectators responded to a 9-ball that travelled eight feet into a corner pocket and tied the match at 5-5.
The tension mounted in the game that would put one of them on the hill. Both misjudged shots that left the game in doubt until a fortunate roll for Ouschan put Pan in the position of making a long rail kick shot, shooting at the 8-ball. She hit it, but another fortunate roll for Ouschan put her in perfect position to run out, and she did. After Ouschan broke the 13th rack, and then missed the 2-ball, shooting for position on the 4, Pan stepped to the table and not only missed the 4-ball herself, but in so doing, broke the 6-ball out of a tight pack that left Ouschan with a 4-9 combination that sealed the victory.
The quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches of the Pacific Coast Classic are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN sometime in the future. Check the WPBA Web site (www.wpba.com) for further information and complete broadcast schedules.
