Women’s U.S. Open 9-Ball Down to Final Eight

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U.S. Open Down to Final Eight
WPBA U.S. Open / Norman, OK

by InsidePOOL Staff

The WPBA’s U.S. Open has wound down to its final 8 players after redrawing into the final 16 Friday evening. The event began July 29 with a full 64-player field at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, OK.

Defending champion Ga-Young Kim has made it to the final eight undefeated, besting Veronique Menard 9-2, Dawn Hopkins 9-5, and Monica Webb 9-4. In the final 16 redraw, Kim had to play Webb again, but this time she was barely able to eke out a 9-8 victory to advance. Her next opponent will be Gerda Hofstatter, who just eliminated Hopkins 9-3.

Number-one ranked Jasmin Ouschan still leads the top half of the bracket, having notched victories over Rhio Flores 9-5, Melinda Bailey 9-0, and Iris Ranola 9-4 to reach the final 16. There she faced off against Montana’s Morgan Steinman and bested her 9-5. Her next challenge will come from Vivian “The Texas Tornado” Villareal, who earlier ousted Melissa Little 9-5.

Fourth-ranked Karen Corr is still undefeated, and has dealt blows to Dana Aft 9-3, Tamara Rademakers 9-3, and Nicole Keeney 9-5. She most recently eliminated Ranola 9-7 and will have to play Kim Shaw in the next round. Shaw just sent Kelly Fisher home 9-5.

View the Women’s U.S. Open 9-Ball tournament brackets

Two favorites were eliminated in the previous round—number-two-ranked Xiaoting Pan went undefeated to the final 16, where she went hill-hill with Julie “Motor Molly” Kelly. Kelly prevailed and will next face Kyoke Sone, who just won a double-hill bout of her own—against Allison Fisher.

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