WPBA US Open Quarterfinals Set
Before I get to the quarterfinals, big congrats to my buddy Michell Monk for finishing 17-24th. Freckles had a great run before walking into the Kelly Fisher buzzsaw. If she keeps winning qualifiers and WPBA regulars keep ditching on events (anyone notice that Dawn Hopkins, Melissa Herndon, Tiffany Nelson, Anna Kostanian, Debbie Schjodt, Rachael Abbink and others all skipped this event), she’s going to find herself finishing in the Top 40 and earning a spot on the tour. The fact that this was one of two major events should give her some additional bonus points (I think that’s how the WPBA works it).
Now, on to today’s matchups:
Allison Fisher vs. Xiaoting Pan – 1PM CST
Fisher’s had a good tournament capped off with a win over defending champ Kelly Fisher in the 3rd round, but she’s not getting past the consistently solid Xiaoting Pan today.
Karen Corr vs. Vivian Villarreal – 3PM CST
I had a feeling that Vivian would show up strong for this event. As a result of a number of upsets, Karen has yet to face anyone in this tournament that is her equal in terms of talent. She will this afternoon and the lack of competition is going to hurt her. Look for Vivian to make it to the semi-finals.
Helena Thornfeldt vs. Ga Young Kim – 5PM CST
Helena’s played strong the entire tournament including a 9-3 thrashing of Xiaoting Pan in the 3rd round, but Ga Young Kim is simply a better player. Coming off a 9-6 win over Jasmin Ouschan, I look for Ga Young Kim to cruise past Helena.
Monica Webb vs. Gerda Hofstatter – 7PM CST
This one won’t be close. Monica seems to have shaken off her less than stellar performance at the Great Lakes Classic and should roll into the semis without a problem.
As it stands now, I’m seeing XTP vs. GYK in the finals, but based on my mostly lousy predicting when it comes to these tournaments, its likely that I’ll go 0-4 in my quarterfinal predictions.
Hey! Thanks! I felt great this tournament…and hope it gets to continue!
Well your predictions were pretty bad. I actually got to go to this event and was very glad I did. Allison totally outplayed Xiaoting Pan and earlier in the week she was my prediction to win it all. She was playing so well. It seems to me you are always hating on Karen Corr. I don’t really understand that, but I suppose it’s your right. I saw Allison and Karen semifinal coming and if they both played on that day how they did in the earlier days, Allison would have walked away with it, but as usual Karen upped her game and put on quite a display. She also would have beaten Ga-Young Kim in the finals, but her break ended up not working as it did originally and that massive miscue to get on the hill cost her the match. Anyway, despite your opinions that are almost always at odds with mine, I enjoy reading this blog.
Dude, you have no idea. I am the absolute worst when it comes to picking winners for these events. Statistically speaking, I could flip a coin and do better than how I pick at pretty much all of these events. Instead of admitting that I suck though, I think I’ll just say its the WPBA’s fault for having such a competitive and talented roster. I’m convinced that pretty much anyone in the Top 20 has as good a shot as any to make it to the championships.
Yes, I agree with you. The talent is rapidly increasing and so many players can lose to each other at any point.