Ouschan battles Tkach twice to win WPBA Olhausen Iron City Invitational in Birmingham
Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan picked up her first WPBA title in over two years this past weekend (Jan. 31-Feb. 2), when she claimed title to the WPBA’s $25,000-added Olhausen Iron City Billiards Invitational in Birmingham, AL. She shared a title with Monica Webb in a Scotch Doubles event during Biker Week in Laconia, NH last year, […]
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Kristina Tkach and Jasmin Ouschan (courtesy Gabriel Abruzzese)
Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan picked up her first WPBA title in over two years this past weekend (Jan. 31-Feb. 2), when she claimed title to the WPBA’s $25,000-added Olhausen Iron City Billiards Invitational in Birmingham, AL. She shared a title with Monica Webb in a Scotch Doubles event during Biker Week in Laconia, NH last year, but prior to that, she had not won a WPBA event since she came from the loss side to win WPBA’s Aramith/Dr. Pool Classic in December of 2023 and earlier, her second straight WPBA Masters title in July.
Ouschan and runner-up Kristina Tkach, who came into and out of the event as the WPBA’s top-ranked competitor over the last year, have met at the tables before, most recently, last November when they faced each other in the semifinals of the World Pool Association’s (WPA) VenBilliards World 10-Ball tournament in Puerto Rico. Tkach prevailed and advanced to claim the title. They also met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Championships in Atlantic City, with Tkach, once again, advancing.
Not this time. Though Tkach would defeat Ouschan in the battle for the hot seat, Ouschan came back from a semifinal victory over Tzu-Chien Wei to defeat Tkach and claim the title.
The Olhausen Iron City Invitational featured two, double-elimination stages. Stage 1 drew 48 entrants, who competed until eight from each side of the bracket advanced to meet 32 previously seeded competitors in Stage 2. There were a few surprises that emerged out of Stage 1, though one of them was not the eventual winner, Jasmin Ouschan, who worked her way through three opponents to qualify for advancement to Stage 2 with an aggregate score of 21-2. It was Shanna Lewis who chalked up the two racks against her in what was the last qualifying round of play preceding advancement to Stage 2.
Bearing in mind that ‘surprise’ is a relative term, because it is rarely a first-time rodeo for any competitors at a WPBA event, there were two names that had a way of ‘jumping off the (Stage 1 bracket) page’ at first glance. One was Judie Wilson, a long-time veteran of the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour (JPNEWT), who advanced to Stage 2 from the winners’ side of the Stage 1 bracket. In races to 7, she got by three opponents with higher FargoRates; Billie Billing (4) and Natae Goldman (5), before locking up in a double-hill battle versus Cathy McDaniel. Wilson dropped the last 9-ball and advanced to Stage 2.
The other ‘surprise’ was 13-year-old Jordan Helfrey, who chalked up her first professional finishes at last year’s WPBA Fairfield Invitational (17th) in March, finished 9th at the Americas Heyball Women’s Championship in July and won the 19 and under Girls title at the International Open just over a month ago. Helfrey got by her first three opponents, all with lower FargoRates, by an aggregate score of 21-3, eliminating Kaley Sullivan (2), Dulcenia Jones (0) and Laura Semko (1). Helfrey, along with teenaged compatriot Savannah Easton, and two JPNEWT veterans (Briana Miller and Ashley Benoit) finished, overall, in the tie for 13th.
Also advancing to Stage 2 from the winners’ side of the Stage 1 bracket were Vietnam’s Nguyen Bich Tram, Jessica Barnes, Jeannie Seaver, Turkey’s Eylul Kibaroglu and Spain’s Mayte Ropero. Advancing from the loss side were Kia Burwell, Betsy Sundholm, Debbie Schjodt, Marianne Merrill, Susan Mello, Shanelle Lorraine, Joanne Ashton and Dawn Hopkins.
In races to 8, Tkach didn’t give up more than three racks to anybody during her trip to the hot seat. She opened with three straight 8-2 wins over Jessica Barnes, Ashley Benoit and April Larson and then, in one of the winners’ side semifinals, got even stingier versus Kelly Fisher, giving up only one. Ouschan, in the meantime, had her share of short ‘racks against’ as well, though not as many. She, too opened with an 8-1 win over June Maiers, only to run into Pia Filler, who put up an almost-double hill fight against her. Ouschan prevailed 8-6 to chalk up her second 8-1 victory against Eylul Kibaroglu. This was followed by two 8-4 victories over Kristina Zlateva and in the other winners’ side semifinal, Tzu-Chien Wei.
Some would contend that ‘easier’ trips to the hot seat match can lead to a touch of overconfidence and complacency, while strong challenges along the way can keep a player sharp. Not this time. Though Ouschan would chalk up more racks against Tkach than any of her previous opponents, it was Tkach who claimed the hot seat 8-3.
Kelly Fisher and Tzu-Chien Wei arrived at the loss side of the bracket to end the two, three-match, loss-side winning streaks of Margarita Fefilova and Veronique Menard. On any given day, the six competitors on that side of the bracket who were still in contention when Fefilova and Menard joined them could well have challenged either Tkach or Ouschan for the title. Fisher picked up Fefilova, who’d eliminated Pia Filler 8-6 and Kaylee McIntosh 8-3 (previously, Filler had eliminated Briana Miller and McIntosh had defeated Kristina Zlateva). Tzu-Chien Wei got Menard, who’d eliminated Maria Teresa (Mayte) Ropero Garcia 8-3 and Brittany Bryant 8-6 (previously, Garcia had eliminated Savannah Easton, while Bryant had dispatched the teenager Jordan Helfrey and the once-upon-a-time teenager April Larson).
Tzu-Chien Wei and Kelly Fisher gave up a combined total of one rack (Fisher over Fefilova) and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the match that concluded just minutes before the hot seat match did, “Wei-Wei” (as Fisher calls her) defeated Fisher 8-5. Separated by only two FargoRate points (753-751) Ouschan and Wei went at it for advancement to the finals. Ouschan (the 753) earned her second chance against Tkach with an 8-3 win.
Ouschan had the FargoRate advantage in the race-to-10 final against Tkach, as well, giving her 753 a 60% advantage over Tkach’s 736. It was an almost-double-hill affair as Ouschan chalked up 55% of the racks, claiming the 2025 WPBA Olhausen Iron City Billiards Invitational title with a 10-8 victory.
