Great Lakes Classic in Michigan City/IN 

After the successful Generationpool.com Open (former BCA Open) Jasmin  Ouschan, who stayed between the events for training sessions in the USA, went to the 2^nd event in this month the Great Lakes Classic in Michigan City. Before every event there is a Pro/Am, a traditional competition where the best 16 Pros team up with amateurs and show their qualities on the pool table besides the main event. The benefit of this competition goes to a charity organisation.

„It was really a lot of fun. It is nice to see the faces of the amateurs when they can take part at this Pro/Am competition. That gives me a good feeling and since it is for a good purpose you can not say no.”

Even though the Austrian was under the seeded players, the draw made her play a tough opponent in the first round. She had to play the qualifier Yu Ram Cha from Korea. Since Ouschan played her already in other events, she knew the strengths of her opponent. At the beginning Ouschan was able to control the table and took a rapid 6:3 lead. But as it often is in sport, the match started to turn and Cha was able to even out. Ouschan who made a few unnecessary mistakes took another 8:6 lead. The match was going back and forward and this took a lot of energy of both players. But also this lead didn´t last until it was hill-hill. In the last game Ouschan tried a difficult 8/9 combo and had to watch as the cueball found the way into the side pocket. The Korean made the last 2 balls and Ouschan had to go to the losers round.

„This defeat hurts. 2 times I was leading in this match and still I couldn't finish it. I left to many chances on the table and so I got punished for it. To go to the losers round so early is really hard. I will erase the match now and concentrate on the next one, because I will need all my energy in the losers round.”

On the next day Ouschan played against Michelle Monk from the USA. Ouschan played really strong and managed to enter the next round with a clear 9:3 victory.

Her next opponent was Melissa Little from the USA who she also played at the last event. Ouschan dominated the table and took a rapid 4:1 lead. But again she lost the concentration and let Little more on the table who took the chances started to even out. The match was now going back and forward and nobody was able to take a lead. It was full of mistakes and you could already see the frustration on Ouschans face. At the score of 8:8 Ouschan stayed calm and used her opportunity to leave the table with a 9:8 victory.

„It is really amazing how many mistakes you can make. But I am very happy that I pulled trough and successfully overcame this match. I know that if I want to win this event I have to start playing better. Now I have to use my time for regeneration because this match cost me a lot of energy.”

In match Nr. 4 Jasmin Ouschan played Laura Smith also from the USA. Laura Smith, who is a founder member of the WPBA Tour, is one of the experienced players on this tour. But in this match she left the American no air to breathe and crushed her with a 9:0 score.

In the qualifying match for the last 16 Ouschan met one of the strongest American players, Monica Webb. Since they played each other a few times Ouschan could prepare herself for this match. The match was pretty one-sided at the beginning and Ouschan got almost no chances to work against Webbs lead. But she didn´t let loose and fought for one game after another. Both played a high level but Ouschan kept being 2 games behind. As Ouschan finally gets the chance to even out she makes a fatal safe mistake and was again 2 games behind. After that both players run out their games, which meant that with an alternate breaking situation Ouschan had no chance to catch up with Webb. With a 9:7 score Ouschan was knocked out from the event.

„This is really annoying. I actually played really well except the safe mistake. I can't blame myself, because Webb played really strong and also had a little bit of luck that you need to win. I will now take the best out of this event and then work on the things that will help me in the future to win these matches.”

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Photo Copyright by Anne Craig WPBA