Allison FisherMBE (born 24 February 1968) is an English American professional pool and former professional snooker player. She is considered one of the greatest female snooker players & widely regarded as the greatest female pool player of all time.
Biography
Fisher was born on 24 February 1968 in Cheshunt[2] and grew up in Tonbridge, Kent[3] and lived later in Peacehaven, East Sussex.[4] She started playing pool when she was 7. She won her first world title at the age of 17.[5] To date, she has won over 80 national titles and 11 world titles in total. Throughout the 1980s, she made various attempts to qualify for the main Men's snooker tour, which contained around 128 players at the time, but these attempts were unsuccessful. However, by 1991, the tour had changed considerably meaning all players had to do to become a 'professional' on the main tour was pay an entry fee. This meant over 500 players played in qualifying rounds for the ranking tournaments. Fisher reached round 4 of the qualifying rounds of the 1994 World Championship where she was beaten by Roger Garrett 10–4.[6][7] She was unable to progress into the higher reaches of the ranking lists and by 1997 she lost her professional status. Feeling that she did not receive the same respect as the male players, she moved to the United States to play on the WPBA Tour. On 18 March 2009, she endorsed the Delta-13 billiard rack and has her own signature series.
Fisher did not take long to make her mark in the world of pool, winning only the second tournament that she played in.[5] She has an unequalled record, winning over 60 WPBA titles as of 2024,[5] which includes 4 world 9-Ball championships. Since her move, she has also been the highest-earning player on a number of occasions, which takes into account male and female players. Matchroom sports invited her to play in the Matchroom snooker league, and she was also invited to play in the Mosconi Cup 1994, when Europe lost 16:12 against Team USA.
Fisher was nicknamed "the Duchess of Doom" and gained a reputation similar[ambiguous] to that of the sixteen-time darts world champion Phil Taylor and snooker players Joe Davis, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry in the 1930s and 80s–90s, respectively. Her greatest season was the 2000/2001 season when she won 8 consecutive major pro pool tournaments. In the 2005 season, Fisher was the highest earner, winning £111,000.[5]
In 2007, she was declared the female Player of the Year by all three of the major pool publications, Billiards Digest,[9]Pool & Billiard Magazine,[10] and InsidePOOL Magazine[11] (in each case with Shane Van Boening as her male co-recipient of the honor), and also ranked #1 in the P&B "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll for that year.[12] She has been the BD female Player of the Year for 11 of the 12 years spanning 1996–2007, including 6 in a row, 2002–2007.[9]
^ abHollar, Sherman (20 February 2019). "Allison Fisher". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
^"Allison takes title". Kent and Sussex Courier. 30 March 1990.
^Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. p. 418. ISBN978-0954854904.
^Shank, Dale (February 2008). "Allison Fisher: 2007 'Player of the Year'". Pool & Billiard Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 2. Summerville, South Carolina: Sports Publications. pp. 18–20. ISSN1049-2852.
^Loria, Keith (February 2008). "InsidePOOL's 2007 Female Professional Player of the Year: Allison Fisher". InsidePool. Vol. VIII, no. 2. Kittanning, Pennsylvania: Spheragon Publishing. pp. 28–29. ISSN1547-3511.
^ ab"The Survey Says...: Pool & Billiard Magazine's 22nd Annual Player and Fan Poll". Pool & Billiard Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 2. Summerville, South Carolina: Sports Publications. February 2008. p. 14. ISSN1049-2852.
^ ab"Mita / Sky World Masters". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
^Syed, Matthew (7 December 1991). "Hallett advances after making a bad start – Snooker". The Times – via the Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
