Allison Fisher

Allison Fisher (born 24 February 1968) is an English former professional snooker and pool player. She is widely regarded as the greatest female pool player of all time and one of the greatest female snooker players.

Biography

Fisher was born on 24 February 1968 in Cheshunt and grew up in Tonbridge, Kent and lived later in Peacehaven, East Sussex. She started playing pool when she was 7. She won her first world title at the age of 17. 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. 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. She has an unequalled record, winning over 60 WPBA titles as of 2024, 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.

She was the top-ranked player on the Women's Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) circuit from September 1996 to June 2001, and again each year from 2002 to 2007.

In 2009, Fisher was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

Fisher was nicknamed "the Duchess of Doom". In the 2005 season, Fisher was the highest earner, winning £111,000.

In 2007, she was declared the female Player of the Year by all three of the major pool publications, Billiards Digest, Pool & Billiard Magazine, and InsidePOOL Magazine (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. 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.

Fisher appeared as herself in the 2012 sports drama film 9-Ball, which focuses on professional nine-ball pool and features several real-life professional players, including Jennifer Barretta and Jeanette Lee. Fisher was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to sport.

Citizenship and representation

Fisher began her playing career representing the United Kingdom. In 1995 she moved to the United States to pursue a professional career on the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) Tour. Fisher later acquired U.S. citizenship and has represented the United States in international pool competitions. Allison Fisher's change of sporting country representation from the United Kingdom to the United States was formally approved shortly before the Iron City Billiards Invitational III, which she won, (January 11–14, 2024 in Birmingham, Alabama), marking her first official tournament competing under the U.S. designation after the approval of her request to the WPA and the BCA.

Titles and achievements

Snooker

Pool

• A record 60+ WPBA titles
• Billiards Digest Player of the Year 1996–2000, 2002-2007
• Billiards Digest Player of the Decade 1990–1999, 2000–2010
• 1999 Billiards Digest 9th Greatest Living Player of the Century
• 2007 Pool & Billiard Magazine Fans #1 Favorite Player
• 2009 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
• 2016 WPBA Hall of Fame
• 2022 World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame
• 2022 Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
• 2026 North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award

External links