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Fairfield to welcome top female pool players in world for March tourney
FAIRFIELD – Fairfield is making a name for itself in the world of women’s professional pool as the city will host its fourth Fairfield Invitational this March.
Fairfield resident Daryn Hamilton announced during Monday’s Fairfield City Council meeting that the Women’s Professional Billiard Association will play a four-day tournament from March 21-24 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. Hamilton, who is also the vice president of the WPBA Board of Directors, said this year’s format will be similar to prior years, and that local amateurs will get a chance to play with the pros during a pro-am event on the first day of the tourney.
Last year’s Fairfield Invitational attracted 48 of the top players in the world, and Hamilton hopes to match that number again. He said invitations will be sent to WPBA players in the next few weeks, so the lineup of stars is not ready to publish just yet. Hamilton said he expects players such as No. 5-ranked Margaret Fefilova of Belarus and No. 7-ranked Brittany Bryant of Canada to compete in the event. He said the only downside to the date chosen for this tournament in Fairfield is that it overlaps with a major Chinese billiard tournament with a $1 million payout to the winner.
Tickets to the Fairfield Invitational will go on sale in early or mid-February. Hamilton said he was pleased with last year’s attendance, with more than 200 tickets being sold on the peak day, and most of those were the $35 tickets for VIP access that allowed spectators to be even closer to the action.
“The whole VIP section was nearly full for our largest day, which was Saturday [second to last day],” Hamilton said. “I expect that will be the hottest day again this year because that’s the day the players need to get to the semifinals. If you win, you move on. If you lose, you’re done in many cases.”
Hamilton said the players need to post a $370 entry fee, and then the promoters of the tournament must contribute $15,000 toward the purse. He said that though Fairfield is a small tournament, there’s no better place to watch professional billiards.
“This is the most intimate venue in which you can watch these ladies play, and I would like to keep that atmosphere here,” he said. “I’m concerned it may grow too large, because there’s so much demand from people coming here.”
Hamilton said previous Fairfield Invitationals have attracted people from Des Moines, Dubuque, Waterloo, Cedar Falls and McGregor, and some from other states such as Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska.
“We’re blessed to have these players come to Fairfield,” he said. “It’s something you never would have dreamed in a million years.”
One new thing about this year’s tournament is that organizers have created a 501c3 so that those who wish to donate toward the tournament can do so and receive a tax deduction. The board consists of Hamilton, Sharon Stinogel of Mad Hatter Billiards, Brandy Meredith, Chase Keller and Terry Baker, the executive director of Visit Fairfield CVB.
The event March 21-24 will be the fourth WPBA tournament hosted in Fairfield. The first was in 2019, and then the pandemic interrupted the series until it could be resumed in 2021. Hamilton said he wanted to hold the third tournament in the fall of 2022, but it had to be pushed to spring of 2023, and that seems to work well for the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, which is why this year’s tournament is being held in the spring, too.
Last year’s nine-ball tournament was won by Kelly Fisher of England, who defeated fellow Brit Allison Fisher. Allison, who now resides in North Carolina, told Hamilton that she couldn’t believe a person could experience all four seasons in one week until she came to Fairfield.
“When she got here, she was staying in Des Moines for a couple of days and the temperatures were in the 60s and 70s,” Hamilton said of last year’s weather. “By Tuesday, the temps were in the high 20s with snow on the ground.”
The pro-am event will be that Thursday evening, March 21. Thirty-six entries will be accepted at a cost of $65 each. Money raised will go toward the Fairfield Kiwanis Club, which garnered over $2,000 from last year’s pro-am.
“You’re getting access to world-class athletes, people you’d never have a chance to come into contact with,” Hamilton said. “And you don’t have to be a spectacular player. Anybody who has ever played pool can get into this.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
