FAIRFIELD – The top female pool players in the world descended on Fairfield last week for the Women’s Profession Billiard Association’s Fairfield Invitational held at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

The four-day tournament from March 21-24 saw 47 of the game’s best pool sharks compete for the 1st place trophy and the $6,500 prize money that went to the winner. This year’s event pitted two new faces in the final, Kristina Zlateva against Meng-Hsia “Bean” Hung. In her first ever appearance at the Fairfield Invitational, Hung won the nine-ball tournament, defeating Zlateva 10 games to 6. Third place went to Allison Fisher, and fourth place went to Brittany Bryant.

Fairfield resident Daryn Hamilton, who not only organized this event but is also Vice President of the WPBA, said he was pleased with the attendance, which grows ever year. Though he didn’t have a final tally on the number of tickets sold, he said this year’s attendance was greater than last year’s event, whose attendance was four times greater than the Fairfield Invitational’s first year in 2019.

“Last year we sold over $7,000 worth of tickets,” Hamilton said. “I’m sitting on pins and needles waiting to find out how we did this year.”

Not only does this event generate revenue for Fairfield businesses and raise the profile of the city, it also generates funds for a local charity, the Fairfield Kiwanis Club. On the first night of the tournament, 12 professionals participated in a pro-am pool tournament with 28 amateurs. The amateurs paid $65 each, with $5 of that going to cover expenses and the other $60 going to the Kiwanis Club. This year, the pro-am event raised $1,680 for Kiwanis.

The Fairfield Invitational is the smallest tournament on the WPBA tour, and Hamilton said the players have come to appreciate its small-town charm.

“Fairfield is the most intimate location the ladies play at, and they really love it,” he said. “Several of them have come back all four years we’ve had the tournament.”

Hamilton noted that Allison Fisher, who placed third this year, is one of the game’s most well-known stars and widely considered the best WPBA player of all-time. She’s been competing in professional pool since 1995, and according to Encyclopedia Britanica, was the No. 1 ranked player every year except one between 1996 and 2007. Fisher took to social media after the Fairfield Invitational to say that, despite suffering from the flu last week, she always enjoys the atmosphere and the welcoming fans at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

“There’s something special about that venue,” Fisher wrote on Facebook.

Hamilton said that was high praise coming from one of the game’s greats.

“I think that says a lot about our community,” Hamilton said. “I never thought I could ever get something like this organized and off the ground, let alone have it here four times. That itself is an accomplishment not just for me but for the city.”

Fisher was runner-up at last year’s tournament, falling to another Fisher - Kelly Fisher – of Scotland. In a sign of pool’s international appeal, this year’s final pitted two competitors from different countries as well. The runner-up, Kristina Zlateva, hails from Bulgaria, while the winner, Meng-Hsia “Bean” Hung, is a native of Taiwan, and now resides in Brisbane, Australia.

Hamilton said it was ironic that those two would end up in the final since they are good friends who room together and practice together. In fact, just before the Fairfield Invitational, Hung and Zlateva had spent a week practicing pool at Iron City Billiards Pool Hall in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sharon Stinogel, owner of Mad Hatter Billiards in Fairfield, sponsored the trophies for the tournament, as well as contributing money and doing a lot of her own fundraising for it. After the event, she treated the players and WPBA staff to a private dinner at her business.

“It was fabulous, and the meal was delicious,” Hamilton said. “Sharon did an awful lot for the tournament.”

Hamilton said he’s hopeful the WPBA can reserve the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center for Spring 2025, though the WPBA is trying to fit in new tournaments next year. He’s also aware the arts center has to book acts a year in advance, so he’s not sure when the next Fairfield Invitational will be. He said the players love coming to Fairfield and playing at the arts center.

“It’s relaxing for players,” he said. “They leave New York or Montreal, and when they get here, the experience is thoroughly enjoyable for them. The pace is so much slower, and they like that. That shows that Fairfield is a very high-quality city.”