Ewa Laurance

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Ewa Laurance
9-Ball (1994)
www.strikingviking.com

Ewa Laurance (former surnames Svensson and Mataya Laurance, born February 26, 1964) is a Swedish professional pool player, most notably on the

Hall of Fame.[1]
She has been nicknamed "the Leading Lady of Billiards" and "the Striking Viking".

Playing career

Laurance has been playing pool since she was 4 years old. She moved to the

United States
, winning the Clyde Childress 9-Ball Open.

Laurance has won numerous major women's pool titles, including the

European Pool Championship
14.1.

In 2005, Laurance bested three of her peers,

Gerda Hofstatter, at the Women's Trick Shot Challenge held at the New York Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, pocketing US$25,000 as the grand prize. Animated and expressive, she played to the audience and the cameras, "a true showperson in her element and a wonderful example to all trick shot artists."[2]

Television

She was the co-host of the

National Bingo Night on June 1, 2007. She frequently acts as a color commentator on ESPN telecasts of nine-ball tournaments, usually along with her husband Mitchell Laurance
. She has recently been featured on commercials featuring Dick's Pawn Shop in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Writing

She has authored three books: The Ewa Mataya Pool Guide (paperback,

ISBN 9780071415200). She has also written monthly columns for Pool & Billiard magazine.[3][4]

Personal life

In 1982, she married the professional pool player Jimmy Mataya, forming pool's first "power couple". They later divorced, with Ewa retaining the surname Mataya, as she was already professionally well known by this name. They have a daughter, Nikki, born in 1985.[5]

In 1994, she married actor Mitch Laurance, later also pool commentator for ESPN and twin brother of actor Matthew Laurance.

Titles and achievements

  • 1981
    European Pool Championship
    14.1
  • 1983 Clyde Childress 9-Ball Open
  • 1984 Clyde Childress 9-Ball Open
  • 1984 Midwest 9-Ball Open
  • 1984 Milwaukee Doubles Cup
  • 1985 Michigan 9-Ball Open
  • 1985 Midwest 9-Ball Open
  • 1987 Brunswick 9-Ball Team Challenge - with (Mike Sigel)
  • 1988
    WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
  • 1990 Cleveland Spring Open
  • 1990 East Coast 9-Ball Classic
  • 1990 Sands Regency 9-Ball Open
  • 1990 Cleveland Fall Open
  • 1990 Rocket City Invitational
  • 1990 Billiards Digest Player of the Year
  • 1991
    WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
  • 1991 WPBA National Championship
  • 1994 WPA World 9-Ball Championship
  • 1995 WPBA Houston Classic
  • 1998 WPBA Brunswick Boston Classic
  • 2004 Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
  • 2005 International Trick Shot Challenge
  • 2007 World Cup of Trick Shots
  • 2008 WPBA Hall of Fame
  • 2012 WPBA Masters

References

  1. ^ Induction into BCA Hall of Fame 2004 Archived March 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Laurance Lassos a Win," by Sally Timko, pages 28-29, InsidePOOL Magazine, December 2005
  3. ^ "Ask Ewa!". Game On!. 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  4. ^ "Instruction". Pool & Billiard Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  5. ^ Geffner, Mike (April 2004). "Everybody Loves Ewa". Billiards Digest. p. 52.

External links

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