I don’t want it to sound like we don’t like the WPBA mainstays because we really do, but there’s something really exciting about seeing a bunch of new faces rolling.  The Great Lakes Classic has been a bit of a coming out party for a number of players that we haven’t seen much of.  Names like Sarah Rousey and my personal hero Tequila Schjodt are still on the winner’s side and one win away from sliding into the Round of 16. When you look at this with the past two events that saw Gerda Hofstatter and Anna Kostanian making it to the TV round, all the sudden you have a very different WPBA.

I mean how cool was it to see Anna Kostanian up against Xiaoting Pan and Jasmin Ouschan against Ga Young Kim in the semifinals of the Generation Pool tournament?  Unless something catastrophic happens, Anna should coast into the Round of 16 at which point it will be the luck of the redraw.

We’ll see what happens tonight, but the future is definitely looking bright for the WPBA.

To keep up to date on results, just head over to the WPBA’s website at http://www.wpba.com.

Today marks the start of the next leg of the 2008 WPBA Tour, The Great Lakes Classic.  Coming off of the Generation Pool 9 Ball Championships, young guns Ga Young Kim, Xiaoting Pan, Anna Kostanian and Jasmin Ouschan look to continue their dominance over the veterans like Allison Fisher, Karen Corr and Kelly Fisher.

The 2008 tour is proving to be the most competitive season in years, with fresh faces showing up all over the TV rounds and dozens of up and comers gunning for the top 10.

The WPBA has posted their tournament brackets and it looks like just about every touring player is coming out for the Great Lakes Classic.