Sarah Myers-Mitchell wins first NWPA title with undefeated run at Tour Stop #6

Roseburg, Oregon, early morning of September 27. On table number one at Bobalou Billiards, the cue ball came to a stop after the decisive shot. Sarah Myers-Mitchell looked up, her face covered in sweat but her eyes calm. She had just defeated Kathie MacDonald, the player holding the No. 1 spot in the NWPA standings, 9-5 in the final of the sixth tour stop of the season. In her three previous matches, she had won each by the same score of 6-3, a consistency that was hard to believe. There was no packed arena, no television cameras. Only about thirty spectators, a check with $500 added prize money, and a new name engraved in NWPA history. The NWPA, full name Northwest Women's Pool Association, is a regional women's pool organization in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, operating at a semi-professional level. The tournament is not part of the international system, has no world rankings, and no prize money that could make anyone rich. This event featured only 24 players, competing in a double-elimination format: losers dropped to the consolation side, winners continued. Each match was a race to 6 wins, except the final, which extended to a race to 9. The $500 added prize money from the sponsor fund is a modest figure, enough to show this is a tournament surviving on the goodwill of club owners and billiard equipment brands. Myers-Mitchell's journey did not start smoothly. In the opening round, she nearly lost to Sue Frisbie, a relative unknown, after her opponent managed to score 4 racks in the race to 6. That was described as her hardest match of the entire event. But from then on, she won four consecutive matches: against Butler, McConnell, Melyssa Chasteen, and Jordan Oakes. The first three all ended 6-3, while the hot seat match against Oakes finished 6-0, a dominant shutout. The score of 6-3 repeated three times was no coincidence. It showed a player who knew how to control the match, never needed a deciding rack, and never gave her opponents a chance to turn things around. This is a sign of preparation rather than luck. On the consolation side, Kathie MacDonald also showed impressive form. She won 5 matches to reach the overall final, 4 of them ending 6-2. But when she met Myers-Mitchell in the race-to-9 final, MacDonald could not find an answer. She managed only 5 racks against an opponent playing the most solid pool of the tournament. This 5-9 loss did not affect MacDonald's No. 1 position in the NWPA standings, because the tour's points system is designed to accumulate over the whole season. But it was certainly a signal: MacDonald's dominance is no longer a given. Data from AZBilliards, a website dedicated to recording American pool results, show that Myers-Mitchell had 8 money finishes at NWPA events before this one, with an average finish of about 4th or 5th. Her previous best result was 5th place at stop No. 4 in 2026. However, the AZBilliards data has an almost complete gap from 2026 to 2026. This gap may be due to missing recorders, not necessarily because she stopped competing. But it reminds us that her first recorded title is only the first title within the data we have, not necessarily the first of her career. In a system lacking data, it is very hard to distinguish a rising player from one who has been strong for a long time without being noticed. What deserves discussion is not Myers-Mitchell's victory, but how we read it. A 24-player tournament with $500 added is a small event. Calling it a shock or a turning point is overblown. In fact, the tight matches that went to deciding racks throughout the event showed how narrow the gap is between mid-field players. Baker and Whitaker, Bloom and Oakes, or even Evelyn Hazlett – who won the Second Chance event with four straight wins in the race-to-3 format – all proved that anyone can beat anyone on a given day. If the draw had been shuffled, the results could have been completely different. The only thing that truly matters here is consistency: MacDonald remains No. 1, and Myers-Mitchell just made her first mark in seven years. Stops 7 and 8 of the NWPA will provide the answer. Will Myers-Mitchell turn this title into a big season, or is it just a flash in the middle of a long quiet career? In regional pool, nothing is certain. The arena is empty, the money still flows, and the title wheel keeps turning.