Gerda Hofstätter Gergerson (born 9 February 1971), nicknamed "G-Force", is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player. Hofstätter won the

WPA World Nine-ball Championship The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport, ...

in 1995. She is a winner at the

European Pool Championship European Pool Championship (also called Dynamic European Championships) is a pool competition organized by the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF). The tournament is held annually since 1980. It should not be confused with the series of small ...

on nine occasions, and won the Austrian national Championship seventeen times. Hofstätter is a two-time

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee being voted into both the

Women's Professional Billiard Association The Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) is a professional women's pool tour based in the United States. It was founded in 1976 as the Women's Professional Billiard Alliance by players Madelyn Whitlow and Palmer Byrd, and by Larry Mil ...

and

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honour outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

s in the ''Greatest Players'' Category. Hofstätter was the ''Austrian Sportswoman of the Year'' for

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

in 1993. Hofstätter played on the

WPBA Tour The Women's Professional Billiard Association Tour (known as the WPBA Tour) is a series of professional women's pool tournaments first held in 1992. Events on the tour are operated by the Women's Professional Billiard Association The Women's Pro ...

until her retirement, doing so from 1993 onward.

Career

Early life

Hofstätter was born on 9 February 1971 in

Friesach Friesach ( sl, Breže) is a historic town in the Sankt Veit an der Glan district of Carinthia, Austria. First mentioned in an 860 deed, it is known as the oldest town in Carinthia. Geography Location Friesach covers an area of 120.83 km2 a ...

, Austria. Before pool, Hofstätter played several different sports, including

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

, and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

. Before the age of 18, Hofstätter won the Austrian fencing championship, as well as an international fencing competition. Hofstätter decided to take up pool at 15, when she joined a team in

Althofen Althofen ( sl, Stari Dvor) is a town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is located about north of Sankt Veit an der Glan and north of the state capital Klagenfurt in the Krappfeld ...

. In 1987, she won her first Austrian national championship. In 1989, Hofstätter recorded Austria's first-ever win at the

European Pool Championships European Pool Championship (also called Dynamic European Championships) is a pool competition organized by the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF). The tournament is held annually since 1980. It should not be confused with the series of small ...

, with victory in the 8-ball event. After winning the event, Hofstätter was given a "

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

" of Althofen. In 1990, Hofstätter moved to Sweden where she was the highest ranked player for two consecutive seasons, before moving to the United States in 1993 to compete in the Women's Pool Billiard Association (WPBA) Classic Tour. Hofstätter won the first WPBA event she competed in, the Creative Inventions San Francisco Classic. She would also win her second and third European championships in 1993 in the

eight-ball Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of pool played on a billiard table with six pockets, cue sticks, and sixteen billiard balls (a ...

and

nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle of e ...

events. She was also voted the Austrian player of the year for the state of

that year.

Professional career

She entered the Women's WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1995, held in Taipei, Taiwan. She reached the final and defeated

Vivian Villarreal Vivian Villarreal (born 30 January 1965) is a former professional American pool player. She was the World Pool-Billiard Association world number one women's player for five years, and has twice been runner up in the WPA World Nine-ball Champions ...

to win her first world championship. She also won her fourth European championship, in the nine-ball event that year. A few years later, Hofstätter would reach the semi-final of the WPBA Hawaii Classic in 1998. The following year, Hofstätter finished third at the

U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship The U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditionally, winners of t ...

. The 2000 season saw Hofstätter reach the knockout rounds again at the world Nine-ball championship, reaching the last 16, and seventh at the Women's event at the U.S. Open. Hofstätter would win her first tournament this season since her world championship win, where she won the

BCA Open Nine-ball Championship BCA may refer to: Commerce *Bangladesh Caterers Association UK *Bank Central Asia, a private bank in Indonesia * Boeing Commercial Airplanes *Book Club Associates * British Car Auctions *Broadcasting Company of America, former American Telephone & ...

. 2001 saw Hofstätter finish in the top five at two WPBA events, at the players championship, and Midwest championship. In 2002, Hofstätter reached the semi-finals of the world Nine-ball championship again. She would also finish as runner-up at two tournaments, at the Amway World Open, and the Midwest Classic, losing to

Allison Fisher Allison Fisher (born 24 February 1968) is an English professional pool and former professional snooker player. Biography Fisher was born on 24 February 1968 in Cheshunt and grew up in Tonbridge, Kent and lived later in Peacehaven, East Susse ...

in both finals. In 2003, her highest finish was seventh place, doing so in four events, including the U.S. Open. In 2004, Hofstätter participated on the new Japan Tour (known as JPNEW), where she would win event five. She would also reach the final of the national nine-ball championship, defeating

Kelly Fisher Kelly Fisher (born 25 August 1978) is an English professional pool, snooker and English billiards player. Career Fisher grew up in South Elmsall, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire. She learned to play pool in her parents' pub and took up snooke ...

, and

before losing the final to Karen Corr. Hofstätter would go on to reach the final at the WPBA West Coast Classic in 2005, losing to Kelly Fisher in the final. Since 2006, she played almost exclusively on the WPBA Tour, as well as two

International Pool Tour The International Pool Tour was a professional sports tour created in 2005 by Kevin Trudeau and hosted by Rebecca Grant. It aimed to elevate pool to the level of other modern sports. Closely modeled on the PGA Tour, the IPT offered the largest pri ...

events in 2006. Hoffstatter won an event in 2010, at the WPBA San Diego Classic defeating

Chang Shu-Han Chang may refer to: People Surname * Chang (surname), the romanization of several separate Chinese surnames * Chang or Jang (Korean name), romanizations of the Korean surname Given name * Chang Bunker () (1811–1874), one of the original ...

7–3 in the final. In 2018, Hofstätter was inducted into both the

and

s in the ''Greatest Players'' Category. As of 2019, she is now retired from playing. In total, she is a 9-time European champion, and 17-time Austrian national champion.

Personal life

Hofstätter is married to Dan with two children Sophie and Madison. She has a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Business from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She is also a qualified pilot. When playing, she was given the nickname of "

g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

Championships

* WPA Women's World Nine-ball Championship ** Winner (1995) *

** Eight-ball (1989, 1993, 1997, 2001) ** Nine-ball (1993, 1995) ** Straight pool (1995, 1997, 2009) *

** National Championship (1997) ** BCA Open Nine-ball Championship (2000) ** San Diego Classic (2010)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofstatter, Gerda Austrian pool players 1971 births Living people Female pool players World champions in pool People from Friesach Sportspeople from Carinthia (state)