WWS Interviews Stephanie Drakulic
By World Women’s Snooker: https://www.womenssnooker.com/stephanie-drakulic-qa/
Ahead of the second staging of the WineCellars.com US Women’s Open this August, we caught up with Portland’s Stephanie Drakulic who will be among the players to compete in the event in Seattle.
Drakulic plays an active role in the local cuesports community as President and webmaster of the Northwest Women’s Pool Association (NWPA) – which is the largest women’s regional cuesports tour in the US.
Having competed in pool since 2012, Drakulic has twice been selected for Team Oregon in the Northwest Cup and was named as the overall event MVP in 2021, as well as finishing as champion in North America Pool Tour Division II in 2020. In 2016, she was named as the 2016 NWPA Player of the Year.
It was at last year’s US Women’s Open that Drakulic would make her World Women’s Snooker Tour debut, earning her first match win on the circuit, and we caught up with her ahead of this year’s tournament…
How much are you looking forward to competing in snooker once again at this year’s WineCellars.com US Open?
I’m so excited! What a privilege it is to be a part of this.
How did you find the experience of playing in the event in 2022?
The inaugural US Open was my second ever snooker tournament, and it felt surreal. I was a bit nervous but mostly just happy to be there, with little expectation of my own performance.
What did you learn from playing some of the more experienced players from Europe including Emma Parker and Mary Talbot-Deegan?
I learned that snooker can appear much easier than it actually is!
It was also painfully clear I have much to learn, particularly when it comes to keeping score.
The tournament will also see us return to the wonderful OX Billiards in Seattle – it’s a special cuesports venue isn’t it?
I first met its owner Mike Dominguez just before the COVID lockdown, while he was preparing to open his previous room, Baize. I never got to see Baize in person but was absolutely thrilled when he told me about Ox, particularly that it would have both snooker tables and 9-foot pool tables (9-foot tables are declining in the northwest, getting replaced by 7-foot tables). I’m a 9-foot player at heart so this news excited me deeply.
Ox Billiards has quickly become a household name to players all over the region. They’ve done so much to support players and billiards in general, by hosting some major tournaments, sponsoring local players, and generally raising the bar as far as equipment quality and utilising technology. For instance, they have a fixed streaming setup on their tables, allowing us all to watch events from home. Ox Billiards and their team are absolute gems!