Ewa Mataya Laurance - Part 1 (The Striking Viking: Ewa Mataya Laurance’s Leap of Faith)
In this first chapter of our four-part life-story series, we welcome one of the most captivating figures ever to pick up a cue: Pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance—the iconic “Striking Viking.” From her earliest days in Sweden, Ewa takes us back to a childhood defined by energy, independence, and a love of sport. She was a goalkeeper in soccer, a force on the basketball court, and—by her own admission—a “control freak” who quickly realized team sports couldn’t match her appetite for precision, responsibility, and self-determination.
Then came the moment that changed everything: a curious teenage visit to a local pool hall. What began as tagging along because of a crush soon turned into genuine fascination—especially after someone explained why the best players chose certain shots and patterns in straight pool. That doorway into the chess-like strategy of cue sports lit a fire in Ewa that never went out.
Ewa shares vivid memories of Sweden’s vibrant club scene—Sunday tournaments that were equal parts competition and community, packed Jack-and-Jill events, and long bus trips to challenge rival clubs across the country. She reflects on the mentors who shaped her early understanding of pattern play and the hunger to “open the next door” of knowledge in a game with endless layers.
But the heart of Part 1 is the boldest decision of all: at just 17 years old, after competing in New York City at the World Championship in the storied Roosevelt Hotel, Ewa falls headlong into the electric world of American pool—legends, late nights, and possibilities she’d only seen in magazine pages. Then she makes the call that stunned her parents: she isn’t coming home… at least not yet.
This is where the legend truly begins.
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Music by Lyrium.
About
"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”
Pool Professional
Ewa Mataya Laurance, forever known to fans as “The Striking Viking”, is one of the most significant figures in women’s professional pool: a champion who helped define an era, a broadcaster who helped explain the game to the wider world, and a leader who fought to move women’s billiards from smoky back rooms to legitimate sponsorship, television, and tour stability. Her story isn’t only about trophies. It’s about an immigrant’s stubborn commitment to a dream, the realities of making a living in a niche sport, and the will to keep building something bigger than yourself—while still caring, first and last, about playing pool.
Raised in Sweden, Ewa grew up athletic and fiercely competitive, a self-described “tomboy” who preferred sports and action to anything delicate. She played team games, but the longer she competed, the more she wanted full responsibility for outcomes. Pool gave her that: complete accountability, a mental battlefield, and an endless puzzle. What hooked her wasn’t just pocketing balls; it was the strategy, especially the pattern play and precision that turned runs into something planned, not accidental. From early on she gravitated to the “chess” side of the game: cue-ball routes, discipline, and learning how to control a table under pressure.
As a teenager, she began traveling and competing seriously, and by the time she reached international events she had already developed the engine that would define her career: practice, repetition, and a refusal to accept limits. A formative trip to the United States opened her eyes to the scale of …Read More