Ewa Mataya Laurance - Part 3 (The Perfect Storm: Fame, the WPBA Boom & One More Run)
In Part 3 of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance, the “Striking Viking” hits the most turbulent—and transformative—stretch of her career.
We rewind to 1990–91, the period Ewa calls her finest run: taking over World No. 1, stacking five tour titles, and earning Billiards Digest Player of the Year. But the wins came with weight. Newly divorced and raising her daughter as a single mom, Ewa describes the constant hustle—practice squeezed into basement sessions, tournaments with a child in tow, and the pressure of turning greatness into a living.
Then comes the moment that changed everything: the 1992 New York Times Magazine cover story. Ewa walks us through how a “sure, another interview” turned into a two-week deep dive that flipped her life upside down—followed by an avalanche of mainstream attention (Letterman calling the poolroom, national TV hits, glossy magazines)… and a rare opportunity for women’s professional pool.
Because the timing was perfect. As the spotlight intensified, Ewa and fellow players were building the nuts and bolts of a new era—helping launch the WPBA Tour into bigger markets and bigger moments. But the tradeoff was real: fewer hours at the table, more days on the road, and the delicate balance between promoting the sport and protecting your game.
We also hear how meeting (and later marrying) Mitchell reshaped her world, why the arrival of Allison Fisher changed how many top American players approached fundamentals, and the emotional punch of Ewa’s 1998 Brunswick Boston Classic win—running a gauntlet through the very best when she “had something to prove.”
Finally, we reach her BCA Hall of Fame induction and the unforgettable phone call to Sweden—where her dad isn’t quite sure what a “Hall of Fame” even is.
You need to stay tuned for our fourth and final episode with "The Striking Viking"
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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 WPBA 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