Kelly Fisher - Part 3 (From Billiards to the Big Break)
In this third installment of Legends of the Cue, hosts Mike Gonzalez, Allison Fisher and Mark Wilson continue their captivating conversation with Pool and Snooker Hall of Famer Kelly Fisher, MBE, diving into the fascinating — and often funny — years that bridged her snooker stardom and her bold leap into the world of professional pool.
Kelly reflects with trademark honesty and humor on her early dominance in women’s snooker — recounting her world titles, the quirky English billiards events that barely drew a handful of entrants, and her love of playing for beautiful trophies rather than prize money. The laughter flows as Kelly and Allison reminisce about their days on tour, friendly rivalries, and a few unforgettable (and at times unbelievable) stories from the road — including one infamous match Kelly literally can’t remember playing!
But beneath the laughter lies a deeper turning point. Kelly opens up about the challenges facing women’s snooker in the early 2000s — the collapse of tobacco sponsorships, the struggle for recognition, and the harsh reality of world titles that paid little more than rent money. Listeners will hear how the former world champion found herself working in a vegetable factory and a seatbelt assembly line, searching for her next chapter before making the life-changing decision to move to America with little more than determination, a few suitcases, and £400 to her name.
It’s a candid, inspiring, and often hilarious look at a champion’s resilience — how Kelly Fisher reinvented herself and set the stage for one of the most successful second acts in cue sports history.
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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
Kelly Fisher’s story is the rare cue-sports journey that doesn’t just cross continents and disciplines, it redefines what “world-class” can mean when talent meets toughness, curiosity, and an unrelenting standard for excellence. Born in South Elmsall in West Yorkshire, she grew up in the kind of close-knit, working-class environment that quietly forges competitors: you learn to stand your ground, you learn to show up, and you learn that results matter. Kelly’s first tables weren’t glamorous arenas under TV lights, they were the everyday proving grounds of English pub culture, where the game is part sport, part social ritual, and part apprenticeship in nerve. That early setting helped shape the trademark qualities fans recognize today: poise under pressure, a steel-threaded mindset, and an ability to lock in when everything is on the line.
Very early on, it became clear she wasn’t simply “good for her age.” She was exceptional, driven, precise, and hungry for structure. That structure arrived in the form of coaching and disciplined training, most notably through long-time mentor Lionel Payne, who has spoken publicly about meeting Kelly when she was still a young teenager and watching her potential ignite into something historic. Their relationship is a key through-line in her career: the belief that talent is only the entry ticket, and the real separation happens in the routines no one sees, repetition, fundamentals, and the willingness to be coached even after you’ve won everything. Kelly herself has repeatedly credited the consistency of that coaching bond over…Read More