Kjorsvik to Play in WPBA's First Satellite Tourney at Borderline Billiards

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Whatever celebrity status Line Kjorsvik enjoys in the United States – as one the Top 20 women pool players in the world, she gets her share of face time on ESPN – it rarely carries over to her hometown in Norway.

In Trondheim, Kjorsvik is recognized by some folks for her pool-play abilities, but that has more to do with her annual participation in the European pool championships as a member of the Norwegian national team than anything she does as a member of the Women’s Professional Billiards Association.

“It’s not like the football [soccer] or the basketball players,” Kjorsvik said of her relative anonymity back home. “What happens here doesn’t matter so much over there. Pool is not that big a sport.

“Back home, I’m the ‘pool lady.’ I’ve heard that a lot, and I think it’s cool. When you put a lot of time and effort into something, it’s nice to be recognized for it.”

In many respects, that’s why Kjorsvik (her name is pronounced Lena Schus-vik) readily agreed to play this week in the WPBA’s first satellite tournament, next weekend at Janet Atwell’s Borderline Billiards on State Street.

Yes, it’s a chance to keep her game sharp and maybe win some money. But, more important, it’s a chance to showcase women’s professional pool and give amateurs a chance to see how their games stack up against the finest players in the world.

“If you want to do this for a living, you have to play all the time, and there are not that many tournaments right now,” she said. “This is a great addition to the schedule.”

Kjorsvik, 33, grew up playing teams sports in Trondheim, mostly (team) handball and soccer. She laughed that she accidentally “bumped” into pool, picking up a cue for the first time at a summer soccer camp when she was 14. She didn’t start playing regularly until she was 17, after a pool room opened in her neighborhood.

The more she played, the better she got and the more she focused on it. Her athletic background opened doors in a male-dominated sport – she could hold her own when it came to talking about sports – but she liked the individual challenge of pool, that the responsibility for success was squarely on her shoulders.

“We were always allowed [in a pool room], but I was the only woman to play in Trondheim for many years,” she said. “It is harder for women to go in there, because it is a guys’ place. You have to be pretty tolerant to survive in such an environment.”

It also helped that she’d developed into a solid player. Within three years, she was drafted by the national team for the European championships, and she’s been a team member every year since. Teams compete in three disciplines – 9-ball, 8-ball and straight pool – and she holds her own in each of them. She’s earned five titles, one as a member of the team and four as an individual.

Intrigued by the thought of taking her game even further aboard, Kjorsvik entered two WPBA qualifiers in the U.S. in 1998 and earned tournament berths from both. She played professionally for five years before taking a sabbatical from all competition except for the European championship. She was worn out by the demands of travel and of the sport – there is a lot more media attention and bigger crowds with the WPBA, she said – so she took five years off.

Missing the competition, Kjorsvik began to again play qualifers in early 2008, and before long she was back on the tour. She hasn’t won a tournament yet, but she did finish third a year ago in the Carolina Classic.

Kjorsvik’s visit to Bristol is the third stop on a two-month-long road trip. After starting in China, she flew to the Midwest to play in the Great Lakes Classic in Michigan City, Ind. After next weekend’s tournament, she will fly to Taiwan for the World Games before heading to Oklahoma for the U.S. Open. She’ll return to Norway in early August.

“This trip has been a lot of back-and-forth,” she said. “Usually, there’s time to get home for a bit between tournaments.”

When she began playing professionally in the U.S., Kjorsvik relied on an aggressive style that had served her well back home. But, playing regularly against the best women in the world, she quickly learned the value of patience and playing it safe.

“I had to learn about safeties,” she explained. “It was not something I worried about earlier. I just wanted to pocket balls. I liked being aggressive. But you learn that safeties can win for you.

“The odds are against you if you’re going for long, hard shots all the time. You better make sure you make it, or you will get punished. The level of play within the group is so high, even among those who never make it on TV, that it is never an easy match. That’s the big difference playing here. There is a larger gap between the top five and the bottom five in Europe than there is here.”

That level of play with be on display this weekend at Borderline Billiards, Kjorsvik said. A pro-am is scheduled on Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m., and the tournament runs Friday through Sunday.

“I always think that when something new happens, it’s good to support it,” she said. “This worked out great for me. It’s the first tournament like this, and we all hope it goes well, so we can have more of them.

“It’s good for the sport, and it’s good for us women.”