Ewa started playing pocket billiards in her native town of Gavle, Sweden, at the age of 14. Three years later she won the European Championship in Bern, Switzerland, and as a result was asked to represent Europe at the World Championships in New York City. At that point, Ewa made the decision to make the United States her home. Since then, she has not o­nly been successfully competing o­n the Women's Professional Tour, with consecutive years as the #1-ranked Player in the world, and with numerous WPBA Tour titles, but has also become widely recognized as o­ne of the great international ambassadors for the sport, promoting pocket billiards worldwide.

Ewa was a pioneer in bringing unsurpassed media attention to the game. She is the o­nly billiards player ever featured in a cover article in the prestigious New York Times Magazine, and over the years has also been prominently featured in a number of other national magazines, such as "People,” “Forbes,” “Sports Illustrated,” “Now,” and “Glamour.“ She has appeared o­n numerous television shows, including “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Today Show,” “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “The Best Damned Sports Show Period,” “A Current Affair,” “Fox and Friends,” and “Dennis Miller,” and has starred in national commercials for Brunswick Billiards and "No Nonsense Pantyhose."  Ewa is a two time Player of the Year, a recipient of the "WPBA Sports Person of the Year Award" and the "Billiard and Bowling Institute of America Industry Service Award." She has spent numerous terms as a member of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Board of Directors, working to organize and promote women’s pocket billiards, and is currently serving her second term as the President of the WPBA, a position she also held in 1997.

Ewa writes a monthly column for “Pool and Billiard Magazine,” and is the author of three books, “The Ewa Mataya Pool Guide,” “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pool and Billiards,” and most recently, “Quick-Start Guide to Pocket Billiards.”  Ewa has been sponsored o­n Tour by Brunswick Billiards since 1988, and is their o­nly Professional Player Representative. She is also the spokesperson for the Boston Billiard Club chain of upscale billiard rooms and is a color commentator o­n ESPN billiards programming. Besides playing o­n the WPBA Tour, Ewa spends a great deal of the year performing shows and trick shot exhibitions across the U.S. and around the world, promoting the sport of pocket billiards. An avid golfer, Ewa can also be seen at numerous golf celebrity charity events around the country. 

For more information, please visit Ms. Laurance’s website at www.strikingviking.com. The WPBA is the oldest professional player’s organization for billiards and governs all aspects of female professional activity; represents the media and participation rights of professional and semi-pro players; governs rules, regulations, and conduct, ethics and equipment specifications for professional sanctioned tournaments; and, develops, produces and sanctions tournaments.