Pool: Round Three Day 3

We're back for another partial day of pool, beginning in...

Starbucks Arena, Archtown: Sleepy B. v. Fluffina. The first set of the day is Survival as the league attempts to come back from a brutal day yesterday. Archtown's Sleepy B. held her own early on, just long enough for Maplewood's Fluffina to fade away in the first rack of game 1 for a 1-0 series lead as accuracy issues persist. Game 2 went two racks, but the theme was the same, with the Arrows' Sleepy B. holding even early until the Lumberjacks' Fluffina faded, and then Sleepy B. had to overcome a late swoon to force Fluffina out and take a 2-0 lead. Sleepy B. lacked her usual strong start in game 3, as Fluffina led through one rack, but Sleepy B. did her best in rack two, holding onto her last life and playing defense late as Fluffina lost control of the game, eventually getting offed at the end as Sleepy B. moved to 3-0 in the series. Sleepy B. went full dominance in game 4, ending with an extra life as Fluffina had struggles with getting clean shots while Sleepy B. had control with her side pocket shooting. Fluffina took game 5 in the second rack, rebounding from a rough start and having just enough to outlast a ferocious comeback from Sleepy B. Sleepy B. still won the series 4-1, and her #12 ranked Survival bid will host Patches of the Boston Swifts at this venue in the fourth round.

Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Dustin v. Mr. Snowman. Next up, we head a little east for Rotation. Central's Dustin pounded out a gritty win, coming back from four down to go ahead in game 1, only for Viewpoint Sound's Mr. Snowman to pull ahead again before Dustin of the Warriors tied it and won after the Meteors' Mr. Snowman rattled the 15 out at the top left. Dustin's 8-7 victory put him up 1-0 in the series. Mr. Snowman's three fouls in four turns in game 2 meant Dustin had easy pickings in gathering up an 8-1 win to move to 2-0 for the series. Mr. Snowman, amidst more fouls in game 3, pulled off an amazing double-pot, completing a 4-7-9 combination along the right rail to the top right from distance, with the cue picking up the 13 in the top left on the resulting caroms. Beyond the highlight, Dustin had control, staking out a large lead early and playing both striking offense and smothering defense to hold off the accident-prone Meteor, as Dustin claimed the game 8-4. Dustin showed off some resilience in game 4, going down five balls only to tie it with a five-ball run highlighted by a long kick off the top rail to take the 7 in the bottom right and a glancing shot with the 8 caroming off the 9 gently to the top left. Dustin then hunkered down defensively, lying in wait before striking for the lead and capitalizing on Mr. Snowman's failed contact on the 13 for an 8-5 win and 4-0 series lead. Dustin again dominated all facets of game 5, building a strong lead early, pacing himself in the middle, and finishing with a wicked double pot with the 7 in the bottom left and the 10 taking a bump from the 11 to fall in the top left for the 8-0 shutout victory. Dustin, ranked #105 in Rotation, will face a taller task as he travels to GE Stadium Events Center in Southridge to oppose Debby Ryan in the fourth round.

Pepsi Arena, Lighton: Spirit v. Chicky Phil. We're back to the last Survival series for the day, played in the southwest to start the afternoon slate after two morning series. Westside's Chicky Phil came out shooting sharply in game 1, while Lighton's Spirit was in trouble from the start after scratching on the break, allowing the Rockers' Chicky Phil to take a 1-0 series lead. The Prestige's Spirit answered with a much more confident game 2, while Chicky Phil apparently lost his shooting rhythm, allowing the series to go to a tie at 1. Spirit shot herself in the paw in game 3, failing to convert the extra ball to start rack two, which allowed Chicky Phil to dictate the terms and eventually win the game for a 2-1 lead. Chicky Phil went for a strategic miss in game 4 at the start of the second rack, and it worked as Spirit couldn't get a clean angle on the rack and ended up failing to pot anything, allowing Chicky Phil the 3-1 lead. Spirit played a strong game in game 5, manipulating position effectively to drive Chicky Phil down, but he rebounded in the second rack, only to be subjected to craftiness that made quick work of him in rack three. Chicky Phil did win the series 3-2, advancing to the fourth round with his #67 ranked Survival campaign.

Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Noelle v. Precious. Back north, we have 10-ball with a visiting player whose career is on the line a bit. After minor chasing of the 10 in game 1, Central's Noelle left it just outside the bottom left to give Pronger's Precious the tap-in for victory and a 1-0 lead. The Tridents' Precious doubled her lead with a four-ball run-out to go to 2-0, despite a second straight iffy break, which tends to be a problem with 10-ball. The Warriors' Noelle got on the board with a game 3 win, weathering a four-ball run by Precious with strong defense late that set up the final two shots conveniently. Precious made a great decision in game 4, as Noelle illegally potted the 1 in an uncalled pocket, with a 2-10 combination somewhat lined up. Precious elected to take possession, and she converted the combination to the bottom left to clinch the series at 3-1. Precious got lucky to win game 5, as she illegally potted the 10 after nearly converting the called 3-10 combination to the top left, but Noelle couldn't extend her late three-ball run, and Precious mopped up the 10 to win the series 4-1. Ranked #126, Precious takes her 10-ball tour on the road again to Victoria for a fourth round meeting with Tori at Lay's Field Events Center.

Apple Center, Todavía: Easter v. Kayla. Back along the coast, there's a quick spot of 7-ball in play. Todavía's Easter got off to a modest start, but roared to a 1-0 series lead with a five-ball run-out showing off her positioning abilities. Queens' Kayla shot back in game 2, watching the Stills' Easter do much of the work on a three-ball run, only to set up a 3-7 combination at the top right that the Flames' Kayla converted easily to tie the series at 1. Kayla pulled ahead to a 2-1 series lead, running the table on a seven-shot game with excellent accuracy above all. If you thought that was good, Kayla ran the table again in game 4, clinching the series at 3-1 with even more accuracy and a double-pot on the break to do it in six shots. Easter has not had a shot since game 2, and she was unable to do anything but watch as Kayla took her straight off the bracket with a dominant effort. Easter had to make up for lost time in game 5, mitigating the series damage by winning on a three-ball run-out that included a hard carom off the 3 to sink the 5 in the bottom left. The absolutely thrilling series ended 3-2 for Kayla (which doesn't tell the whole story, but think how close it could have been), and her #92 ranked 7-ball bid will play on into the fourth round as a new rivalry is born.

Ebay Center, Queens: Max v. Debby Ryan. Moving east, another series of 10-ball looms. Queens' Max got off to a good start, despite a scratch on the break. After Southridge's Debby failed to get on the 2, Max sent a mini-masse shot that sank the 2, setting up the 3, and he positioned himself for a 4-10 combination, which also went for a three-ball run-out and 1-0 series lead. The Flames' Max had a five-ball run in game 2, which left Debby of the Defenders a little stunned, causing her to hook her attempt on the 8, leaving it in line for Max to convert an 8-10 combination to make it 2-0 in the series. Debby shot back in game 3, going on a five-ball run-out to the surprise of everyone, using strong accuracy to pull herself back into the 2-1 series. Max took control of game 4 late, running out the final four balls to stave off a serious threat to his series, clinching at 3-1 in the process. Max again used a four-ball run-out in another slightly close game 5, winning the series 4-1. Max is ranked #4 in 10-ball, and for good reason and another win he will host his fourth round series.

Google Hall, Modernistic: Chimpy v. Twinkie III. The crafty veteran hosts the latest player (and only second this season) to win a full-rack game (all 15 balls, sinking the middle one) from the break. The enigmatic Chimpy of Modernistic was up to his usual mind games in game 1, playing weak early before unleashing a four-ball run and a series of defensive positioning shots to frustrate Whitewater's Twinkie III until the Union's Chimpy got the shot he wanted to take a 1-0 lead. Twinkie III showed no fear, as the Shores star bounced back in game 2, capitalizing on Chimpy's missed contact attempt on his last ball to position herself for a series-tying three-ball run-out. Chimpy received a wild card ball on Twinkie III's game 3 break, and then showed her the power that has, playing defensive to Twinkie III's last pocket before intentionally missing on a shot that left the cue in an unfavorable position. Twinkie III failed contact, and Chimpy used his ball-in-hand to make his 13, the non-defensive ball, in the bottom side, before converting the defending 15 to the top right after it lined up from the miss earlier. This is textbook shot planning, and put Chimpy up 2-1 in brilliant fashion. Twinkie III again bounced back, tying the series in game 4 with excellent accuracy, making the shots she needed to in two turns to prevent the patient Chimpy from doing his usual style of setting up first. Twinkie III took the series in exciting fashion, reminding Union fans why Chimpy is so frustrating. With two wild card balls and three options for his final shot, Chimpy failed to sink it even though he could see it, and he left the cue in line for Twinkie III to take her final ball in the proper pocket, giving her a 3-2 series win and leaving the home fans stunned. Ranked #77, Twinkie III appears to be picking up steam as she heads into the fourth round.

Kraft Forum, Royal: Jake v. Allison. The silver cue draws in for the red cue in 15-ball, as the recently penalized Jake of Royal returns to the table. Royal's Jake kept his well-known (at least it is now) temper in check, playing a patient but well-paced game that saw him mop up a miss on the 15 by Tysini's Allison for a 1-0 series lead. The Crowns' Jake went up 2-0 in the series after some jockeying around the 9. After that, Jake made the 9 and got the 10 to carom off the 14 to bump the 15 into the top left for the win. Game 3 was like game 1 for Jake, as a late miss on the 15 by the Hummingbirds' Allison ended a tight game with Jake tapping in, this time claiming the series at 3-0 with the clean-up job. Each player had a couple of closes brushes with the 15 in game 4, but it lasted to be the final ball anyway, and Jake again made the tap-in on the final two balls after Allison missed contact to move to 4-0 in the series. Allison avoided the sweep in game 5, using two strong cut shots at the end of the game to make it a 4-1 series win for the #61 ranked Jake, who will advance into the fourth round with his performance here.

Microsoft Center, Del Sur: Shannon v. Snuggle. Going coastal again, we begin a doubleheader of 9-ball that will be completed today, no matter what in regards to time. The silver cue subs in for blue this time. Game 1 was fairly clean until the 9, where a little chasing left Oceanside's Snuggle set to clean up a tap-in after Southern's Shannon couldn't corral it on her second try. The Waves' Snuggle took a 2-0 series lead with an improbable yet successful conversion of a 6-9 combination at a weird angle to the top left, stunning the Monarchs' Shannon and the home crowd. Snuggle went for a more accurate approach in game 3, forgoing any positioning. It worked, as he won with the final two shots to clinch the series at 3-0. After a scratch by Shannon in game 4, Snuggle had a tight spot to sneak the 1 into the bottom left, setting up for an awkward but again successful combination, going 3-9 to the top left to move to 4-0 in the series. Snuggle swept the series 5-0, as game 5 went a little sloppy even at the end with the 9 left short at the bottom left for Snuggle to tap in. Snuggle is ranked #44 in 9-ball and will move along to the fourth round.

Kraft Forum, Royal: Sydnee v. Twinkie I. The final series of the afternoon is the second half of the doubleheader in 9-ball from the southeast. Lighton's Twinkie I took a very back-and-forth game of Royal's Sydnee in game 1, polishing off the 9 after Sydnee missed on the 8 earlier. Game 2 was another evenly matched effort, but Sydnee of the Crowns emerged this time, taking the final two balls out from under the Prestige's Twinkie I, as neither displayed a ton of accuracy. Twinkie I went up 2-1 in the series after Sydnee made illegal contact with the 9 while attempting to kick the 8 to the top left, giving Twinkie I ball-in-hand, where her positioning took over to pull her ahead. Sydnee tied it again with a game 4 win, overcoming a lucky carom off the 7 to the 8 in the top side by Twinkie I late in the game. Twinkie I couldn't convert the 9, leaving it easy for Sydnee to use as the equalizer. Twinkie I looked in control late, making a 5 and 8 double-pot with a hard carom off the sinking 5, but a scratch while sinking the 6 sunk her game. Sydnee ran on the 7, getting lined up to make the 9 as well, winning the series 3-2. Sydnee, ranked #51 in 9-ball, is through to the fourth round in her farewell campaign.

We should be back to normal tomorrow for the gameplay numbers. That's 50 today in about four hours, so I really kicked up my speed for today. Hopefully it will translate. Cricket tomorrow morning too!