Pool: Round Two Day 11

The first of three light-load days in a row is today, and we begin with afternoon games in...

Ebay Center, Queens: Paige v. Tigerette. The first set of the day is for 8-ball. Commerce's Tigerette controlled the run of play significantly in game 1, but Queens' Paige roared back with six balls in her final two turns, including a four-ball run-out for a 1-0 series lead spurred by positioning. The Tradewinds' Tigerette tied it in game 2, using much the same formula as the Flames' Paige did in game 1. Tigerette started behind after Paige opened well, but roared back to take the game through solid positioning late. Paige retook a series lead at 2-1 in game 3, using a six-ball run-out highlighted by her bottom rail bank on the 11 to the top side that left the cue in a good enough position to sink the 8 in the top left for the win. Tigerette started off well, making two balls after the break by Paige, but things went horribly wrong for her when she tried to navigate around the 11, but the cue glanced it and caromed into the 8, sending it to the top left and sending Paige to a 3-1 series win. In game 5, Paige was cruising until a cut shot on the 4 saw the cue kick the 8 to the bottom side, sinking it to give Tigerette the game. Paige took the series 3-2, and takes a #50 ranked 8-ball bid into the third round, where she'll host Gradley in this same venue.

Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Gizmo v. Roxy. The second of three 8-ball series in a row is in the north. Game 1 was conducted very cautiously by both players, neither wanting to make a false move. In the end, Oceanside's Roxy charged ahead with three straight tap-ins after Central's Gizmo failed to put away the 8, and Roxy took a 1-0 lead. The Warriors' Gizmo tied the series with a little bit of luck in game 2, as the Waves' Roxy almost completed a four-ball run-out, but her scratch on the 8 cost her the game and gave it to Gizmo. Gizmo took the lead in the series with a game 3 win, using a three-ball run-out with a bank off the left rail to the top right pocket on the 8 as his finishing move for the 2-1 lead. In game 4, Gizmo's growing confidence continued to fuel his success, as he worked more efficiently to establish a lead, and then used patience as Roxy rallied, only to fall short when Gizmo got the shot he wanted to secure the series. Gizmo again used patience as Roxy rallied in game 5, but he left enough on the table to stymie her before finishing off the game and series, 4-1. Gizmo is ranked #53 in 8-ball, and will bring Blizzard into Nestle's Warriors Hall in Central for a third round battle.

HP Events Center, Eastside: Graham v. Dani. On the blue side of the bracket, we finish the 8-ball streak. Eastside's Graham nearly got himself set up for the 8 in game 1, but he scratched in the process, and Capital City's Dani converted on the 8 from distance to take a 1-0 series lead. The Sharpshooters' Dani roared back in game 2, starting out strong, but lacked any finishing ability, allowing the Sharks' Graham to gradually chip away and eventually win the game when Dani played a little too cautiously on the 12. In game 3, it took a five-ball run, a scratch by Dani, and another miss by Dani to give Graham the game and 2-1 series lead. Dani's five-ball run early in game 4 paced her attack as she waited for other shots to open up, and it sufficed as the margin of victory later on when she put the 8 into the top side to tie the series at 2. In game 5, the break by Dani was poor, and that led to a defensive, competitive struggle of a game. Near the end, the defense was replaced by inaccuracy, which extended things for Graham just slightly, as Dani would not miss twice on the 8. Dani won the series 3-2, and takes her #96 ranked 8-ball bid further on the road, visiting Debby Ryan of the Southridge Defenders at GE Stadium Events Center in round three.

Gillette Center, Swordpoint: Wild Thing v. Mams. We move along to 15-ball at this point in the afternoon. Viewpoint Sound's Mams took game 1 in sloppy fashion, as neither player hit 50% on legal contact. As it was, Mams of the Meteors sent the cue ball off the table, and only won a few shots later because Wild Thing of Swordpoint couldn't make legal contact and the 15 was bumped into the top left pocket. Mams won another terribly sloppy game in game 2, but this one at least ended with a legal play, despite the frustrations of both players. Mams dominated in a clean game 3, finishing off with a four-ball run-out to clinch the series over the Blades' Wild Thing, who seems to be plagued by the day's cautiousness. Mams took game 4 with a bit of luck, as Wild Thing did most of the work to get to the 15, only to leave it very short, but with a good enough location on the cue ball to make it easy for Mams. In game 5, Wild Thing blasted the 1 so hard, it took two rails and still ended up following the 4 into the bottom left for a highlight reel shot. It wouldn't be enough, as Mams positioned herself to win with a 12-15 combination that she drove in straight. Mams took the series 5-0, and her #96 ranked 15-ball bid will travel in round three.

McDonald's Hall, Atlantic: Amber v. Misty. Hoping for less fireworks as the 15-ball completes a doubleheader in the east. The play was a little cleaner than in the previous series, and Westside's Misty appeared to have the highlight when she sank the 5 and 12 off a cluster-buster shot, with the 5 caroming three times to reach the top side while the 12 glided into the top right. Undeterred, Atlantic's Amber took game 1 with a kick off the bottom rail into a 6-15 combination to the top left, which was converted with ease. The Pirates' Amber capitalized on a scratch by the Rockers' Misty, running out the final four balls to take a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 was about as standard as they come for 15-ball, with each player getting an even share of possession even as Misty had a tendency to surrender it. Amber rattled the 15 out of the top left late, and Misty made a responsible cut to the bottom right to make it 2-1 in the series. Amber shot back with a game 4 win, using a four-ball run-out to capture the game and the series all at once, including a nice slice to the top side on the 15. Misty had game 5 wrapped up faster than you could blink, hammering the 1 off the right rail, watching it collide with the cluster of the 5, 7, 8, and 12, and finding a way to poke the 15 into the top left. Full disclosure: I didn't even really see what happened, but I saw the 15 roll the last three inches or so. Amber still took the series 3-2, and advances to the third round on her #6 ranked bid for another event hosted at McDonald's Hall in Atlantic.

Samsung Arena, Whitewater: Cheddar v. Shelley. We dive into a Survival series now. In the first rack of game 1, things were mostly stable until Whitewater's Cheddar appeared to bury Infinity City's Shelley. Shelley of the Torpedoes shot back, depositing a rare triple-pot, with the 13 in the top left, the 2 in the top side, and the 5 in the bottom side, almost simultaneously. The second rack went back and forth, but Shelley held on to take a 1-0 series lead after the Shores' Cheddar couldn't make anything on the third rack breakup shot. Shelley's game 2 didn't go to plan, but it still worked out for her as Cheddar whiffed on the 9 in rack two, leaving it right of the bottom side from the shooter's perspective after carefully chipping away at the second rack. Cheddar played a brilliant strategic game in game 3, repeatedly driving the cue behind the 11, which was aligned unfavorably, to prevent Shelley from getting a clean shot, driving her lives down right to the end within the first rack. Shelley holds a 2-1 series lead. Shelley, after falling behind in the second rack of game 4, managed to hold on and push Cheddar to the brink, where she fell away with a miss to start the third rack. Shelley kept it simple in game 5, outlasting Cheddar pretty easily for a 4-1 series win. The #78 ranked Shelley advances to the third round in her Survival quest.

Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston: Patches v. Precious. We're back to 15-ball in the urban southeast. Patches of Boston did reasonably well in winning game 1, which went fairly smooth early before hitting some struggles with accuracy later. The Swifts' Patches made up for a lack of accuracy with good positioning on both sides of the game, offense and defense, allowing her to out-maneuver Pronger's Precious in game 2, taking a 2-0 lead. The Tridents' Precious got one back with a game 3 win, another well-played game where Precious used stronger offensive positioning to take control after things got rocky around the 9. Patches had the visually appealing shot, pummeling the cue toward 11, and watching enough caroms make it spin its way into the bottom right corner. Precious tied the series in game 4, using a carom off the 6 into a 12-15 combination as the equalizing shot that came out nowhere. Precious capitalized on Patches' reduced positioning skills, using more of her own positioning to create better chances. In game 5, Precious made a critical mistake in leaving the 2 and 15 lined up after a miss, giving Patches a clean combination shot she somehow managed to butcher into a double-kiss make for the 3-2 series win. Patches will be traveling with her #40 ranked 15-ball campaign, taking her show on the road to Pearl, where Wings awaits in the Honda Driftwood Coliseum.

Kraft Forum, Royal: Frosty v. Midnight. A special edition evening-night mix for today kicks off with 10-ball. Commerce's Midnight wasn't taking any chances in game 1, using ball-in-hand earned from Royal's Frosty failing to make legal contact as the finishing move with a 2-10 combination to the top left. The Crowns' Frosty tied the series at 1 in game 2, taking her second shot on the 10 as the equalizer. Earlier in the game, Frosty tossed the 6 toward the bottom side, and it bounced off both the 7 and 8 before dropping in safely. Frosty took the series lead at 2-1 with accurate shooting in game 3, but without a highlight. Midnight of the Tradewinds retied the series in game 4, capitalizing on a missed 3-10 combination by Frosty for a made 3-10 combination of her own in the bottom right. Game 5 was another pretty standard game, with Midnight again winning after both players chased the 10 around for awhile. Midnight took the series 3-2, and will take her #64 ranked 10-ball bid into the third round.

Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Gizmo v. Bright. As if the day hasn't gone poorly enough with shooting, we have the shot-selection-focused 12-ball on the schedule next. Tysini's Bright received a gift early, with a wild card ball, and a second one later that allowed her to be patient even as Central's Gizmo had the same number of balls to go (less options on where to put them). Despite giving up a wild card ball later, Bright was already well positioned enough to give the Hummingbirds a 1-0 lead in the series. The Warriors' Gizmo tied it in game 2, using a wild card ball from the break and excellent shot selection and execution for the win, including a top rail bank on the 13, putting it in the bottom side to seal the game. Bright had a five-ball run in the middle of game 3, and played patient pool until a scratch by Gizmo allowed the proper shot on the 2 to the top left for a 2-1 series lead. Gizmo retied the series in game 4, taking control of the game late after a scratch by Bright allowed him to even things up. On his next turn, he drilled the 6 to the bottom right and the 2 to the top right, both from significant distance. In game 5, Gizmo gave up two wild card balls, but Bright never had a chance to get organized, as Gizmo navigated the table quickly with shot selection and paced the game with defensive positioning to prevent Bright getting free. As such, Gizmo won the game and the series, 3-2. Gizmo is ranked #25 for 12-ball, and he will play host to the Viewpoint Sound Meteors' Mr. Snowman in the third round at this very venue.

Nike Field Events Center, Commerce: Tigerette v. Brownie. We continue with 9-ball now. Atlantic's Brownie took game 1 out of nowhere, banking the 5 off the top rail, where it caromed into the 9 and sent the latter to the bottom left pocket for a 1-0 lead. Despite Commerce's Tigerette running four balls early in game 2, it was the Pirates' Brownie claiming the win after Tigerette's accuracy disappeared later on, and Brownie went to 2-0 in the series. Tigerette of the Tradewinds got back in the series after Brownie's scratch, using the ball-in-hand as her chance to pull off a 6-9 combination to the bottom left and make it 2-1 in the series. Tigerette tied the series by winning game 4 as well, using ball-in-hand from Brownie's failure to make contact on the 8 as the catalyst to a two-ball run-out on the 8 and 9 in the bottom left. Brownie peaked at the right time, taking game 5 with four of the last five balls to her credit, including the 9 for a 3-2 series win. Brownie is ranked #108 in 9-ball, but her improbable run continues to the third round.

Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Missy v. Jake. We return to 10-ball as we enter a short night phase of games. Royal's Jake mopped up when Capital City's Missy missed a tough angle shot on the 10. Prior to that, both players had shot pretty well, and made the game very competitive. The Sharpshooters' Missy received game 2 on a silver platter with ball-in-hand after the Crowns' Jake put it in the wrong pocket. Game 2 went in a more creative direction, with both players trying low-percentage shots frequently. In a back-and-forth game 3, it was Jake who got the last hit in, running out the final two balls to reclaim a series lead at 2-1 in a series thus far devoid of real highlights. Jake secured the series in game 4, as Missy's whiff on the 9 set Jake up to take the final two balls pretty easily. In game 5, Missy finished off with a three-ball run-out, giving Jake a series win of 3-2. Jake moves along to the third round with his #75 ranked 10-ball campaign.

Ebay Center, Queens: Max v. Leonette. We end the day on Survival, specifically so we don't have to start tomorrow with it. Pacific's Leonette controlled possession early on, playing dominantly until one miss, and then Queens' Max took over, although he was down by many lives. He gradually chipped away at the Volcanoes' Leonette, forcing her into multiple misses, but he couldn't stay alive himself when he drew them even, and Leonette took a 1-0 series lead. The Flames' Max tied the series in game 2, again wearing Leonette down but also staying alive long enough to reap the benefits in rack three. Leonette retook the series lead with one rack in game 3, as Max attempted to bank the 8 into either side, which failed, and Leonette doubled his pain by making it for a bonus life. Max missed the next shot to take the loss. Leonette built up an insurmountable lead in game 4, fading gradually as Max was pushed to the brink, and eventually winning the game and clinching the series. In game 5, Leonette didn't miss a shot, while Max missed the majority of his, giving Leonette a one-rack victory and a 4-1 series win. Leonette takes a #43 ranked Survival bid on the road again in round three, visiting Cisco Arena to play Bright of the Tysini Hummingbirds.

That's 60 games today. Expect 30-40 tomorrow and 30-50 Saturday before returning to pace on Sunday. In the last 11 days, over 700 games have been played and blogged, so thank you to my readers for sticking through it so far. We're about 25% finished with the second through final round portion of the tournament at this point.