Another big day to play some pool. The remaining games should be about 70 a day for the rest of the week and finish up the round this Saturday. For today, the games begin with a doubleheader by location in...
Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Sprinkles v. Ms. Kitty. The first set at this venue is 7-ball. Capital City's Sprinkles got off to a good start, calmly taking game 1 with only a minor mistake in the form of an early scratch on her record. The Sharpshooters' Sprinkles went up 2-0 after the players exchanged scratches, but Pacific's Ms. Kitty did hers after sinking the 6, allowing Sprinkles the easy tap-in to win. The Volcanoes' Ms. Kitty couldn't corral the 7 from a bit of a distance, leaving another tap-in for Sprinkles, who clinched the series at 3-0 with the easy shot in a somewhat shaky but altogether reasonable string of games. Ms. Kitty got on the board in game 4, using a three-ball run-out to take the game and avoid the sweep. Sprinkles shot back with a six-ball run-out in five shots, highlighted by her 3-5 combination double-pot to the top left. Sprinkles took the series 4-1, and advances to the third round with her #19 ranked 7-ball campaign, with her next match here in this venue against B. Chapman of the Victoria Spurs.
Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Missy v. Neopolitan. The second half of the doubleheader is 8-ball. Missy of Capital City took an early 1-0 lead with a strong effort in game 1, navigating minor defense from Pearl's Neopolitan to pace her way through the game and eventually clear the 8 legally when the timing was right. The Surfers' Neopolitan tied the series at 1 with a three-ball run-out in game 2, taking advantage of the Sharpshooters' Missy lacking a killer instinct on the 8. Missy retook the lead with a game 3 win, using a five-ball run (really seven, but the last two were Neopolitan's), and then finishing her last two balls with strong positioning for the 2-1 lead. Neopolitan claimed solids in game 4, using a double-pot that saw a simple shot on the 1 in the top side carom into the 8 and eventually the 2 dropping into the top left to complete the highlight. Missy took the series at 3-1, using defense to slow down Neopolitan late in the game before breaking free on a five-ball run-out from ball-in-hand to five different pockets after carefully setting up her shots and executing them to perfection. Neopolitan got one back for posterity, taking game 5 with a bit of patience after opening well and waiting for Missy to clear enough defense away to get a decent shot on the 8. The series favored Missy 3-2, and she takes her #18 ranked 8-ball bid into the third round.
Microsoft Center, Del Sur: Shannon v. A. Charlton. Continuing to the coastal southwest, we have a series of 9-ball. Southern's Shannon did slightly better in game 1, out-maneuvering and playing slightly more accurate than Golden's Charlton, and Shannon took the game with a couple of simple shots on the 8 and 9 for a 1-0 lead. Game 2 ended in a frenzy. The Pilots' Charlton took a bad shot at the 4, but struck the 7 first for illegal contact. Both balls fell, with the cue driving the 4 to the bottom left and banking the 7 to the bottom right. On ball-in-hand, the Monarchs' Shannon ended the game by nailing the 5 to the top right and applying the proper spin to take the cue off the top rail, bumping the 9 and sending it cleanly to the bottom side for a 2-0 lead. Game 3 lacked the spectacular shots, but it did finish on a highlight with Shannon banking the 9 off the top rail to the bottom right to clinch the series at 3-0. Charlton nearly had game 4 in her hands, completing a four-ball run-out, but her cut shot required far too much power to keep the cue on the playing surface, and it went four rails after the 9 and into the top left to give Shannon the easy win. Charlton saved face with a game 5 win, caroming the cue off the 1 to take the 9 at the bottom side and using enough force on the cue to also pot the 2 in the top side from a two rail route. Shannon still won the series 4-1, advancing into the third round with her highly ranked #12 in 9-ball bid.
Ebay Center, Queens: Kayla v. Shawn. It's Rotation time in the southeast. Southern's Shawn worked well in game 1, establishing a large lead early and supplementing it with a four-ball run-out, including a double-pot as the finishing move with the 8 going to the bottom left while the cue caromed to double-kiss the 13 into the bottom side for an 8-2 win in the game and 1-0 lead. Queens' Kayla shot right back with an 8-2 win of her own in game 2, and it looked even more dominant with accurate shooting and precision aiming making each individual shot very well-planned. The Flames' Kayla took game 3 and a 2-1 series lead with strong play in close on the clustered left side of the table. With many of the balls jammed together, Kayla used a fine touch to navigate an 8-4 victory, despite Shawn of the Monarchs rallying back with a late double-pot on the 10 and 12. Shawn smartly used a breakup shot in game 4, getting the 7 and 12 to go in the bottom right and top left corners to spur a six-ball run-out to tie the series at 2. In game 5, Kayla expertly caromed the 4 off the 7 to pot the 7 in the top side and 4 in the top left to pull herself back into a game Shawn controlled early. She followed with a similar shot to take a lead late using the 10 and the 14 on the bottom side and bottom left. After a little jostling, Kayla finished the game 8-5 with two high-precision shots to win the series 3-2. With the win, the #3 ranked Kayla advances to the third round to host Princess of the Tysini Hummingbirds at this venue. Shawn became the tenth player eliminated from the tournament (the first four-bid player to be knocked out in the second round), and his future is in extreme doubt with the Southern Monarchs after a poor showing in cricket. Kayla recorded her first kill with the win.
Starbucks Arena, Archtown: Ruby v. Puff I. This 7-ball series will see the silver cue draw in for the blue cue after its strong performances yesterday. Puff I of Modernistic struck first with a game 1 win in a very back-and-forth game as the players adjust to the different tip on the cue. Archtown's Ruby tied the series in game 2, working positioning pretty well and making the most out of bad lies when she could. The Arrows' Ruby took a 2-1 lead in a scratch-filled game 3, using the Union's Puff I's scratch to set up with ball-in-hand on the 7 for a tap-in at the top side. Puff I made sure her three-ball run in game 4 wouldn't be for naught, managing to bank the 7 off the bottom rail to the top left after Ruby fanned on the 7 on her one chance at it. Puff I made a long-distance shot on the 7 in a tight game 5 to take the series 3-2, topping an MVP candidate whose credentials just took a major knock. Puff I, ranked #34 in 7-ball, is through to the third round to host Cheddar of the Whitewater Shores at her own home of Google Hall in Modernistic.
Samsung Arena, Whitewater: Jennifer v. Fluffina. In this 200th series of the round, the blue cue makes its return to action for 8-ball. Maplewood's Fluffina got the best of Whitewater's Jennifer in a somewhat defensive game 1, navigating very efficiently the defenses the Shores' Jennifer had to offer, and using a deft touch of a very talented veteran to win and take a 1-0 series lead. Fluffina of the Lumberjacks drilled a huge double-pot early in game 2, absolutely blazing the 11 to the top left while bumping the 10 hard to the bottom left. The rest of the game was a bit slow for Fluffina, but she did enough to frustrate Jennifer with long shots that she worked at her own pace to gain a 2-0 lead. Jennifer had a highlight in game 3, sharply caroming the 4 off the 12 to sink it in the bottom side as part of a four-ball run. Jennifer later had a three-ball run as well, and a great setup shot on the 8 caused defensive havoc for Fluffina, allowing Jennifer a tap-in to make it 2-1 in the series. Jennifer began with a four-ball run in game 4, but Fluffina answered with brilliantly lucky shots at times in the middle of the game, fast-tracking her to the 8, which she made just in time as the 9 left Jennifer frustrated. Fluffina leads 3-1 in the series. In game 5, Fluffina was behind from the start, and never got to catch up after sinking the 8 prematurely. Fluffina took the series 3-2 over Jennifer, and her #47 ranked 8-ball campaign will continue with another road trip into Oceanside to battle the Waves' captain Snuggle at AT&T Hall in the third round. With the loss, Jennifer saw her rookie campaign end with elimination in the second round, the second of seven rookies to be ousted. Jennifer is not likely to return to the Shores despite a strong postseason in cricket, as they will look for the right player in the draft for a fourth straight year. Fluffina earned her first kill of the campaign.
Nissan Hall, Infinity City: Smudge v. Dusky. Onto 15-ball in the southwest. Infinity City's Smudge struck first in game 1, sparring pretty sloppily with Archtown's Dusky but besting her in the end with confident shooting late in the game to get set up on the 15 without a struggle. In game 2, the shooting remained poor, but the Arrows' Dusky was definitely most concerned with it, playing unintentional defense to stay alive. Her fear was confirmed when the Torpedoes' Smudge made the final eight balls on three turns to go up 2-0, without Dusky being able to get comfortable on a shot at all. Game 3 went a bit more free-flowing early, with strong runs by both players. In the end, the grinding defense returned, as Dusky twice flubbed the 15 but forced poor position before Smudge knocked it in for a 3-0 series lead on her third try. Dusky got away with a game in game 4, as Smudge again dominated possession late and even held her own early in the messier stages of the game, only to scratch while potting the 15 to make it 3-1. Smudge also had the final say in game 5, a perfectly fine game until the 15, which took eight shots to be potted and only happened after a frustrated Dusky scratched on her fourth attempt. Smudge won the series 4-1, and her #47 ranked 15-ball bid will play host to Kayla of the Queens Flames in the third round.
Home Depot Forum, Web City: Shadow v. Nicole. Ending the afternoon, there's a doubleheader of 7-ball to close out the red side of that event for the second round. Web City's Shadow took a fairly calm game 1 with a two-shot run-out of modest difficulty. Southern's Nicole tied it in game 2, taking advantage of the Spiders' Shadow failing to pick up position on the 7 and scratching in the process. The games have seen fairly even possession, although that's a hard thing to gauge in seven balls' time. Shadow took game 3 with a convincing three-ball run-out for a 2-1 series lead. Shadow clinched the series at 3-1, as the Monarchs' Nicole couldn't extend a four-ball run and Shadow refused to let her try to start a new one. Shadow took the 7 to the bottom side off the break in game 5, winning the series 4-1. Shadow is ranked #10 in 7-ball, and will advance to the third round, hosting Gizmo of the Central Warriors at this venue. With the loss, Nicole is the twelfth player eliminated from the tournament this season, and like her teammate and Monarchs' captain Shawn, her future with the organization is in heavy doubt after struggling in both sports. Shadow picked up his first kill of the tournament with the knockout.
Kraft Forum, Royal: Sydnee v. Chris. The second half of that doubleheader will give these 7-ball players a lengthy layoff. Royal's Sydnee managed to eke out a win in game 1, but both her and Capital City's Chris struggled with basic shooting and mechanics in the event, so it was really anyone's game up until the end. The Sharpshooters' Chris got a break in game 2, tying the series on a 6-7 combination after Sydnee of the Crowns ended a three-ball run earlier than she would have liked with a missed cut on the 6 that set up the combination. Sydnee learned from her mistake in game 3, running out the final five balls instead of missing the 6, although to be fair, the shot was far more favorable this time via positioning. Sydnee appeared to have clinched the series on the break in game 4, but the break was a bit awkward, and the cue ball crashed into the bottom left to award Chris the win, tying the series at 2. Chris claimed the series at 3-2 in game 5, working his way around a tightly played game to make a shot from distance on the 7 to the bottom right. Ranked #59 for 7-ball, Chris is set to host Smudge of the Infinity City Torpedoes at the Capital City SuperCenter.
Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Gizmo v. Jake. The night begins with some 15-ball. Royal's Jake kept himself in the game early on as Central's Gizmo went to work, but then the Crowns' Jake ran out the final three balls with solid positioning for a 1-0 lead. Gizmo of the Warriors came out with a highlight arsenal in game 2, scoring the 1 on a two-rail kick off the left and top rail to the top side with the glancing hit, followed by a double pot with the 2 and 14 to the bottom left and top left, and a 3-13 combination through traffic to the bottom left. The best of his four highlights came in the midst of a five-ball run-out, on a shot he shouldn't have actually made. With the 12 frozen on the left rail and the 15 obstructing the direct shot, Gizmo kicked off the bottom rail and hit it in the sweet spot, while also preserving positioning on the 15 to win the game and tie the series. Jake started his own highlight reel in game 3 during a four-ball run-out. He began with a 9-13 combination the bottom right at an awkward angle that worked. He then followed with the 9, but without disrupting angle on the 10-15 combination at a very thin angle on the other end of the table. Jake took the shot, and made his second combination to go up 2-1 in the series. Jake called Foster the People in game 4, after sinking the 9 and 10 in spectacular fashion, and they played Pumped Up Kicks for him. His kick on the 9 to the bottom right mimicked Gizmo's from two games ago, while the kick on the 10 was much closer to the pocket but still impressive. Remarkably, Gizmo made these shots not matter a bit, working virtuoso positioning during his four-ball run-out to tie the series. Jake got the last laugh in the series, as the former Warriors converted a 6-15 combination from medium distance for a 3-2 series win. Ranked #61, Jake makes Central's staff second-guess their decision to cut him last season, as it is him and not Gizmo who will host Allison of the Tysini Hummingbirds at Royal's Kraft Forum in the third round.
Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston: Puff II v. Watermelon. Survival makes its return as it has straggled recently and will feature heavily in the remaining series. The silver cue will draw in for the red cue this series. Boston's Puff II held on late into the second rack, coming back from the edge to defend her way to a game 1 win and a 1-0 series lead over Pearl's feisty Watermelon. The Swifts' Puff II frustrated the Surfers' Watermelon to no end in game 2, chipping down a bit only to play crafty and work Watermelon down faster. Puff II especially excelled at getting the ball behind the jaws of the pocket without scratching, using the cushion as a defense mechanism to cut off a large portion of the table at a time. Watermelon got on the board in game 3, taking the game in a single rack as Puff II's shooting accuracy disappeared late in the game. Puff II may just be playing patient, with a 2-1 series lead still in her hand quite comfortably, and since she's had the better run of play, she may not be all that worried. In game 4, Puff II used the rope-a-dope technique brilliantly, holding a lead by four lives and using up three of those before finally cornering Watermelon to a breakup shot, which sank nothing and knocked her out of the series that Puff II now leads 3-1. Puff II won the series 4-1 with a game 5 victory in which Watermelon did not appear all that engaged to play. Puff II takes her #33 ranked Survival bid into the third round with the convincing victory. Puff II, herself far from safe, used this win to knock Watermelon out of the tournament, the thirteenth player eliminated. Puff II earned her first kill with the win. Watermelon's future with the Pearl Surfers is not certain, but she did perform well in cricket and the Surfers may be reluctant to shake things up too much with their captain retiring at the end of the season.
Apple Center, Todavía: Easter v. Valencia. This Rotation series in the coastal southwest is a battle between league titans. Golden's Valencia got a bit lucky despite running play from the start in game 1, as Todavía's Easter rallied back to tie it at 7 before whiffing on the 15 on a thin cut attempt, allowing the Pilots' Valencia to tap in for the win. Easter of the Stills had a highlight in game 2, knocking the 10 in after caroming it off the 8 and 13. Valencia didn't care for Easter's three-ball run to take the lead, and answered with a three-ball run-out of her own to take a 2-0 series lead on an 8-7 win again. Easter showed brilliance again in game 3, kicking the cue off the bottom rail with spin to contact the 5 and create a 5-15 combination to go up 4-1 in the game. Despite later missing the 9 from ball-in-hand, Easter managed to regain possession later and take an 8-6 win to make it a 2-1 series in what has lived up to its billing as a top-notch series. Valencia shot back, winning game 4 by a score of 8-4, and her finishing move to secure the series was a double-pot on the 8 and 12, knocking the 8 to the top right and caroming the 12 to the bottom right in what was a difficult shot made to look easy by one of the game's best. Valencia took the lead with another 8 and 12 double pot, sending them to the top left and top right pockets quite convincingly. Valencia had to rally again later, but pulled it off for another 8-7 victory. Valencia, ranked #59 in Rotation, advanced into the third round on a 4-1 series win, where she'll meet Twinkie II in Harrison as the Specters player hosts her at the Mercedes-Benz Forum.
AT&T Hall, Oceanside: Americus v. Panda. Finally, the last two series will be a doubleheader for Oceanside's Americus, but lucky for him, both are at home. The first is a set of Survival. The Waves' Americus took complete control in game 1, manipulating the shots favorably to bury Southern's Panda before the game got too far along, and finishing the visitor off in the second rack. The Monarchs' Panda bounced back in game 2, inducing a number of poor shots by Americus to tie the series at 1 game apiece. Game 3 was played at a high level, and Americus did well to recover from early struggles, flipping the game around late in rack 1 and holding onto to shove Panda to a loss in the middle of rack 2, taking a 2-1 series lead to the delight of the home fans. Panda fired back with a hair-raising game 4, going three racks with neither player missing a ball in the second rack, before Panda was able to push Americus around enough to take the game and tie the series at 2. Panda took only three turns in game 5, becoming the first ever player to utilize the Plus-5 rule, accruing three extra lives on the break and another two on a double-pot follow of the 6 and 8 to go up 10-5, five lives more than the starting point of five resulting in automatic victory. It's a bit of a shame, because Panda looked poised to take this game five racks if given the chance. The #29 ranked Panda moves into the third round and will host his next series in Survival.
AT&T Hall, Oceanside: Americus v. Max. Finishing the night, there's more Rotation as the second half of Americus' double duty. Queens' Max dominated in game 1, winning 8-1 with a patient play as Oceanside's Americus didn't appear fully recovered from the shock of losing the last series. The Flames' Max made the highlight reel with a sharp cut on the 4 to the bottom side, which then saw the cue take two rails and return to swipe the 7 into the top side for a 5-1 lead at that point. Max was not heavily challenged in game 2 either, winning 8-2 for a 2-0 series lead as his confident approach had been overpowering to the Waves' Americus. Max had to really fight for the series in game 3, as Americus took a more defensive approach that proved successful, forcing Max to take the game 8-7 and clinch the series at 3-0, but not without a fight. Americus got on the board with a bold game 4, holding Max pretty even after having sent the cue ball off the table. In the end, Americus used a bank-combination, drilling the 14 in such a way that it sent the 15 to the top side for an 8-6 win and a game that moved the series to 3-1. Max hit the highlights again, going two rails to get contact on the 1, which then sent the cue caroming into the 6, potting it in the bottom side. Americus answered, taking the lead in game 5 with a double pot of the 3 in the bottom side and the 15 in the bottom left. Americus ended up winning game 5 by an 8-4 margin, but lost the series 3-2. Max, ranked #123 for Rotation, will visit Dani of the Sharpshooters at the Capital City SuperCenter in the third round. Max also recorded a kill, knocking out Americus from the tournament as the fourteenth player to bow out. Americus has an uncertain future ahead, being unprotected from either sport and not posting particularly great numbers for an underwhelming team in both.
That's 70 for today. Tomorrow could run longer, but the bulk of Survival left is played then as well, which could hitch the games up a bit if the shooting is not crisp.
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