Today's a day much closer to resembling Tuesday in terms of game breakdown. After 68 games yesterday, we will range between 56 and 63 for the last day of actual league action. Tomorrow, if things go according to plan, will be an R&D day, with the results from that posted in the afternoon or evening, and also a list of phase 2/retained players and phase 3/released players will hit the website tomorrow. I aim to conduct the draft sometime this weekend. Now, for the games...
The #11 Pearl Surfers host the #14 Victoria Spurs in the first of the last seven series at Kraft Forum, leading off the Quarterfinals. Pearl's Neopolitan struck first by winning 7-ball in convincing form with a three-ball run to start and a two-ball run-out after Victoria's Spice couldn't cash in. The Surfers went up 2-0 in the series as Watermelon held off the Spurs' Tori, despite her late rally to make it a close game of 8-ball, but Tori fell just a bit short. Victoria's got on the board as B. Chapman pulled off a three-ball run-out in 9-ball, halting a competitive game against Pearl's Neopolitan to make it 2-1 in the series. The Spurs tied the series at 2 when Spice bested the Surfers' Neopolitan in 10-ball with a crafty three-ball run-out for the win, shooting with top-notch accuracy to pick up the equalizer. In 12-ball, Watermelon did a good job of getting set up despite not having a wild card ball like Tori did, not that it did Victoria's Tori any good as she couldn't sink the 3 in time. Pearl's Neopolitan played solid defense and executed when she needed to while giving her team a 3-2 lead with the win. The Surfers clinched at least a tiebreaker at 4-2 with a win by Wings in Rotation, taking the game 8-4 over Chapman of the Spurs as she couldn't get many clean shots. Wings, on the other hand, worked some magical makes to build up an early lead, with his carom play especially proficient. Chapman answered for Victoria in 15-ball, dragging the series back to 4-3 with a big win after a lucky bounce that set her up for a good shot on the 15 after a chaotic cut on the 13. Wings did what he was supposed to in the game, but it wasn't enough for the Pearl star to seal the series up. Watermelon played a thorough game of Survival for the Surfers, so good that Tori of the Spurs couldn't make it through a rack, allowing the Surfers to take the series 5-3 and advance to the Semifinals against the winner of the next series.
The second series of the day features the #2 Central Warriors against the #10 Diamond Gems. Diamond's Citrus got revenge on Central's Noelle in 7-ball, going up 1-0 in response for when Noelle knocked Citrus out of the main tournament en route to her 7-ball title. The Gems moved to a 2-0 lead when Cassandra won 8-ball, shooting accurately early and weathering a three-ball run from the Warriors' Twilight that ended with a narrow miss on the 9 to leave Cassandra open to cut the 8 in for the win. Controversy struck in 9-ball, as Noelle's miss on the 9 appeared to get deflected by a small piece of debris on the table that caused Diamond's Citrus to miss the ensuing cut attempt. From ball-in-hand, Central's Noelle won the game and made the series tight at 2-1, which means this bit of controversy could sour the rest of the tournament. The home fans, already displeased with Central, made their dissent with hearty noise. The Warriors' tied the series at 2 in a much more legitimate fashion, as Twilight ran out the final six balls to stun the Gems' Cassandra while picking up the equalizer. Tactics ruled in 12-ball, with both players playing strong defense. In the end, Noelle of Central took advantage of having a wild card ball and good position to end the game and put her team up 3-2, while Diamond's Cassandra just couldn't hold on long enough to set up her final ball. Gizmo earned the Warriors at least a tiebreaker game with his 8-3 win over the Gems' Olivia in Rotation, ending on a big three-ball run-out with decent shot execution in a bit of a slow game that made it 4-2 in the series. Gizmo couldn't secure the series for Central in 15-ball, just whiffing on the 15 at the top left to allow Olivia of Diamond a tap-in from ball-in-hand for the win to make it 4-3, and the series shifts to an unfavorable matchup for the hosts. True to form, the Warriors' Twilight melted in Survival against the Gems' Citrus, forcing a tiebreaker game as Citrus' win equalized the series at 4. Gizmo bailed Twilight and all of Central out to a chorus of boos, running out the final three balls in the tiebreaker to top a bold effort from Diamond's Olivia that ultimately was her last appearance in the UPCL. The Warriors will face the Surfers after this heavy scare in the Semifinals later today.
Next up, the other top seed, the #1 Queens Flames host the #9 Lighton Prestige. Spirit of Lighton played brilliantly in an even 7-ball game, getting the win of Queens' Kayla for an early 1-0 lead. The Flames tied the series at 1 in 8-ball, with Paige scoring a four-ball run-out to keep the Prestige's Pounce at bay as the series appears to be another close one. Kayla put Queens up 2-1 in 9-ball, ending the game early with a hard carom of the cue off the 4 to put the 9 in motion against Lighton's Spirit. The motion carried the 9 to glance off the 6 and glide into the top left for the go-ahead victory. The Flames' Crystal dominated in 10-ball, running four balls early and three more late, but nearly gave the game away. Crystal got lucky that the Prestige's Twinkie I couldn't handle the angle on the 10, which gave Crystal redemption when she potted it for a 3-1 series lead. Pounce nearly got burned in 12-ball, with his four-ball run leading to heavy defense applied against the Lighton player by Queens' Paige. Slowly but surely, Paige worked her way back into the game with good shooting, but after making four of her five balls remaining on the table, she missed contact on the last one, allowing Pounce to brush off the scare and win the game to make it 3-2 in the series. The Flames' Crystal made it 4-2 in the series with an 8-3 Rotation win, playing smothering defense late in the game to keep the Prestige's Twinkie I away from clean shots, and in turn gaining a lot of easy shots herself from ball-in-hand when Twinkie I couldn't make legal contact. In 15-ball, Spirit of Lighton had a four-ball run answered by Paige of Queens with a four-ball run herself in the loose game. Things tightened at the end, with the 15 being problematic until Spirit's second chance, where she put it in the top right to make it a 4-3 series and keep hope alive for the underdogs from Lighton. Pounce of the Prestige looked dead to rights in the second rack of Survival, but an epic collapse by Crystal of the Flames allowed Pounce to hold true and grab the win somehow to tie the series at 4 and force the tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Kayla looked to be in good form late, but a miss on the 9 set Twinkie I up for the heroics by taking out the 9 to the top left and drilling the 10 to the bottom right, giving Lighton a 5-4 series win over Queens, and advancement to the Semifinals against the next series winner.
Ending the Quarterfinals, the #4 Tysini Hummingbirds host the #5 Web City Spiders in the tightest match of the round. Web City's Shadow punished a juicy leave on the break from Tysini's Bright in 7-ball, caroming the cue off the 1 to take the 7 to the bottom side for a 1-0 lead. Princess got the Hummingbirds on the board, tying the series at 1 when Sugar chipped the 8 for the Spiders in 8-ball, allowing Princess to tap it in after nearly losing the game by letting it get that far. Princess took far more control in 9-ball, getting Tysini another win to go up 2-1 with a five-ball run-out coming shortly after Web City's Shadow failed to pull another carom shot off the 3 to try for the 9, which ended up short. Marsell of the Hummingbirds shocked Rainmane of the Spiders in 10-ball, playing a very strong and respectable game that saw him dominate possession. Rainmane's last ditch effort on the 9 had illegal contact, allowing Marsell to tap the 9 in and then cut the 10 from a tough angle for the win, taking the Hummingbirds to 3-1 in the series. Web City's Sugar executed her shooting strategy quicker than Tysini's Princess in 12-ball, effectively positioning herself for the shots she needed to draw Web City back into the now 3-2 series. Marsell dueled with Rainmane again in Rotation, and the Hummingbirds' Marsell again won, taking the game 8-7 over the Spiders' Rainmane to push the series to 4-2 after an impressive bank to the top left on the 15 broke the deadlock for the win. Rainmane fired back with a three-ball run-out for Web City in 15-ball, ending the game with a successful double-pot that sent the 6 to the bottom left while the carom knocked the 15 to the top left, ending her struggles against Tysini's Marsell as she made the series 4-3. The Hummingbirds' Bright did the best thing anyone can do in Survival: not miss. This strategy, simple as it sounds, worked wonders when the Spiders' Sugar failed to match Bright, slowly losing all her lives as Bright remained relentless to take the win and secure the series at 5-3. Tysini is set to face Lighton in a battle of teams with question marks around them in the Semifinals, but they will be the second series of the round, opting for rest early with the winner getting a back-to-back later on while the other team opts for rest between the last two rounds.
The first Semifinal series is the #2 Central Warriors against the #11 Pearl Surfers. Central's Noelle weathered a three-ball run by Neopolitan of Pearl to take the 7-ball game with smart shooting late for a 1-0 lead against the acting hosts. Watermelon tied the series for the Surfers with a win in 8-ball in a very lazily-conducted game against the Warriors' Twilight, who appeared to be fatigued a bit. Neopolitan won a scratch-fest of a 9-ball game for Pearl, again topping Central's Noelle after sinking the 8 and 9 without scratching from ball-in-hand from Noelle's scratch, regaining the series lead at 2-1. Twilight answered to tie the series in 10-ball with a modest two-ball run-out, making it 2-2 for the Warriors by cutting the 10 to the top left to keep it away from the Surfers' Neopolitan. In 12-ball, Central's Noelle couldn't handle surrendering a wild card ball to Pearl's Watermelon, who used it to her advantage to gain a significant edge on her opponent until she finally cashed in when Noelle illegally potted her last ball to the wrong pocket. The series of misplays for Noelle led to Watermelon giving her team a 3-2 lead. Gizmo shot straight back with an 8-4 win for the Warriors in Rotation, taking a stand in his first stanza against the Surfers' Wings to tie the series at 3 with a tense victory. Wings shot back when Gizmo's four-ball run in 15-ball ended up being too little for Central, allowing Pearl's Wings one wicked cut shot to win the game and earn at least a tiebreaker with the 4-3 series lead. Twilight played a brutally strong game of Survival for the Warriors to tie the series at 4, taking out Watermelon of the Surfers handily in a single rack to trigger the tiebreaker. Gizmo dominated possession for Central in the tiebreaker, including an early four-ball run and strong shooting late. Pearl's Wings got a bit stronger near the end, but couldn't make the 9. Gizmo got an odd bounce off sinking the 9, resulting in a scratch-likely cut on the 10, but he somehow turned the 10 into the top right while the cue stayed up in the jaws of the bottom right, giving Central a 5-4 series win in heart-stopping fashion. The Warriors are through to the Final.
In a special evening session, the #4 Tysini Hummingbirds host the #9 Lighton Prestige. Tysini's Bright got off to a dominant start with a five-ball run, and then he cashed in when Lighton's Spirit couldn't handle the 7, making it 1-0 for the hosts. The Prestige's Pounce had a five-ball run early, but he let the Hummingbirds' Princess get back in the game, where they both targeted the 8. Pounce took care of business by banking the 8 off the top rail to the bottom right for the win, tying the series at 1. Lighton went up 2-1 in the series with an impressive shot by Spirit, getting the 2 and 9 to double-kiss, with the second tap coming from the 2 to guide the 9 to the bottom right, stunning Tysini's Princess in the process. In 10-ball, the Prestige's Twinkie I elected to shoot on a bad angle at the 10, and it cost her when she missed and Marsell cut it in on the next shot for the Hummingbirds, retying the series at 2. Princess pulled Tysini to a lead in 12-ball, running out her last three balls thanks to a wild card ball that wiped out the one she gave Lighton's Pounce earlier. She also had more targets to work with, and played off of them effectively to get Tysini back to a series lead at 3-2. The Hummingbirds' Marsell pushed Twinkie I of the Prestige to the brink in Rotation, but she didn't fall over the edge, scoring the last four balls on two turns to win 8-6 in the game and tie the series at 3. Marsell gave 15-ball a frenetic start with three balls on the break, but the game slowed down later. Tysini's Marsell avoided a late collapse this time, sinking the last two balls to shut the door on Spirit of Lighton, giving Tysini the 4-3 series lead and at least a chance at a tiebreaker. The Hummingbirds' Bright gave it his all in Survival, lasting halfway through the third rack before succumbing to an equally lucky Pounce of the Prestige, which resulted in the series being tied at 4 and going to a tiebreaker. Bright translated the strong shooting to the tiebreaker, dominating late with five of the last six balls to his name, giving Tysini the 5-4 series over Twinkie I of Lighton, who just couldn't handle the frenzy ending. Onto the Final now.
To wrap up the UPCL Tournament 2015 season, we have the #2 Central Warriors, a dominant team in both sports all season against the #4 Tysini Hummingbirds, whose rebuild has dramatically outpaced expectations. Tysini's Bright stole the game of 7-ball away for a 1-0 lead when Central's Noelle scratched as she potted the 7, blowing a well-played game away. Princess stepped up for the Hummingbirds in 8-ball, besting fellow superstar Twilight of the Warriors after the latter committed her team's second straight folly late in a game, which put them down 2-0 early on. Princess gave Tysini a stranglehold lead after winning 9-ball with a strong 6-9 combination to the bottom side after Central's Noelle had a missed shot that lined the winning play up for Princess, allowing her to make it a 3-0 series. Twilight got the Warriors back in the series with a win in 10-ball that saw her execute a seven-ball run at one point and then bank the 10 off the top rail to the bottom side, smothering the Hummingbirds' Marsell defensively throughout to make it 3-1 in the series. Princess thought a wild card ball in 12-ball would just be collateral damage, but Noelle of Central made the Tysini star pay for her mistake by making her last two balls legally to take the game and push the series to 3-2. Marsell took Rotation 8-4 for the Hummingbirds against the Warriors' Gizmo, who faltered when his team needed him the most as they fell into a must-win situation for the remainder of the series with the Hummingbirds leading 4-2. Marsell wasn't spectacular, but he was efficient. Gizmo kept Central alive in 15-ball, completing a five-ball run-out to hold off Tysini's Marsell and push the series to 4-3. Bright finally sealed the deal for the Hummingbirds in Survival, taking the Warriors' Twilight to a second rack before she fully fell apart and lost the game, giving the Tysini Hummingbirds the City Cup title at 5-3 in the series.
With that now accounted for, I can lay out my plans. Tomorrow is an R&D day, hopefully just in the afternoon. Before that gets too exciting, I'll publish the retained and released players, which can be used in conjunction with the Protected Players list to determine the draft pool. It appears as if there will be thirty-four players in the draft pool, so we're looking at an average of just over one pick per team, but obviously some teams will not pick at all and one team is being built in full, so there's a lot of variance. The draft is expected to take place this Saturday night at the Verizon Field Events Center in Pacific. I'd also expected Sunday to be administrative and maintenance based, with some likely spilling into Monday before 2016's qualifiers begin in full on Tuesday.
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