Clan Cup Playoffs 2015

After the last of the individual efforts yesterday, we now turn our attention to the Clubs. All series today are at Nestle's Warriors Hall in Central as the league-designated site of the Clan Cup. The format is an eight-game series involving each style of pool. The five-player teams have three players designated to play two styles each, and two other players to play one style and be available as a tiebreaker option. If a tiebreaker is necessary, the teams may choose which player they call upon to participate in a game of Quidditch-rules 10-ball to split the tie. This results in a minimum of 56 games and a maximum of 63 games for the entire day. We begin with a morning series between...

Empyre and Solid Core, the #4 and #5 ranked clubs. In game 1, Solid Core's Misty out-dueled Empyre's Graham in 7-ball pretty effectively, dominating possession while taking a 1-0 lead with her sharp-shooting routine. Slinks tied the series at 1-1 for Empyre, weathering a run by Solid Core's Acorn late in the game of 8-ball, but Slinks' hot start served well to pull her club back into the series. Misty again got the best of Empyre's Graham, although not as thoroughly. Misty took a confident win in 9-ball to restore the Solid Core lead at 2-1 in the series. Solid Core's Dreamy paired a four-ball run with a four-ball run-out in a thorough smackdown against her Swordpoint Blades teammate and Empyre star Snowball in 10-ball, giving Solid Core a big lead at 3-1 in the series halfway through. In 12-ball, a series of follies tainted a smartly played game late, with Empyre's Dusky most guilty for not scoring four- and three-ball runs when everything was set up for her. This doesn't excuse Solid Core's Acorn for being meticulous with his last ball toward the bottom side, as he made the game more dramatic than it needed to be, although he did get Solid Core to 4-1, clinching at least a tiebreaker. Empyre's Dustin kept his club alive, winning the game of Rotation by 8-5 over Solid Core's Chicky Phil, making it a 4-2 series. Chicky Phil bounced back in 15-ball, getting revenge on a much stronger Dustin with a three-ball run-out capped by a 14-15 combination to the bottom right, securing the series for Solid Core at 5-2. Empyre's Snowball made quick work of Solid Core's Sleepy B. in the second rack of the Survival game, saving some face for Empyre as the final favored Solid Core 5-3. The #5 ranked Club advances to the Clan Cup Semifinals against the fourth series winner of the day, to be determined later.

The next series kicks off the afternoon, as #3 Youth Movement gets the breaking duties against #6 Humanity West. There was quite a bit of scratching in 7-ball, but Youth Movement's Sprinkles struck in with the last two balls to take a 1-0 lead over Dani and Humanity West. Youth Movement went up 2-0 as Twinkie III used a five-ball run to pace her attack and hold off Chris of Humanity West, who had troubles with accuracy in the game of 8-ball. Youth Movement made it 3-0 when Sprinkles took the 9 on her second shot at it, coming after Humanity West's Jasmine left it short at the bottom right, putting the visiting Club in a bit of danger after 9-ball. Allison of Humanity West halted the free-fall, scoring a pair of three-ball runs in 10-ball, including a kick-combination 9-10 to the top right to win the game over Puff III of Youth Movement, making it a 3-1 series. Chris surrendered a wild card ball in his 12-ball effort, and Twinkie III played defense the rest of the way while working herself even into the game, before kicking off the left rail into the 7, which caromed off the 9 and into the bottom side for a win for Youth Movement, putting them up 4-1 on Humanity West, securing at least the tiebreaker. Humanity West's Allison got off to a strong start in Rotation, but Youth Movement's Kiwi would not be denied, showing off great form in an 8-6 win that sent Youth Movement through at 5-1. Kiwi again flashed former MVP skills in 15-ball, making quick work of the game with a double-pot that saw the 3 go to the top left while the carom took the cue to the 15, which fell in the bottom left, stunning Humanity West's Dani as the series went to 6-1 for Youth Movement. Valencia couldn't hold on to grab the extra life in Survival's second rack, costing Youth Movement the final game as Humanity West's Amber got away with a narrow win that made it a 6-2 final. Youth Movement will advance to play the winner of the next series in Semifinals.

For the third Quarterfinals series, Delila Enterprises plays the host to Humanity Universe. In 7-ball, Gabe of Humanity Universe was a lot more accurate than Snuggle of Delila Enterprises, and it showed when he made five of the seven balls to take a 1-0 series lead. Humanity Universe went up 2-0 in the series as Debby Ryan scored a four-ball run in 8-ball for them to put a severe dent in Max's game plan for Delila Enterprises, a run Max failed to recover from as errors late sealed a loss. Delila Enterprises had the better player in 9-ball, but Precious made a lot of late mistakes, including rattling the 9 into a position where Humanity Universe's Shawn could pot it cleanly for a 3-0 series lead. Humanity Universe took a position of ultimate strength, as Shawn again topped Precious in their 10-ball meeting. Shawn answered a four-ball run by Precious with an odd shot on the 9 that looked to squander position, but ultimately served a bank of the 10 to the top side for the classically-inspired finish to the stanza. Max couldn't do any thing for Delila Enterprises in 12-ball, bending even as Shannon of Humanity Universe had to surrender a wild card ball to get set up. Shannon's big and aggressive win secured the series at 5-0. Delila Enterprises avoided complete embarrassment when Ruby showed up in Rotation, using a four-ball run to pace an 8-3 win over Debby of Humanity Universe, which made it a 5-1 series. Ruby couldn't double-down for Delila Enterprises, as Humanity Universe's Taylor Swift answered with a 15-ball win to make it 6-1. The game itself was pretty sloppy, with both players lacking authority on their shots that helped to extend the game much longer than it needed to be with nothing but pride on the line. Avoiding an extended Survival game, Taylor folded in a single rack for Humanity Universe, allowing the series to end 6-2 when Delila Enterprises got a win from Americus. Humanity Universe proves to be the better of the Humanity franchises, and they will try to avenge West's fall by facing their tormentors, Youth Movement, in the Semifinals.

The last series of the Quarterfinals has Club Reality hosting Oriental United. Reality got off to a solid start with a three-ball run-out in 7-ball by Puff I, answering a luck-fueled three-ball run from Oriental United's Mams to make it 1-0 in the series early on. Reality went up 2-0 in the series on the back of an 8-ball win by Missy, who used a seven-ball run-out a handful of turns in to shut Oriental United and Chimpy down completely after the show of accuracy. Puff I had a four-ball run for Reality in 9-ball, and dominated up until the end, where she left the 9 short for Mams to tap it in the top left and get Oriental United on the board at 2-1. Reality answered after Stinky successfully chased down the 10 in 10-ball, while Oriental United's Paps could not corral the rascally 10 quickly enough, as Stinky's win made it 3-1 for Reality in the series. The game of 12-ball went wild at the start, with both players getting four-ball runs early before settling into gridlock with a defensive battle late. Twinkie II overcame for Reality, sneaking her 3 around Panda's 13, and then depositing it in the bottom right for win, pushing Reality to a tiebreaker-clinching 4-1 lead over Oriental United. Shiny got another game back for Oriental United, using a three-ball run-out to lay claim to Rotation with an 8-4 win. The final shot appeared a failure, with the 13 not falling off the carom from the cue off the 11, but the 11 had enough juice to go three rails into the top side for the shot toppled Reality's Dusty and made it a 4-2 series. Chimpy made things interesting, saving his best for a five-ball run-out for Oriental United in 15-ball, which gave them the win as Dusty of Reality failed again at securing the series, making it 4-3 in the series. Panda avenged his own loss in 12-ball with a bold performance in Survival that was rewarded with a win over Twinkie II, tying the series at 4 and resulting in the first tiebreaker of the Clan Cup playoffs. Oriental United calls on Shiny for the tiebreaker, while Missy gets the cue and the break shot for Reality. The tiebreaker saw a lot of patience and nerves, with neither player letting loose much. Shiny did try to get bold late, and she scratched while potting the 9, giving Missy ball-in-hand on the 10, an easy shot Missy buried to get Reality through 5-4. Reality faces Solid Core in the Semifinals.

Opening the Semifinals, #3 Youth Movement hosts #7 Humanity Universe, with a trip to the Final on the line. Humanity Universe took a 1-0 lead, with Gabe playing patiently as Sprinkles of Youth Movement wore herself out before striking late with a three-ball run-out to win the game of 7-ball. Humanity Universe went up 2-0 as Debby Ryan played a strong start in 8-ball, pacing herself to a more casual finish as Youth Movement's Twinkie III couldn't catch up in time, setting the tone for the series early. Humanity Universe extended the lead when Shawn won 9-ball, somehow managing a victory despite a much stronger effort put forth by Youth Movement's Sprinkles, with her only true flaw being a forgivable miss on the 9, although the leave proved juicy enough to make it 3-0 for Humanity Universe. Shawn did everything but win for Humanity Universe in 10-ball, running four balls twice as he dominated possession, but a scratch on the 8 set Puff III of Youth Movement up to make it 3-1 as she tapped in the 10 for the win. Twinkie III of Youth Movement nearly overcame giving up a wild card ball at the break, using an early four-ball run, but Shannon of Humanity Universe wouldn't stand for it, using her advantage wisely to claim the win and make it 4-1, sending her Club into a frenzy at the potential of moving to the Final. In Rotation, Youth Movement's Kiwi used a four-ball run-out to take an 8-4 win that made it a 4-2 series, topping Debby of Humanity Universe. Kiwi's highlight play was a displacement of the 13 after she made her sixth ball, setting up a straight in shot on the 9 that she stopped dead to line up the 10 for the bottom right, a fabulous sequence of shots. Kiwi continued to keep Youth Movement alive, going toe-to-toe with Taylor Swift of Humanity Universe until the end, where Kiwi broke out with a three-ball run-out, including a tough cut on the 15 to seal the game of 15-ball and make it a 4-3 series. Taylor melted in Survival, falling very quickly for Humanity Universe under a relentless Valencia, who refused to see Youth Movement bow out quite yet. The series became tied at 4, sending it to the tiebreaker of Quidditch-rules 10-ball. Gabe will draw in for Humanity Universe, going against the tying hero Valencia for Youth Movement. Valencia rewarded her Club for their faith in her, as she won it for Youth Movement on a long-range tap-in of the 10 to the top left that Humanity Universe's Gabe left after he couldn't convert the bank attempt, giving Youth Movement a ticket to the Final on their 5-4 win.

In the other Semifinals series, Club Reality battles Solid Core. Misty dominated possession in 7-ball for Solid Core, with Reality's Puff I making only one shot in the game, as well as a scratch that allowed Misty an easy finish for a 1-0 series lead. Reality tied it at 1 when Missy breezed past a tired-looking and ineffective Acorn of Solid Core in 8-ball, winning with significant confidence. Misty of Solid Core made Puff I of Reality pay for leaving the 9 at the top left from the break, working a 3-9 combination to give Solid Core a 2-1 series lead with the cherry-picking shot. Dreamy of Solid Core had a lazy breakup shot when she couldn't possibly make legal contact, and Reality's Stinky pounced on the opportunity for a 2-10 combination to the top left, making it to tie the series again at 2 after Dreamy's poor shot planning in 10-ball. Twinkie II cashed in on her extensive set-up work with a four-ball run-out in 12-ball, giving Reality a 3-2 series lead while stunning Solid Core's Acorn, who had shot well in the game but struggled to get his remaining balls in position. Dusty put Reality in a position of strength with her 8-3 win in Rotation, never really letting Solid Core's Chicky Phil get close in the game that gave Reality a tiebreaker at the minimum. Dusty again played hero in 15-ball, sealing the series in favor of Reality with a four-ball run-out ending on a bold bank with the 15 going from left rail to top right for the win, stunning Solid Core and Chicky Phil as their season ends. Not that the Clan Cup determines much for the futures of players, but Chicky Phil did not make his case to stick with the Westside Rockers in going 1-3. The series stands at 5-2. Sleepy B. of Solid Core thought she had things under control in Survival, but before the second rack was halfway over, she found herself out of lives thanks to the never-say-die attitude of Twinkie II for Reality, who made it a 6-2 final in the series. With the win, Reality moves onto the Final.

Finally, after a few hours rest, Reality hosts Youth Movement for the Clan Cup in the Final. Puff I imposed her will for Reality in 7-ball, working around a reliable but not good enough effort from Sprinkles of Youth Movement for a 1-0 lead capped by a modest run-out. Reality went up 2-0 after a terrible excuse of an 8-ball game, ending when Youth Movement's Twinkie III potted the 8 early on an ill-fated shot that made Missy's life a lot easier after her poorly-timed scratch. Puff I kept Reality cruising, doing all the work on a nine-ball run-out in her second turn of 9-ball, absolutely smothering any hope for Youth Movement as Sprinkles was held away from the table while the series went to 3-0. Youth Movement stayed alive with a win in 10-ball, coming from a five-ball run-out by Puff III that re-energized the #3 ranked Club, while Stinky of Reality looked a little overmatched in the game. Reality bounced back to earn at least a tiebreaker game, with their Twinkie II brilliantly running four balls at the end after careful shot planning and set-up work, blasting past Twinkie III of Youth Movement, who just couldn't get the 15 around the 2 at the top side, which made it 4-1 in the series. Kiwi nearly kept Youth Movement afloat in Rotation, but her scratch on a bank attempt at the 15 sealed their fate. Dusty drove the 15 straight in for the 8-7 win in the game and the clinching victory in the series, making it 5-1. Kiwi fired back with the win in 15-ball over Dusty, making it a 5-2 series with one more game to go. Valencia made a compelling case in Survival for Youth Movement, but lazy shooting late gave away the game to Reality's Twinkie II, winning the Clan Cup 6-2.

That's all for today's 58-game slate. Tomorrow, we face between 64 and 72 games in the first round of the City Cup, which will come live from the two venues in Royal, Kraft Forum (for better seeds having odd numbers) and Kraft Crowns Park under the gazebo (for better seeds with even numbers). The City Cup lasts two days, and at the conclusion of the City Cup Final, a full list of determinations on unprotected players, as in who will be cut and who will be retained, will be published, likely on Friday.