Pool: Quarterfinals Day 4

It's the last day in the Quarterfinals/fifth round, with just three series on. We begin the short day at...

Samsung Arena, Whitewater: Twinkie III v. Debby Ryan. The first series of the day is in 8-ball. Game 1 started slowly, but Whitewater's Twinkie III picked up the pace after Southridge's Debby scratched, using a three-ball run-out to gain a 1-0 series lead. The Shores' Twinkie III made like a runaway train in game 2, gathering momentum on a seven-ball run. The Defenders' Debby couldn't play strong enough defense, getting shut out as Twinkie III took the 8 into the bottom left for a 2-0 series lead. Twinkie III lacked the pace required to make many of her shots, while Debby appeared to have adjusted from what went wrong early, flipping the script in game 3 to make it 2-1 in the series. Debby tied the series with a win in game 4, a patiently played game from Debby that just barely held off Twinkie III, who remained a step behind all game, making the series tied at 2. Twinkie III took a 3-2 series lead as Debby crumbled near the end of game 5. Debby had as few as two balls left at one point, but consecutive scratches wore away the intensity of the game, and Twinkie III buried the 8 in open space to the bottom left for the win. Debby couldn't answer Twinkie III's four-ball run late in game 6, and Twinkie III took care of the 8 to the bottom left on her next turn for a win in the game that clinched the series at 4-2. Debby bounced back with a game 7 win, holding off a late storm from Twinkie III's three-ball run to pull ahead by scoring the last two balls. Ranked #10 in 8-ball, Twinkie III heads to Tysini to face the Hummingbirds' superstar Princess at Cisco Arena in the semifinals. Debby is the 103rd player eliminated from the tournament, but she's had a good run in both sports, and the Defenders will welcome her back, likely with two awards to her name. The Defenders are now also the eleventh team to be eliminated short of the semifinals. Twinkie III collected her third kill of the season in the win.

Nike Field Events Center, Commerce: Lionel v. Marsell. Just to the north, there's 15-ball for the middle series of the day. Commerce's Lionel got lucky in game 1, taking 1-0 series lead with two shots after ball-in-hand stemming from Tysini's Marsell snookering himself in a half-baked attempt to get the 15 down early. Game 2 went a bit back and forth, but the Hummingbirds' Marsell made a few too many errors early, and the Tradewinds' Lionel ran seven balls later on to tip possession in his favor, eventually gaining the win a few turns later for a 2-0 series lead. Lionel continued to work with late domination in game 3, using a six-ball run on one turn and a two-ball run-out the next turn to gain a stranglehold 3-0 lead in the series over Marsell. Lionel's miss on the 9 in the cleanly-contested game 4 proved important, as Marsell keyed a three-ball run-out from that point, taking the game to move to 3-1 in the series. Lionel won game 5 in surprising and spectacular fashion, attempting an 11-14 combination to the top left that missed, but glanced the 15 off the top rail to the bottom left for the victory, a shocking play to secure the series at 4-1. Marsell won a mostly uneventful game 6 with a bank of the 15 off the top rail to the bottom right for the win, going to 4-2 in the series with a nice display of advanced skill. Game 7 had some late highlights, as Marsell potted the 9-14 combination to the top side, which turned into a double-pot when the 9 caromed off the 12 and into the bottom side. Lionel answered with a four-ball run-out on his next turn to take the series 5-2. Ranked #62 in 15-ball, Lionel will host Paige of the Queens Flames at this venue in the semifinals. Marsell is the 104th player to be eliminated from the tournament, and his future with the Tysini Hummingbirds remains in doubt. After cutting him last season, they redrafted him, and he did grow a little bit, but with the team trending upward, they may look in a different direction in the second year of their official rebuild. Lionel scored his second kill of the season in the win.

Microsoft Center, Del Sur: Panda v. Taylor Swift. The round ends as it started, with Survival on the blue cue, the final seven-game series of the season. Southern's Panda played a relentless game 1, forcing Taylor of Eastside into trouble at the start of the second rack, allowing himself to go up 1-0 when she missed on the leftover ball from the first rack. The Monarchs' Panda needed to grab the extra life in the second rack of game 2 to hold on long enough, but it worked when Taylor of the Sharks got pinched late in the rack, giving Panda the 2-0 lead. Taylor's attempt to keep the cue away from the 8 in game 3 ended up being her demise, as the defensive positioning maneuver resulted in a scratch that cost her last life, allowing Panda to escape a game he was rapidly falling apart in with a victory for a 3-0 lead. Panda pulled out all the stops late in the third rack of game 4, using a strategic scratch to finally take Taylor down as she battled for her tournament life, but she couldn't gain the upper hand, making it Panda with the 4-0 series lead to punch the final ticket for the semifinals. The intensity level bottomed out in game 5, but Panda still walked away with the win as Taylor faded quickly, making it a 5-0 series at this point. In game 6, it was Panda who fell quickly, giving Taylor a good-will gift that is frequently seen in lopsided series, to make it 5-1. Panda shot back with a quick win in game 7 to seal the series at 6-1. Panda, ranked #28 in Survival, will host Patches of the Boston Swifts in the semifinals at this venue. With the loss, Taylor is the 105th player to be eliminated, and the twenty-sixth this round. Her loss means a couple of things. First of all, there are no more rookies in the tournament, with Taylor and Debby both falling today. The Rookie of the Year Award will likely be awarded to Debby, as it was in cricket, because of a better record and the head-to-head those two players had. Secondly, the Eastside Sharks are the twelfth team out of the tournament, leaving just twenty teams with investments in the semifinals. Thirdly, the Humanity Universe Club is out of the tournament as well, the first of the eight clubs to fall without an award. With the win, Panda took his second kill of the season.

We continue on tomorrow with the semifinals. A new schedule and standings update will both be posted within the next hour. The Semifinals/sixth round commences with only 24 players involved. The storyline down the stretch over the next three days will be if Princess, who has played a sheltered schedule so far, can keep up with the required pace to close out an MVP bid. Remember that all series from now on are nine games per set, and on Thursday, there will be split-cue games throughout the day for the Finals. Administratively, the process of cue assignments for next tournament and creating draw cards for qualifiers is what I get to look forward to tonight.