Pool: Round Four Day 2

Here's a lighter day for pool, but still a solid one. We begin with...

Apple Center, Todavía: Easter v. Shadow. The first series of a short afternoon is in 9-ball. Todavía's Easter got a lucky break in game 1, as Web City's Shadow rattled the 8 out late, while the Stills' Easter managed to take the 9 from a wide shot on the bottom left that saw it ricochet to the top side for a 1-0 lead. The Spiders' Shadow made it 1-1 in the series with a game 2 win, dominating the last half of the game with a deft double-pot that saw the 5 to the top side and the 6 drop in the top left, followed by a three-ball run-out after Easter's miss on the 7. Easter bounced back in game 3, dominating possession throughout with her finishing move being a three-ball run-out for a 2-1 series lead. Shadow again tied the series, making it 2-2 after taking a three-ball run-out in a fairly normal game 4. The only real shot of note was Easter's failed 5-9 combination attempt. Game 5 started out terribly sloppy until Shadow scratched. After the scratch, Shadow pieced together a four-ball run, only to be answered by a four-ball run-out from Easter, including a soft top rail bank to the bottom side on the 6 and a follow-up from good position to get the 9 in the bottom side as well, taking a 3-2 lead in the process. Shadow absolutely dominated in game 6, with a four-ball run included amongst the eight balls he potted, but he scratched while sinking the 9, which gave Easter the game and also the series at 4-2. Shadow took advantage of Easter's late scratch in  game 7, left-handing the 9 into the bottom left to make it a 4-3 series. Easter, ranked #44 in 9-ball, will advance to the quarterfinals, where she'll host Sydnee of the Royal Crowns at this venue.

Nike Field Events Center, Commerce: Tigerette v. Shiny. Next up, there's 10-ball on the schedule. Commerce's Tigerette finished strong in game 1, going on a six-ball run-out to take a 1-0 series lead over a stunned Shiny of Victoria. The Spurs' Shiny bounced back in game 2 with a strong decision-making move. Tigerette had just double-potted the 6 in the top left and 9 in the bottom left on a cluster buster that she called the 10 for, and Shiny elected to shoot. Four shots later, she won the game and tied the series at 1 with excellent positioning for all of her shots. In game 3, Shiny's positioning was again of full display, making a tough angle cut to the bottom side on the 5 that also took the 7 in the bottom right, and from there she worked four more shots that ended up being pretty easy, taking the six-ball run-out for a 2-1 lead in the series. The Tradewinds' Tigerette weathered a four-ball run from Shiny in game 4, holding out until Shiny displayed a drop in accuracy late in the game to strike with a tap-in on the 10 that retied the series at 2. Game 5 was extremely tight on both sides, with accuracy at an impressive level. In the end, Shiny had the edge with a three-ball run-out, preventing Tigerette from getting back to the table after she whiffed on a carom from the 7 to the 8 late in the game. Tigerette wasted no time for an equalizer in game 6, shooting the 1-2-10 combination to the top left on her first shot, as Shiny's break left that combination in order for Tigerette, making the series 3-3. Tigerette took the series 4-3 in game 7 as Shiny's key component, positioning, evaporated in game 7 on the 9, which she missed contact with as she snookered herself behind the 10. Tigerette took the last two balls to take the series. Ranked #41, Tigerette will host a 10-ball series in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Shiny fell out of the tournament, the fifty-third player eliminated. Despite the solid effort this series, her seasonal numbers do not look good, and her cricket numbers won't do her any favors either. Expect the Spurs to engage in a half-rebuild that sees Shiny off the team. Tigerette picked up her first kill of the season.

Nissan Hall, Infinity City: Shelley v. Taylor Swift. In the southwest, there's Survival to play. Eastside's Taylor took game 1 after grabbing the extra life ball, which stabilized her shaky early shooting enough while Infinity City's Shelley faded fast. The Sharks' Taylor went up 1-0 when the Torpedoes' Shelley missed potting the leftover ball to start the second rack. Game 2 saw the balls scattered just far enough to hit them cleanly, but just close enough to make a clean route to the pocket impossible in most cases, or with the pocket too far away. Shelley's ability to navigate this difficulty gave her an advantage that helped her win the game and tie the series at 1, as Taylor struggled mightily with the obscured shots. Taylor barely held on in game 3, fading near the end of the first rack, but holding on long enough to get the upper hand on Shelley after a bad breakup shot, earning a 2-1 lead with the narrow win. Shelley also dropped game 4 in the second rack, having no answer for Taylor getting the extra life ball to pull ahead. Taylor's win made it 3-1 in the series. Taylor's defensive tactics failed in game 5, but a return to standard play was sufficient for a win early in the second rack, topping a hapless Shelley again to secure the series at 4-1. In game 6, the players chased the leftover ball down to their last lives, where Shelley made it and drove the cue to the corner in perfect defensive form. Taylor did get weak contact on the rack, but nothing fell, giving Shelley the game to make it 4-2 in the series. In game 7, Shelley did not have a lot of fight left, taking an easy loss as Taylor claimed a 5-2 series win. Ranked #96, Taylor is on the road again in the quarterfinals, as she travels to Del Sur to face the Southern Monarchs' Panda at the Microsoft Center. Taylor picked up a kill, her first of the season, with this win. Shelley is the fifty-fourth player to be eliminated, but her future with the Infinity City Torpedoes is about 50/50 on a return.

Ebay Center, Queens: Kayla v. Nightfur. A little southeastern rivalry action gets the night going in Rotation. Queens' Kayla dominated in game 1, pulling out to a 1-0 lead with an 8-1 victory fueled by accuracy after the balls got more organized. Royal's Nightfur tied it with a four-ball run-out in game 2, winning 8-6 after the run of accuracy. The game was mostly sloppy, with many illegally potted balls and missed contacts. The Flames' Kayla played strong again in game 3, working her way to an 8-2 win as the Crowns' Nightfur continued to make a lot of errors and fouls to ruin her game. Kayla worked an 8-3 win into game 4, moving to a 3-1 series lead with the victory that ended with a four-ball run-out capped by a carom off the 11 that took the 12 in the top right. Kayla claimed the series at 4-1 with an 8-4 win in game 5, again finishing with a four-ball run-out, with the final shot coming on the 12, a sharp and thin cut that narrowly avoided the careening 15 that caromed off two rails from its original point of contact. Nightfur shot back in game 6, making the series 4-2 with a three-ball run-out in an 8-3 win. The theme of the series still remained stuck on poor shooting, with errors and scratches all over the games. Nightfur also took game 7, winning 8-6 after nearly blowing it twice late in the game. Kayla just couldn't piece together a late run. Ranked #3 in rotation, Kayla will host her next series of Rotation in the quarterfinals. Nightfur's loss meant she was the fifty-fifth player eliminated from the tournament. It's unclear what the Royal Crowns intend to do, but with a compensatory pick coming their way for a retiring player, its unlikely they'll rock the boat much, meaning Nightfur will probably return. Kayla earned her third kill of the season.

Honda Driftwood Coliseum, Pearl: Wings v. Kayla. No rest for the Queens' Kayla, who travels a significant distance for the second half of a doubleheader, playing 15-ball. Pearl's Wings absolutely dominated the course of play in game 1, until he left the 8 too close to the 15. The Flames' Kayla cashed in with a soft carom off the 8 to tap the 15 to the bottom left, gaining a 1-0 win with her only successful shot of the game. The Surfers' Wings made it 1-1 with a win in a very back-and-forth game 2. Neither player did much to establish possession, making it a very hard game to follow. Game 3 showed better performance from both players, as they made a few caroms and generally nice looking shots. In the end, Kayla's four-ball run late meant nothing when Wings cashed in on her missing the 15 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Kayla scored a three-ball run-out in game 4, with the late positioning being key in her victory that tied the series at 2. Wings went up 3-2 in the series with a highly defensive win in game 5. Wings only got the win because Kayla jammed the 14 at the bottom right and it rattled out, but Wings still had to make a cut on the 15 with significant scratching danger that he avoided to take the win. The players exchanged runs late in game 6, but Wings' came last, a three-ball run-out that sealed up the series for him at 4-2. The play in general was tight but sloppy in the last two games with the series' fate in the balance. Kayla took a much more loose, inventive, and fast-paced game 7 after a scratch by Wings late in the game, making it a 4-3 final for Wings. Ranked #4, Wings will host his quarterfinals series in 15-ball.

Starbucks Arena, Archtown: Ruby v. Snuggle. Next up, a doubleheader of 9-ball. This particular series is the last on the blue side of the bracket for this round, a very early finish for one particular section of the bracket. Archtown's Ruby looked like the stronger player in game 1, running three balls late before scratching. Still, Oceanside's Snuggle missed on the 9, making it very easy for Ruby to take it for a 1-0 series lead. The Waves' Snuggle did a good job with positioning late in game 2, despite neither player having much luck early on. Snuggle made the last two balls to tie the series at 1. The Arrows' Ruby bounced back easily in game 3, moving to 2-1 in the series by dominating possession with a four-ball run and a modest two-ball run-out when Snuggle couldn't do anything with her miss on the 7. Snuggle shot right back with a three-ball run in the frenetically-paced game 4, tying the series at 2 in what has been a very competitive battle. Game 5 lost pretty much all of that pace, but made up for it with Snuggle's highlight finish, a 3-9 combination on a slight angle to the bottom left that put him up 3-2 in the series. Ruby answered in game 6, cruising easily around the table with a three-ball run included in the middle of the game. At the end, Ruby got a nice bounce, as her bank attempt on the 8 grazed the 9 on the way by, and the spin sent it to the bottom rail while the 9 headed to the top right. About six inches from the pocket, the 8 gave the 9 another tap to send it in, tying the series at 3 with the highlight-worthy shot. Game 7 was very fast and loose, with Ruby opening with the 2 and 7 to the top left off the break as part of a three-ball run, answered by Snuggle's four-ball run late. Jockeying commenced a little bit, and then Ruby left-handed the 8 to the bottom left, getting a bounce off the 9 to position it for the top left, taking the game and series at 4-3. Ruby, ranked #29 in 9-ball, will travel to the similarly-ranked B. Chapman of the Spurs to face her in the Lay's Field Events Center in Victoria in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Snuggle is the fifty-sixth player eliminated in the tournament. However, Snuggle holds a 44-37 record, an impressive mark, while going 11-8 in series, and the Waves will be more than happy to welcome their captain back. Oceanside also was eliminated from the tournament completely, the third team to fall. Expect Snuggle to also participate for Delila Enterprises in the Club playoff tournament. Ruby tied the league lead for kills at 3.

Cisco Arena, Tysini: Princess v. Sprinkles. The second half of the 9-ball doubleheader features the only appearance by the red cue today. Tysini's Princess couldn't land the carom off the 3 to hit the 9 like she wanted to in game 1, but a little patience got her set up to take it in the bottom side after a late miss by Capital City's Sprinkles on the 8. Princess made it 2-0 in game 2, using a three-ball run-out to take the game quite handily, with her accuracy and bravado on full display. The Sharpshooters' Sprinkles had a three-ball run right around mid-game in game 3, but her scratch to end the run was her last action, as Princess ran out the final four balls, including a wicked cut along the top rail from behind the top side to get the 9 in the top left for the 3-0 series advantage. Sprinkles got on the board with a win in game 4, pounding a narrow angle bank of the 8 from the top rail to the bottom side, while also getting set on the 9 that made it 3-1 in the series after she converted it. Sprinkles dominated (and that doesn't begin to describe it) in game 5, running eight balls from the break, but she missed her bank off the left rail toward the bottom right for the 9, and Princess tapped it in from distance on a minor cut shot that secured the series for her at 4-1. Princess got extremely lucky in game 6, but it wasn't because she didn't earn the chance. Sprinkles didn't quite have the same level of shooting, so Princess controlled the pace of play. After taking the 5 in the top right on a kick from the left rail, Princess passed the cue between the 7 and 8 to attempt a 6-9 combination. The intended shot failed, but 9-ball is a slop game, so the second kiss the 6 planted on the 9 to steer it into the top left was perfectly acceptable to make it 5-1 for Princess. Sprinkles grabbed game 7 after a bad scratch by Princess. Princess still took the series 5-2, and it seemed more dominant than that, and she will take her #59 ranked 9-ball bid to the quarterfinals. With the loss, Sprinkles became the fifty-seventh player eliminated from the tournament. Her future is cloudy with the Capital City Sharpshooters, but one imagines the highly-successful team will be interested in bringing her back.

Volkswagen Stadium Events Center, Viewpoint Sound: Stripes v. Acorn. The last series of the night brings us 12-ball against a serious clock. Lighton's Acorn remained patient in game 1, waiting for Viewpoint Sound's Stripes to face the fact that she had to clear her defense away, and struck at that moment for a 1-0 lead. The Meteors' Stripes answered in game 2, holding off a fast-approaching Acorn by tapping in her last ball with the wild card ball advantage the only thing saving her. The Prestige's Acorn surrendered that and then strategically scratched, but he couldn't sink all three remaining balls in one turn at the table, so Stripes had time to counter and then win the game to tie the series at 1. Game 3 took almost no time at all, as Acorn's three-ball run induced panic in Stripes, whose cluster buster resulted in Acorn having both a wild card ball and ball-in-hand with one ball left, so he tapped it in for the win and a 2-1 lead in the series. Stripes did just enough in game 4 to disrupt the fast attack Acorn deployed early on, as she bumped his 15 out of the way of the bottom right. On his last shot, Acorn had illegal contact, and Stripes used ball-in-hand to make her last two balls from good position to tie the series again at 2. Acorn didn't appear to be shooting anything in particular during game 5, but it became clear as he completed a six-ball run-out that he had casually positioned everything to get just the right angles, and well enough that he left himself with options late. The hardest was the 11 to the top right, but he converted that with a deft cut before take the 9 in the top side and the 14 in the bottom right as his last three shots, with the first three being fairly standard. Stripes was left stunned as Acorn soared to a 3-2 lead. Acorn's patience prevailed again in game 6, waiting for Stripes to clear away the defense and leave him a decent shot before striking big to take the game with well-placed shots. Acorn's win here made it a 4-2 series. Acorn played fairly casually in game 7, and that hurt him as Stripes played strong, working positioning to take the win and make it a 4-3 series. Ranked #72 in 12-ball, Acorn advances to the quarterfinals. Stripes is the fifty-eighth player to be eliminated from the tournament, and her numbers across both sports do not look good for her to be retained by the Viewpoint Sound Meteors. The Meteors have struggled this season, and their spark plug Stripes will likely take at least part of the blame for it. Acorn picked up his second kill of the season.

That's all for this one. There were 56 games today, and I expect slightly more tomorrow in a full schedule effort. There may be cricket tomorrow morning, but I won't commit to it.