We've come to the last big day for the round, and also the last day with appearances by the silver cue before its full takeover in the half research and development, half competitive playoff session. We begin in...
Starbucks Arena, Archtown: Sleepy B. v. Patches. The day begins with Survival in the northeast. Boston's Patches did a good job of forcing a second rack in game 1 and holding in for awhile, but Archtown's Sleepy B. proved relentless and took a 1-0 series lead with the convincing win. The Arrows' Sleepy B. completely collapsed in game 2, losing all of her accuracy midway through the first rack. The Swifts' Patches started fading too, but had more room to work with and won the game handily to tie the series at 1. Sleepy B. took a 2-1 series lead with a hard-fought game 3 win, as a lead tended to be short lived. Patches led at the start of rack two, but Sleepy B. gained possession of the pace and took it from there for the win. Patches again established her will in game 4, playing another quick victory by hardly missing anything, while Sleepy B. struggled with some bad leaves from Patches, tying the series at 2 in a very back-and-forth series so far. Patches played much of game 5 from behind, but she last three racks, and this was long enough to outlast Sleepy B., who missed on her last shot at the 8, making it a 3-2 lead for Patches. In game 6, Patches lost some momentum, with two bad misses steepening her decline into a one rack loss, with Sleepy B. playing a bit defensively to prevent a comeback as she held on to tie the series again at 3. Patches started with a big lead in game 7, but ended up fighting for her life with Sleepy B. at sudden death for most of rack two, until she got the wild card ball and defended her way to inducing a miss by Sleepy B. Patches, ranked #58 for Survival, won the series 4-3 and will go to Queens to play the Flames' Kayla at the Ebay Center in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Sleepy B. is the seventy-first player to be eliminated this season. Sleepy B. knows she will return to the Archtown Arrows next year after earning protection in cricket. Patches scored her first kill of the season.
Chevrolet Center, Everton: Cleo v. Chicky Phil. The fiftieth series of the round is 12-ball just south of the last set. Everton's Cleo overcame a wild card ball given away on the break and Westside's Chicky Phil running four balls by inducing a bad angle and using a strategic scratch that earned ball-in-hand for a modest two-ball run-out and a 1-0 lead after the crafty game 1 by the host. The Rockers' Chicky Phil tied the series at 1 with a game 2 win that looked close but one that he had all the way based on the positioning of his last two balls at pockets both he and the Eagles' Cleo needed. Cleo retook the series lead at 2-1 with good play late, making a three-rail bank on her second-to-last ball and doing enough to disrupt the leave for Chicky Phil that he missed contact on his kick attempt, allowing Cleo to win from ball-in-hand in game 3. Cleo pulled ahead to 3-1 in game 4, cleverly missing her first go at the 15 after a scratch by Chicky Phil, only for him to leave the cue lined up with the 15 and the bottom side after missing his shot from ball-in-hand on the 4 toward the top right. Cleo played a bold game 5, with a very quick pace, as Chicky Phil did quick work as well. Cleo worked left to right, while Chicky Phil went bottom to top. Both players needed the top right when Cleo unleashed a bold shot, a kick off the left rail that saw the 2 bump the defending 10 out of the way before falling, and then used a positioning shot to get the 1 near the bottom right on an odd bank. Chicky Phil whiffed on the 10, and the leave favored Cleo, who sank the 1 to make it a 4-1 series. Cleo nearly did herself in surrendering a wild card ball to Chicky Phil, but his four ball run came up fruitless when he missed twice on the 3, allowing Cleo to work unhindered for the win and a 5-1 lead. Chicky Phil learned his lesson for game 7, making the shots he needed to, including another four-ball run, but making sure to finish the game for a 5-2 series. Ranked #84 for 12-ball, Cleo will travel to Westside to face Rockers captain Misty at the BMW RockDome in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Chicky Phil is the seventy-second player eliminated from the tournament. Chicky Phil provides the Westside Rockers with an interesting dilemma, if they wish to invest in what they saw recently, or if they'll part ways with the other three-quarters of the time when he was not playing well. He will be one of the most borderline decisions either way after a late run of strong play. Cleo earned her second kill of the season.
Ebay Center, Queens: Max v. Snowball. A doubleheader of 10-ball starts in the southeast. Swordpoint's Snowball struck first in game 1, using a three-ball run-out with a bank of the 9 from bottom rail to top side to get set up for the 10, which she buried for a 1-0 lead. The Blades' Snowball went up 2-0 by making the final five shots over two turns, frustrating Queens' Max with brilliant defense in game 2. Snowball moved into a 3-0 lead with a 4-8-10 combination in game 3, part of a three-ball run-out stemming from an illegally potted ball by the Flames' Max. Snowball secured the series at 4-0 with some of her best shooting, including a three-ball run with a 7-8 combination to the bottom left and a modest two-ball run-out for the win, using great positioning to make mincemeat of Max. In game 5, Max put the notion of a sweep to bed with a four-ball run-out, taking the 9 off the top rail to the bottom side and potting the 10 in the top left from distance to make it 4-1 in the series. Max made it 4-2 after Snowball left the 9 short, setting him up for the last two balls to end game 6 and salvage a little more pride. Game 7 went pretty normally, with Snowball getting the win by taking the 10 to the bottom left to make it a 5-2 series with an unremarkable finish. Ranked #76 in 10-ball, Snowball next travels to Pacific's Verizon Field Events Center to battle Leonette of the Volcanoes in the quarterfinals.
Toyota Arena, Freedom: Stinky v. Acorn. The other half of the 10-ball doubleheader is in the Eastern Hills. Lighton's Acorn began with a 1-0 series lead after Freedom's Stinky twice missed the 10, the second time missing contact, giving the Prestige's Acorn ball-in-hand to finish game 1. Acorn took a 2-0 lead in the tightly played game 2, with his three-ball run answered by a three-ball run from the Cascades' Stinky that ended in a scratch, allowing Acorn to finish off the last two balls again for a win. Stinky bounced back with a game 3 win, using a three-ball run and a somewhat defensive leave to force Acorn into a bad shot, that resulted predictably in a miss that gave Stinky an easy shot for the win to make it 2-1. Stinky twice rattled the 10 out of a pocket in game 4, and those two misses gave Acorn enough time to hone in a shot to win the game and take a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 did not have as clean a course of play as previous games, and this messiness allowed Stinky to emerge after possession traded hands multiple times, sinking the 10 on his second try to make it a 3-2 series. Game 6 went even sloppier, but the ending showed a bit of light and also excitement, as Stinky went on a five-ball run-out with some strong positioning to tie the series at 3 and send it to one decisive game. Stinky twice made the highlight reel in game 7, sinking a 3-9 bank combination from the right rail to the top left, and then pulling off a 4-5-7 kick combination to the bottom left after illegally potting the 3 on an N-shot to the bottom right that Acorn deferred possession on, all part of a four-ball run. With all of that, Acorn still got the game late when Stinky fell apart on accuracy, and he won the series 4-3. Ranked #37 in 10-ball, Acorn is set to host Princess of the Tysini Hummingbirds at Pepsi Arena in Lighton in the quarterfinals. With the loss, Stinky is the seventy-third team eliminated, and the Freedom Cascades are the sixth team to fall out. The Cascades may be keeping Stinky after a reliable effort and .500 level play throughout the tournament, a deep run for the vastly unsuccessful expansion team. Acorn earned his third kill of the season in the win.
Lay's Field Events Center, Victoria: B. Chapman v. Acorn. Lighton's captain Acorn travels across the map to the southwest for 15-ball after the schedule treated him poorly. The silver cue is in for the blue cue here. Victoria's Chapman took a 1-0 lead after turning on her possession skills in the late parts of game 1, doing a couple of modest runs to keep Lighton's Acorn away from the table. Chapman of the Spurs went up 2-0 in a less dominant but still effective game 2 win, cashing in on the frequent misses from the Prestige's Acorn late in the game. Possession was much more even in this game. Chapman scored a three-ball run-out in game 3, going up 3-0 with the strong finish, which has become her trademark move in this particular series. Acorn took game 4, a very sloppy stanza in the already shaky series, with a light cut on the 15 to the bottom left after Chapman previously gave away possession on the 14. Neither player had anything resembling accuracy in the game. Chapman shot back in an even worse game 5, with tempers boiling over late before Acorn's deflating scratch while attempting the 15, which gave Chapman the game for a 4-1 series lead. Acorn had an unexpected game 6 victory, getting the slightest glance off the 4 that drove the 15 to the bottom left to make it a 4-2 series, to everyone's surprise. Game 7 reached absolute disaster status at the 12, which refused to go down on any normal shot, but worked perfectly on Chapman's kick. Acorn ended up taking the rest of the miserable game, making it a 4-3 series with for Chapman. Ranked #10 in 15-ball, Chapman will nonetheless be traveling to Pearl to play the Surfers' Wings at the Honda Driftwood Coliseum in the quarterfinals.
Nike Field Events Center, Commerce: Ice Cream v. Dreamy. Heading north a bit, there's 8-ball on the schedule, which should be a calmer series. Commerce's Ice Cream took a 1-0 lead after game 1 due to Swordpoint's Dreamy getting a little too creative in an attempted carom shot, potting neither the 3 nor the 1 to give the Tradewinds' Ice Cream plenty of time and space to work with. The Blades' Dreamy started strong in game 2 on a six-ball run on her first turn, and despite Ice Cream's best efforts, Dreamy held on to finish off the last two shots, using a glancing kick to get the 8 after deftly avoiding the 6 while sinking the 12 in the top side, which tied the series at 1. Ice Cream couldn't get out of her own way in game 3, scratching multiple times, the last one leading to Dreamy's tap-in on the 8 to go up 2-1 in the series. After some late regression in game 4, with multiple scratches on both sides, Dreamy got back on track first and ran out four balls to make it a 3-1 series. Dreamy resorted to using defense to slow Ice Cream down in an electric game 5, but the defense didn't hold long enough, and a bad leave from Dreamy turned into an easy shot for Ice Cream on the 8, making it 3-2 when it fell in the bottom right. Game 6 stayed close as well, as both players had modest runs throughout to keep things in check. In the end, Ice Cream's miss on the 8 left things simple for Dreamy, who buried the 7 in the jaws of the bottom right and got position favorable to making the 8 in the top left, which she did to clinch the series at 4-2. Dreamy rallied from way behind in game 7, at one being four balls down but ending up winning the game for a 5-2 series win anyway. Dreamy's ability to get on the next ball served her well in this game. Dreamy, ranked #125 in 8-ball, continues her Cinderella run to the quarterfinals, where she'll take to the road again. Ice Cream's loss caused her to be the seventy-fourth player eliminated from the tournament. With that comes doubts that the heavily Empyre-based Commerce Tradewinds will want to retain a player affiliated with the Solid Core/Youth Movement clubs. Ice Cream did perform well in cricket, which may buy her another year with the team. Dreamy scored her first kill of the season.
Verizon Field Events Center, Pacific: Ms. Kitty v. Twinkie III. At the coast, there's a series of Rotation to play. In game 1, Pacific's Ms. Kitty staved off Whitewater's Twinkie III early on while the game was close, and then had a four-ball run-out to win the game 8-3 and take a 1-0 series lead. The Shores' Twinkie III had nothing for game 2, getting nothing to go her way as the Volcanoes' Ms. Kitty cruised around making shots with ease to win 8-1 for a 2-0 series lead. A late three-ball run and a scratch by Twinkie III were all the things Ms. Kitty needed to win game 3 by a score of 8-2, tapping in the 10 from ball-in-hand after Twinkie III's scratch, ascending to a 3-0 lead. Ms. Kitty also played micro-defense on the 7, with the 10 just eclipsing it to prevent Twinkie III from doing anything legal with it. Twinkie III bounced back in game 4, as Ms. Kitty repeated her style from game 3. This made it predictable for Twinkie III, who rallied to tie the game, and then win it 8-7 with a three-ball run-out to make it a 3-1 series. Ms. Kitty was stifled by Twinkie III's defense early in game 5, but she overcame it when the table opened up late, running out three balls for an 8-7 win to make it 4-1 in the series. The finishing move Ms. Kitty deployed was a bank of the 14 off the bottom rail to the top left, a hard shot that went in smooth. Ms. Kitty found highlights in game 6, banging in the 4 off a kick from the bottom rail that went through a narrow gap between the 7 and the 15 to help extend an early run, and a bank on the 9 from the bottom rail to the top side that set her up for the 8-2 winner on the 10, giving her a 5-1 series lead with the display of skill. Twinkie III had a three-ball run highlighting the middle of her game 7 win, an 8-2 victory that made it 5-2 for the series in a somewhat casual game. Ms. Kitty, ranked #18 for Rotation, will host Max of the Queens Flames in the quarterfinals at this venue.
Cisco Arena, Tysini: Princess v. Fluffina. Two very talented players wrap up the extended afternoon session with 8-ball from the southwest. Game 1 looked like a copycat game, with Maplewood's Fluffina beginning on a six-ball run and Tysini's Princess answering with a six-ball run of her. A little jockeying at the top left mixed things up, and then the Hummingbirds' Princess missed the 6, giving the Lumberjacks' Fluffina a clear path to the 8 for a 1-0 lead. Princess came back stronger in game 2, and she held off a somewhat jolted Fluffina long enough to bank the 8 into the top side from the bottom rail, tying the series at 1. The players breezed through their suits in game 3, but the 8 took a couple shots each, the second-to-last being where Princess jammed it into the jaws but it stayed up. Fluffina took a jam shot herself, but at a better angle, and it dropped in the top left for the host to take a 2-1 lead. After meticulous set up work on the 8, Princess buried it on her fourth attempt. It helped that Fluffina had to work from the start to catch up, which she couldn't do thanks to a scratch. The series returned to a tie at 2. Princess played a little sharper than Fluffina in game 5, and she got rewarded for it with the win in a fairly unmemorable game, giving Princess a 3-2 series lead. Princess kept the pace at a breakneck speed in game 6, and Fluffina's late three-ball run was far from enough as Princess knocked the 8 to the top left to win the game and clinch the series at 4-2. In game 7, Princess paced her attack with a six-ball run early on, and while Fluffina got a lot of it back, she couldn't get it all, dropping the series 5-2. Ranked #8 in 8-ball, Princess will host Cassandra of the Diamond Gems at this venue in the quarterfinals.
Nissan Hall, Infinity City: Whiskers v. Neopolitan. The night session begins with 7-ball to ease back into the game. Pearl's Neopolitan took a very close game 1 after a miss on the 6 from Infinity City's Whiskers opened up a pair of easy shots for a 1-0 lead. The Surfers' Neopolitan made it 2-0 with a strong performance in game 2, ending on a three-ball run-out for the win with accuracy being the most impressive part. Whiskers of the Torpedoes still lacked a finishing effect in game 3, leaving the 7 short at the top left for a tap-in by Neopolitan, who went up 3-0 in the series. Neopolitan secured the series at 4-0 with a win off the break in game 4, as the 1 went in the bottom side and the 7 followed it immediately after. Neopolitan kept cruising, taking game 5 with a deft touch of a bank on the 7, going bottom rail to top left to make it a 5-0 series with a flash of skill. Whiskers avoided a sweep with a win in game 6, as both players struggled to make good contact from distance. In the end, Neopolitan left the 7 short at the bottom left for a long-range tap-in by Whiskers to put the series at 5-1. Neopolitan bounced back just fine in game 7, taking the 7 on a tap-in after Whiskers left it short at the bottom left to take the series 6-1. Ranked #15 for 7-ball, Neopolitan will next visit Royal's Kraft Forum to face the Crowns' Jake in the quarterfinals.
Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston: Puff II v. Oreo. Heading east, there's a series of Rotation. In game 1, Boston's Puff II ran as much of the table as she needed to, taking the game 8-0 on an eight-ball run-out from the break, displaying pristine positioning and accuracy as Swordpoint's Oreo watched, dumbfounded. The Swifts' Puff II made another big streak in game 2, running out six balls to win this one 8-5 and move to a 2-0 series lead, again stunning the Blades' Oreo, who hasn't really done anything wrong yet. Puff II returned to dominance in game 3, running four balls from the start and cruising relatively easily to an 8-1 victory for a 3-0 series lead at the end of the game. Oreo's game 4 double pot on a cluster buster that saw the 15 and 14 both land in the top left did not do enough to hold off a three-ball run by Puff II. Oreo did reply to that with a two-ball run, but Puff II iced the game at 8-6 to clinch the series at 4-0. Oreo got on the board in game 5, answering a six-ball run from Puff II early on with two late three-ball runs to win the game 8-6 and make it a 4-1 series. Puff II gained the lead in game 6 with a double-pot, a 5-8 combination to the bottom side that flashed out with the cue to bump the 12 into the top left. A few shots later in the next turn, Puff II took the game 8-3 and edged ahead to a 5-1 series lead. Puff II again found highlights in game 7, scoring a 3-11-15 combination to the top left, which then led to a 3-12 combination to the top left as well, which is an impressive display of accuracy. This all helped her, as did a three-ball run-out to make it an 8-1 final in the game and a 6-1 final for the series. Ranked #19 in Rotation, Puff II will travel across the urban core in the southeast to Queens, where she will play Kayla of the Flames in the quarterfinals at Ebay Center. Oreo's loss meant she's the seventy-fifth player to be eliminated from the tournament. While Swordpoint put a lot into having Oreo on the team, using their compensatory pick from last season, she appears to have been a bust for them, with a terrible record in pool and so-so results in cricket, which may mean another appearance in the draft pool for Oreo. Puff II picked up her second kill of the season in the win.
Kraft Forum, Royal: Jake v. Paige. The silver cue makes its last regular season appearance, subbing for the red cue in this 15-ball series. Royal's Jake took game 1 despite a four-ball run late by Queens' Paige, because after the run, the game got more back-and-forth, and he took the 15 from distance in his one opportunity to make it 1-0 in the series. The Crowns' Jake played pretty much the same in game 2, except he missed contact on the 14 late in the game, and this opened the door for the Flames' Paige to take the last two balls and tie the series at 1. Paige went ahead 2-1 in the series with a very fast-paced game 3 win, using a three-ball run-out to grab the victory after a miss on the 11 by Jake. Jake played a bit stronger late in game 4, and a miss by Paige set Jake up for a simple shot on the 15 to the top right, retying the series at 2. Game 5 was a terribly sloppy game, with many scratches, missed contacts, and lazy attempts. In the end, Jake got the shots late in the game, and he converted on the 14 and 15 to win the game and go up 3-2 in the series. Jake's four-ball run late in game 6 ended up meaning nothing, as Paige stormed back in the end to snipe the 15 in and tie the series again at 3. Paige won another sloppy game 7, working off a miss on the 15 by Jake for her second attempt that went down, winning the series 4-3. Ranked #76 in 15-ball, Paige will travel to the Capital City SuperCenter to visit Dani of the Sharpshooters in the quarterfinals.
Cisco Arena, Tysini: Bright v. Cubby. The final series of the night is in Survival, with the red cue returning to action. Maplewood's Cubby took game 1 pretty easily, as Tysini's Bright scratched on the break and lacked accuracy throughout the game, taking a 1-0 lead with the one-rack win. The players maintained a similar pace through rack one, but the Lumberjacks' Cubby stabilized himself in the second rack, while the Hummingbirds' Bright faded to give Cubby a 2-0 series lead. Bright did a good job of holding onto a single life in racks two and three of game 3, but he couldn't hold on forever, and Cubby managed to stay just a step ahead late in the game, capitalizing on Bright's late misses to win the game and move to 3-0 in the series. Cubby again kept an unattainable pace for Bright, whose lack of accuracy compared to Cubby cost the host dearly, as Cubby went up 4-0 in the series with a two-rack win in game 4. With the series wrapped up, Bright didn't put a lot of effort in salvaging his good name, playing lazily in game 5 to take another loss to the hyper-accurate Cubby, who now leads 5-0. The series continued to devolve into entertainment more than competition in game 6, with Cubby building up his lead and Bright making it look good for about a rack before slowly fading to allow Cubby a 6-0 lead in front of a mostly empty arena at this point. Cubby iced it off at 7-0 for the series with a casual win in game 7. Ranked #118 for Survival, Cubby will travel to the Gillette Center in Swordpoint for his quarterfinals series with Snowball of the Blades. With the loss, Bright is the seventy-sixth player to be eliminated this season. The brutal loss puts Bright's future with the Hummingbirds in doubt, but it's expected the big guy will be back as a stabilizing, complementary player next season. Cubby recorded his first kill of the season.
That caps 84 games for today, and that also means we will play 28 tomorrow afternoon to close the fourth round. More updates tomorrow in the cricket post, as I'm hoping I don't fall ill between now and then.
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