Pool: Round Three Day 9

We're winding down the third round, beginning the last full day in...

Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston: Patches v. Cassandra. The first series of the day is 9-ball in the southeast. Diamond's Cassandra struck first with a three-ball run-out in game 1, getting an early jump on Boston's Patches in the very even game. The Gems' Cassandra had slightly more control in game 2, getting a lucky bounce off the 9 after two rails to sink the 8, and then taking the 9 on the next turn after the Swifts' Patches missed contact on it. Cassandra went up 2-0 in the series. Cassandra clinched the series when she found stability with her grip in game 3, going on a five-ball run-out highlight by a carom off the 8 that took the 9 in the top left. Patches got on the board in game 4, taking the 9 off a carom from the cue after striking the 3 from ball-in-hand after Cassandra's scratch, making it 3-1 in the series. Patches had a three-ball run-out in game 5, a slightly messy game with a few scratches, doing what she could to minimize the damage. Cassandra won the series 3-2, and she will use her #17 ranked 9-ball bid to host Precious of the Pronger Tridents at the Intel Center in Diamond in the fourth round.

Pepsi Arena, Lighton: Pounce v. Shadow. Two of the league's most prominent gentlemen go at it in 12-ball from the southwest. Lighton's Pounce did a masterful job of running four balls early and getting position late to take a 1-0 lead over Web City's Shadow, who gave up his wild card ball and lacked positioning in game 1. The Spiders' Shadow gambled he could run out in game 2, but his shot on the 2 was errant, allowing the Prestige's Pounce to make the 12, now free from defense, for a 2-0 lead. Pounce's set-up shots and positioning were excellent in game 3, and the accuracy did the rest with a little help from defense, as Shadow's poor shooting spots led to Pounce overcoming a three-ball run Shadow pieced together earlier. Pounce did get luck when his cluster buster sank the 12 in the top right and allowed him to set the 10 at the bottom left, eventually leading to him taking the series at 3-0. Pounce had a five-ball run off the break in game 4, which ended in a scratch that left him with two on the table. Shadow attempted to get set up on a lot of his shots, but two turns later, Pounce received ball-in-hand from Shadow's illegal contact, and took care of the last two with precision accuracy in shots surrounded by defense. Pounce moved to 4-0 with the virtuoso win. Shadow got on the board with a gutsy win a very even game 5, just slightly outmaneuvering the scratch-prone Pounce. Pounce took the series 4-1, and takes his #66 ranked 12-ball campaign to Viewpoint Sound, where he will be hosted by Mr. Snowman of the Meteors at the Volkswagen Stadium Events Center in the fourth round.

Ebay Center, Queens: Kayla v. Princess. Things get fun with top players battling in Rotation in the southeast. Tysini's Princess paid for a lazy shot on the 11 in game 1 while up 7-3, watching Kayla of Queens take the next five balls (three in a run and some defense before the final two) to win the game 8-7 and take a 1-0 lead. Game 2 kept things close as well, as the Hummingbirds' Princess emerged with a large lead that evaporated, and it turned into a back-and-forth game late as the Flames' Kayla used her grinding style to stay close. A scratch by Kayla tanked the game for her, as Princess finished off with the last two shots in an 8-6 win, tying the series at 1. Princess won game 3 by an 8-5 score, even with Kayla leading late. Princess used a three-ball run-out, which saw the 11 rattle out of the bottom right with such speed and spin that it returned at a more acceptable pace, while setting up the 12 for the winner in brilliant fashion. Princess went up 2-1 in the series with this win, and appears to be utterly unstoppable. Not wanting to be written off as an MVP contender, Kayla took charge of game 4, getting an edge on Princess and then running three balls to make it a large lead with defense, Princess lacked a response, so Kayla took the game 8-2 and tied the series at 2, sending it to the biggest final game of a series thus far. Game 5 appeared to be going Princess' direction, but Kayla stormed back and held her off for an 8-5 win. The Ebay Center hung in silence with Kayla's shot on the 12, which rattled away from the intended pocket but took two rails and found the bottom side for the win, which gave her a 3-2 series win. Ranked #3 in Rotation, Kayla keeps her hopes alive for MVP by beating the leading candidate, a feat that hadn't happened since the first round as Princess won ten straight series. Kayla is in the fourth round again with that impressive effort.

Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Chris v. Bear. The cricket MVP visits one of his biggest challengers for a series of 8-ball. Capital City's Chris did a lot of work to put the 8 in position, with a four-ball run early and three-ball run late, but Whitewater's Bear gave him the win by sinking the 8 early, wasting a five-ball run of his own as the Sharpshooters' Chris took a 1-0 lead. The Shores' Bear tied it at 1 in game 2, using a seven-ball run-out to stun Chris, who had been taking his time setting up around a thick defensive effort from Bear. Chris saw a game 3 comeback run of five balls end in a scratch, but Bear couldn't build anything from the kitchen, and Chris made two shots to take the game for a 2-1 series lead. Chris started cold in game 4, but heated up late in the game, running three balls twice (the second starting with a 7-2-3 combination to the top right that positioned him on the 7 afterward), and then capitalizing on Bear missing the 8 with a straight-in shot to the top left to clinch the series at 3-1. Chris also took the fast-paced game 5, with both players sinking shots with ease, but Chris just had the slightest edge in positioning and accuracy. Ranked #103, Chris gets to continue an improbable run in 8-ball, traveling to Bear's home stadium to face his teammate, Twinkie III, at Whitewater's Samsung Arena in the fourth round. Bear did get eliminated with the loss, the fortieth player to fall this season, but he will return to captain the Whitewater Shores again next year, as he was the cricket MVP. Chris picked up his first kill of the tournament.

Amazon Field Exhibition Hall, Golden: Dusty v. Shiny. Next up, there's 10-ball in the rural southeast. Victoria's Shiny ended up with the win in game 1, making the final two balls after Dusty's four-ball run ended at the 9, with the Spurs' Shiny taking a 1-0 series lead. In game 2, the Pilots' Dusty scratched on her first potting of the 10 on a 6-10 combination, but when Shiny failed to extend a three-ball run, Dusty redeemed herself, tying the series with the last two balls. Dusty did most of the work in game 3, with runs of four and three early on, but she couldn't corral the 10 at the end, with Shiny spinning it in for a 2-1 series lead. Shiny clinched the series at 3-1 as she took over possession from Dusty after making an uncalled shot. Shiny ran out the last three balls to take the game, wiping out Dusty's three-ball run just before that. Shiny had an easy go of it in game 5, dominating possession and making shots when convenient to take the game and a 4-1 series lead. Ranked #80 in 10-ball, Shiny will travel next to Commerce, opposing the Tradewinds' Tigerette in the Nike Field Events Center in the fourth round.

McDonald's Hall, Atlantic: Amber v. Twinkie III. Heading north, there's Rotation at the site of the team most likely to get the #2 overall pick behind the Terrace City Knights. Whitewater's Twinkie III broke out for an 8-2 win in game 1, stunning Atlantic's Amber with a six-ball run-out and a series of remarkable bounces. On the highlight reel, Twinkie III got the 4 to carom into the 11, taking the 15 to the top left, before double-potting the 4 and 9 in the bottom left with a follow shot en route to a 1-0 series lead. The Shores' Twinkie III took game 2 by an 8-3 score, starting out dominant and only surrendering a three-ball run to the Pirates' Amber. Amber got on the board with a game 3 win, flipping the script in a more defensive game by getting balls where she could early before piecing together a three-ball run-out to win 8-4 and push the series to 2-1. Amber hit the highlight reel during a four-ball run in game 4, using a cluster buster that ended up double-potting the 11 in the bottom left and 9 in the bottom right with initial contact on the 7. The defense at the end of that run led to Twinkie III missing contact on the 10, giving ball-in-hand to win the game 8-3 and tie the series at 2. Twinkie III scorched Amber hard in game 5, shutting her out 8-0 in a brilliant display of accuracy, positioning, and defense. The highlight came with a carom off the 6 to convert a close range 12-14-8 combination that made it 7-0. Twinkie III, ranked #120 in Rotation, advanced to the fourth round on a 3-2 series win. She will face the Volcanoes' Ms. Kitty in Pacific at the Verizon Field Events Center. With the loss, Amber's sophomore season came to an end as the forty-first player eliminated. Her departure also means that the Atlantic Pirates are totally out of the tournament in the third round, winning just 9 of 41 series between the four of them. Amber is likely to stay on for stability, as the best player in both cricket and pool, while the rest of the team will move on. Delila, eliminated by Princess in the first round, is expected to enter the draft, Steven will leave the UPCL, earning a compensatory pick, and Brownie's future is uncertain one way or another. Twinkie III earned her first kill with the win.

Pepsi Arena, Lighton: Spirit v. Ms. Puppy. We continue to the southwest for 15-ball. Modernistic's Ms. Puppy struck almost immediately, winning game 1 by putting a little follow and right spin on the cue, double-potting the 2 to the bottom left and the 15 to the top left for a 1-0 lead. Lighton's Spirit tied the series at 1 after Ms. Puppy of the Union missed the 15 and it landed in a favorable position for Spirit of the Prestige to sink it and take game 2. Spirit took a somewhat sloppy game 3 with a clean, four-ball run-out as her finish, taking a 2-1 series lead at the same time with the display of accuracy. Spirit clinched the series at 3-1 on a three-ball run-out, answering Ms. Puppy's five-ball run from earlier in the game. The highlight of the run was actually a botched bank shot on the 15, which went off two rails instead of one, ending up in the top left after a slow roll to the pocket that brought the crowd to its feet. Ms. Puppy grabbed game 5 on a sharp-angled 5-15 combination to the bottom side, making it a 3-2 series win for Spirit. Ranked #38 in 15-ball, Spirit will host another Union player, Kiwi, in the fourth round at this venue.

Google Hall, Modernistic: Chimpy v. Cubby. We end the afternoon with Survival from the north, with the Union players rapidly wrapping up their round. Maplewood's Cubby took game 1 in the third rack, after Modernistic's Chimpy tried to play too smart and ended up rattling his bank of the 6 out of the top side, giving the Lumberjacks' Cubby the 1-0 series lead. The Union's Chimpy tied the series at 1 in game 2, using a well-played lure shot to get Cubby to miss before Chimpy struck for the extra life and sat on it to drive Cubby down at the end of the only rack. Cubby retook the series lead at 2-1 in game 3, successfully eluding another lure from Chimpy at the end of the first rack, and using that extra life as the thing to push Chimpy around for a couple shots in the second rack until he scratched to end the game. Cubby again pushed Chimpy around in the second rack, doing so a little longer in game 4 as Chimpy had a little farther to fall before finally losing both the game and series. Cubby clinched the series at 3-1 with the game 4 win. Chimpy's scratching habit cost him again, ending game 5 in a single rack near the very end, as Cubby took the series 4-1. Ranked #118, Cubby will travel again in the fourth round, heading to Cisco Arena in Tysini to face the Hummingbirds' Bright in another series where Cubby will be a heavy underdog. Chimpy's brutal loss spelled the end of the tournament for him, which is strange for the player who usually runs deep in one event. Chimpy is the forty-second player to be eliminated, and has probably worn out his welcome with the Union, a team expected to rebuild a bit with the departing captain Kiwi and now shedding their enigma, Chimpy. Cubby, with his back against the wall, got his first kill of the season while staving off elimination himself.

BMW RockDome, Westside: Chicky Phil v. Ms. Puppy. Down in the suburbs, there's 12-ball on tap to open the night games. Westside's Chicky Phil got bit by a lack of patience in game 1, breaking up a decent set-up because he was shooting at the wrong angle, only for Modernistic's Ms. Puppy to miss her next shot and leave the cue in position for the last shot. The Rockers' Chicky Phil got buried and had to try a strategic scratch, which backfired when the Union's Ms. Puppy converted the 12 from the kitchen to the bottom side to go up 1-0 in the series. Both players struggled to set up shop in game 2, with Ms. Puppy's constant scratching giving her extra targets while also leaving Chicky Phil in unfavorable positions. Eventually, Ms. Puppy emerged by potting the 2 in the top side to set up for the 3 on a bank from the left rail to the top right, winning the game for a 2-0 lead. Chicky Phil nearly blew it in game 3, taking a long time to sink the 15 in the top left after scratching on it the first time, allowing Ms. Puppy back in the game as she worked around the table efficiently, even getting set up on her last ball before Chicky Phil ended it to push the series to 2-1. Ms. Puppy got all the bounces early on, but the last ball was pesky again in game 4, refusing to get lined up to the bottom left. In the time she spent chasing, Chicky Phil took five balls in two turns and did enough to get positioned at the end to take the game and tie the series at 2. In game 5, the game became a race for the sides, with Chicky Phil needing either or after Ms. Puppy surrendered a wild card ball, while Ms. Puppy needed the bottom side. Both players took two shots to get set, but Ms. Puppy's set-up was a little too friendly for Chicky Phil, who potted his last ball to win the series 3-2. Ranked #109 in 12-ball, Chicky Phil will travel to Chevrolet Center in Everton to face Cleo of the Eagles in the fourth round. With the loss, Ms. Puppy became the forty-third player eliminated from the tournament. Of all the change occurring at the Union, one of Ms. Puppy or Puff I will stick around, although its expected Puff I has the edge in that regard. Chicky Phil collected his first kill with the win.

Kraft Forum, Royal: Nightfur v. Leonette. Now begins a doubleheader of Rotation, starting in the southeast. Game 1 was a huge rollercoaster in the series, with Pacific's Leonette barging out to a big lead, Royal's Nightfur pulling ahead, and then the two players alternating leads until the Volcanoes' Leonette missed contact on a kick attempt, allowing Nightfur of the Crowns a second chance to pot the 15, taking the game 8-7 for a 1-0 lead in the series. Leonette didn't build as large of a lead in game 2, and likewise, Nightfur didn't have to rally as hard, but she did anyway with a five-ball run-out to take a 2-0 lead in the series on an 8-5 win. Leonette walked a dangerous path in game 3, surrendering a lead early on, but she bounced back with a three-ball run-out to win 8-7 and take the series to 2-1. Nightfur answered in game 4 with an 8-4 win, countering Leonette's comeback very efficiently with a three-ball run-out to secure the series at 3-1. Leonette salvaged game 5, coming out hot from the start and cruising to an 8-4 win to make it a 3-2 series for Nightfur. Ranked #10 in Rotation, Nightfur will make a short trip to Queens in the fourth round, as Kayla of the Flames hosts her at the Ebay Center.

Cisco Arena, Tysini: Allison v. Chelsea. In the southwest, the other half of the Rotation doubleheader is scheduled. Eastside's Chelsea appeared to dominate in game 1, taking a 1-0 series lead with an 8-0 shutout victory, but it's not that clear cut. On the third ball Chelsea sank, there was significant doubt she got legal contact on the 2 for the carom, but the referee did not argue the point and she played on. Tysini's Allison took game 2, and that too was riddled with controversy. The referee made a make-up call, allowing the Hummingbirds' Allison to play on after her first potted ball looked to be from illegal contact as well. The Sharks' Chelsea did not roll over though, rallying back and making it a back-and-forth, tightly played game, but Allison had the edge at 8-7, tying the series at 1. The crowd hopes for a cleanly called final three games. The fans did not get their wish in game 3, as Chelsea took advantage of an illegal contact foul that pulled a ball back for Allison, which proved costly when she then lost the game 8-7, giving Chelsea a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 lacked controversy, a refreshing change for this series, and Allison cleanly played her way to an 8-4 that was never really that close, with Chelsea never getting established possession like Allison had. The series, with all its flaws, stood tied at 2. Allison got her make-up call in game 5, allowing her to go on a five-ball run, but those five were all she got as Chelsea started and finished strong in an 8-5 win, taking the series 3-2. Ranked #98 in Rotation, Chelsea controversially advances to the fourth round, where she will play at the Lay's Field Events Center in Victoria against the Spurs' Spice.

Chevrolet Center, Everton: Puff III v. Dusky. Next up, a doubleheader late at night in Everton, beginning with 12-ball. Archtown's Dusky struck first in game 1, with a little help from a wild card ball, as she executed her shots a little better than the disorganized Puff III of Everton, taking a 1-0 lead in the process in an unremarkable game. The Eagles' Puff III shot back with a three-ball run and strong set-up shots in game 2, tying the series as the Arrows' Dusky sputtered with setting up her shots too slowly. Dusky used remarkable defensive positioning after a three-ball run to frustrate Puff III in game 3, and after missed contact, Dusky iced the game to take a 2-1 series lead with clean and simple shooting. Dusky secured the series at 3-1, winning a hard fought game 4 from Puff III after an iffy break. Dusky got a lot of her balls down early, but also surrendered a wild card ball to Puff III. Near the end, Puff III had no choice but to lose the wild card ball with a strategic scratch, with served its purpose. However, on the next turn, Puff III lost her defensive ball, and failed to kick in the last ball, allowing Dusky to take a cut at her last ball, which she made for the win. Puff III dominated in game 5, shooting very accurately to take a win. Dusky, ranked #118 in 12-ball, won the series 3-2. Dusky will travel to Tysini in the fourth round, opposing the Hummingbirds' Princess at Cisco Arena.

Chevrolet Center, Everton: Goldy v. Gizmo. The other half of the locational doubleheader sees 9-ball played with the silver cue subbing in for the red cue. Everton's Goldy took a somewhat shaky game 1, as neither player seemed to have much control in their shooting, and it was good for a 1-0 lead in the series. The Eagles' Goldy looked more confident in game 2, taking a 2-0 lead with a three-ball run-out that put Central's Gizmo on his back foot in the series. In game 3, the Warriors' Gizmo missed his only chance at the 9 near the top side, and he left it short enough for Goldy to tap in to clinch the series at 3-0. Gizmo made it 3-1 in game 4, but it wasn't because of anything he did. Goldy had firm control late in the game, but her 8-9 combination saw both the 9 and the cue taking up space in the top left, surrendering a game to Gizmo with the fatal foul. Goldy took the series 4-1, running out the final four balls in game 5 to grab an extra win. Ranked #42 in 9-ball, Goldy will next host Mams of the Viewpoint Sound Meteors at this venue, although the venue decision came on a tiebreaker in qualifiers as both are technically tied for #42.

Ford Forum, Pronger: Strawberry v. Leonette. Out east, the home of the Tridents finally sees third round games, as Pronger's Strawberry makes her round debut in the fifth-to-last series, a set of 10-ball with the silver cue in for the blue cue. The Tridents' Strawberry took a 1-0 lead with a game 1 win, taking a 5-10 combination through traffic to the top left in a very clutch shot. Pacific's Leonette tied it in game 2, winning a sloppy game on her second go at the 10 in the top left, making it 1-1 in the series. The Volcanoes' Leonette took a 2-1 series lead with another iffy win in game 3, taking advantage of Strawberry again leaving the 10 short, this time at the top right for another easy tap-in after keeping possession even early in the game. Leonette took the series at 3-1 with a five-ball run-out in game 4, showing accuracy that had been hidden in earlier games, but it showed up when she needed it the most. Leonette iced the series at 4-1, capitalizing on a missed shot on the 9 by Strawberry to take the last two balls in game 5 for the win. Ranked #67 in 10-ball, Leonette will head home in the fourth round to host Crystal of the Queens Flames at the Verizon Field Events Center in Pacific.

Tomorrow, there's only 20 games on the slate as the third round will come to an end. Expect updated standings and a new schedule by posting time tomorrow night. Additionally, I will be working more on next season's logistical information as much as I can ahead of the new season. Friday will be the start of the fourth round, which is a big deal for two reasons: series are now seven games in the fourth and fifth (Quarterfinals) rounds, and the silver cue will only make appearances in the fourth round, as the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals are too significant to have appearances by a non-official entity at this point. Until next time everyone!