2016 Qualifiers - Day 11

As promised, a new piece of chalk will tip the cues today. We begin with...

Westside Rockers captain Misty, the second-to-last player to debut with 7-ball and the blue cue. Misty took 14 shots with three errors in a rocky debut, which leaves Rockers fans wondering why they waited so long for it. Next up is Patches of the Boston Swifts, shooting 9-ball with the red cue. Patches scored 19 with three errors, a frustrating third appearance. The third player drawn today is Acorn of the Lighton Prestige, shooting 8-ball with the blue cue for a score of 17 with no errors in a brilliant showing. Moving along, there's Freedom Cascades rookie Nikolai, shooting 12-ball with the silver cue. Nikolai took only 19 shots with no errors in a stunning appearance. The first group ends with Goatee of the Westside Rockers playing Rotation with the silver cue. Goatee ended up at 30 with three errors in a solid performance.

Leading off group two, there's Shiny of the Web City Spiders playing 10-ball with the silver cue. Shiny ended up at 16 with no errors in a very good effort. Continuing along, Charli XCX of the Tysini Hummingbirds is drawn for Rotation with the silver cue. Charli struggled, shooting 34 with seven errors in a very poor showing of shot planning. Next up, Cassandra of the Diamond Gems shoots 9-ball with the blue cue to the tune of 15 shots with one error in an average game. The ninth player drawn for today is Princess of the Tysini Hummingbirds, the fifth player to finish her sessions with Accuracy, using the red cue. Princess score 24 with three errors, a very weak showing that pushed her to 157 total, which is very good. The group closes with Missy of the Capital City Sharpshooters playing 8-ball with the silver cue. Missy dazzled in shooting 18 with no errors in a bounce-back second appearance.

The third group opens with Cassandra again, taking the silver cue for 10-ball. Cassandra cleared the table in 18 shots with one error, a solid but unremarkable game. The twelfth player called today is Cowzart of the Pearl Surfers for Rotation with the silver cue. Cowzart had a score of 24 with a reasonable two errors in a good showing. Moving along, we have Cowzart's Cascades replacement, Nikolai, appearing again to play Rotation while keeping the silver cue at the table. Nikolai struggled, shooting 35 with four errors after an early derailment on the 2. Next up is Sugar of the Web City Spiders, with the silver cue in hand for 8-ball. Sugar scored 23 with two errors in an average performance. The batch ends with Zach of the Viewpoint Sound Meteors shooting 9-ball with the blue cue, scoring 16 with one error in an acceptable effort.

The fourth segment starts with Precious of the Pronger Tridents shooting 9-ball with the red cue. Precious needed just 12 shots with no errors in a sparkling performance. Up next, Americus of the Atlantic Pirates shoots Rotation with the blue cue, scoring 20 with a single error in a virtuoso performance, playing nearly perfectly in a very tough style of pool. The eighteenth player of the day is Puff II of the Boston Swifts, using the blue cue for 8-ball. Puff II got by on luck early on until her skill took over, ending at 22 with no errors in an effective avoidance of danger during this particular game. Continuing along, Brownie of the Harrison Specters uses the red cue for 8-ball, shooting 24 with one error in a reasonable second appearance of the season. Ending the group and the short afternoon, we have Viewpoint Sound Meteors captain Mr. Snowman shooting 8-ball with the silver cue. Mr. Snowman needed only 19 shots with no errors in a very good showing.

Group five gets the evening going with the first game being Alyssa of the Oceanside Waves with the blue cue for 12-ball. Alyssa took just 17 shots with no errors in a very efficient game. Next up is Dreamy of the Swordpoint Blades shooting 9-ball with the blue cue. Dreamy didn't do all that well, with 17 shots and two errors to her name this time. Continuing along, there's Chelsea of the Eastside Sharks, shooting with red cue in 10-ball. Chelsea finished the game with 19 shots and three errors in a doable performance. Shooting 24th for the day, we have Todavía Stills captain Easter bringing the silver cue up for 10-ball. Easter's struggles continued here, shooting a poor 26 with two errors in a challenging game. Closing out the group, Goldy of the Everton Eagles comes in with the blue cue for 15-ball. Goldy didn't seem as bad as the score indicated, but she still had 39 shots with three errors, a bad game no matter how you cut it.

The sixth batch kicks off with Chris of the Capital City Sharpshooters shooting 12-ball with the blue cue. Chris took 20 shots with no errors in a good outing. The 27th player of the day is Modernistic Union player Puff I, shooting 8-ball with the blue cue. Puff I ended up at 23 with one error after a brilliant start lost its luster quickly in the end. The player designating halfway for the qualifying sessions is Wings of the Pearl Surfers, shooting Rotation with the red cue in game #528 of 1,056. This was a forgettable game, as Wings needed a season-high 44 shots to clear the table, with four errors included in a miserable game. The score would reduce to 32 if we counted from when the first ball went down, which exemplifies the struggles. The second half begins with Jasmine of the Freedom Cascades playing 15-ball with the blue cue. Jasmine fared no better, shooting 39 with six errors in a frustrating game. Ending the embarrassingly poor group is Mr. Snowman in his second appearance of the day, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue. Mr. Snowman kept his head up in this game, needing just a carom off the 1 to take the 9 into the top right for a 1-shot effort, with no errors.

Segment seven gets going with Juno of the Modernistic Union playing 9-ball with the red cue, or as it's currently known, instant death. Juno almost tamed the beast, ending up at 16 with three errors in a decent rack given the cue. Up next, another Union player, Ms. Puppy, gets the silver cue for Rotation. Ms. Puppy deftly shot 26 with only two errors in a strong showing. The 33rd player of the day is Boston Swift Sweetheart, playing 12-ball with the blue cue. Sweetheart stayed calm and steady, shooting 19 with one error in a positive game. Moving along, Kirstin of the Southern Monarchs gets her 12-ball game in with the silver cue. Kirstin did alright, shooting 26 with no errors in a reasonable game. The batch concludes with Freedom Cascade Stinky playing 10-ball with the silver cue. Stinky held average at 18 shots with three errors in a mixed-bag type of game.

The eighth group begins with Puff I again, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue in this appearance. Puff I played an error-free game with only 13 shots needed to clean the table, getting aggressive with a bad-angle shot for the finish. The next player drawn is Chris again, now shooting Rotation with the blue cue. Chris scored 33 with three errors in a game that started well until the 6 ruined everything. Moving along, Panda of the Southern Monarchs plays 15-ball with the red cue (fire extinguishers are on hand should things get explosive). Panda kept the game under control, suffering just two errors in 25 shots, which brought the game to an early end on a bank of the 11 that led to the 15 getting in the top side. Going 39th today, Eastside Sharks rookie Niki plays 12-ball with the silver cue, shooting 35 with four errors in an odd game. Rounding out this group, Roxy of the Freedom Cascades draws in for Rotation with the silver cue. Roxy played patiently, ending up at 25 shots with one error, a good performance given recent events.

Batch nine leads off with Shelley of the Infinity Torpedoes using the red cue to score 26 with two errors in 8-ball. The 42nd player drawn today is Leonardo of the Todavía Stills, playing 12-ball with the blue cue. Leonardo scored 23 with two errors, holding onto a bit of luck to get through a tough ending. Next up is Sprinkles of the Capital City Sharpshooters, playing 12-ball with the blue cue. Sprinkles dazzled with 17 shots and no errors in a rare bright spot for the league tonight. Continuing along, we have Graham of the Eastside Sharks playing 10-ball with the silver cue. Graham deserved better than 22 shots and one error, but that's what he ended up with in an unfortunate appearance. Wrapping up this segment, Dani of the Capital City Sharpshooters risks life and limb shooting 15-ball with the all-of-a-sudden-pumpkin blue cue. Dani ended at 28 with three errors, despite challenging for a sub-20 early on as things fell apart with four balls to go.

The final group of the day kicks off with Strut of the Golden Pilots testing fate by returning the blue cue to the table for more 15-ball. Strut shot 30 with three errors in a decent run. Moving along, there's Marsell of the Royal Crowns shooting Rotation with the blue cue. Marsell shot a defiant 23, with just two errors, brilliantly shooting around his problems and using pace to his advantage. The 48th player called today is Ms. Puppy again, with the Union veteran playing 15-ball with the silver cue in this appearance. Ms. Puppy didn't shoot the most ethical game, using her one error to set up her finishing carom off the 3 to pot the 15 in the bottom right on her 9th shot, a generally frowned upon tactic, but she'll take what she can get to avoid trouble tonight. Up next, we have Cubby of the Maplewood Lumberjacks also playing 15-ball with the silver cue. Cubby needed only 2 shots to turn in a 1-15 combination to the top right, effectively shutting the game down before it could get out of hand, but also with no errors involved. Finally, the day ends with Victoria Spurs captain Spice using the blue cue for 9-ball. Spice shot 13 with one error, an admirable ending to a tough day.

The competition committee will rule before tomorrow morning on burnishing of the red cue immediately or at the end of qualifiers, considering it as the source of recent troubles and a potential data skewer for players who have more red bids suffering unfairly in tiebreakers for non-red games. Tomorrow should be a normal day, although the league reserves the right to shelve games should problems persist.