Here's a short day as promised. The limited number of games will have to hold you over. I intend to play 30 today before moving along to blogging soccer on my other site.
Starbucks Arena, Archtown: Sleepy B. v. Missy. The day begins with some red cue 12-ball. Archtown's Sleepy B. had a good game 1, rallying for an early four-ball run to stake herself out, but Capital City's Missy answered with a decent run as well, and pulled even. At the end, Sleepy B. twice pulled her shot wide right, and even after a bad deflection, Missy was able to sink her last ball for the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Sharpshooters' Missy thought she was set with a three-ball run that ended with intentional illegal contact, but the Arrows' Sleepy B. ground out the game in epic defensive form, eventually inducing missed contact by Missy to get ball-in-hand for her own last ball to end game 2 with a win, tying the series at 1. While Missy did return the wild card ball she received from the game 3 break, Sleepy B.'s early momentum was stalled by never getting a set-up shot to connect on her last ball, allowing Missy to dictate terms at the end of the game, which she did with a ball-in-hand to make her last two shots and regain the series lead at 2-1. Sleepy B. had no problems in game 4, putting up an early five-ball run, and pushing Missy's defense aside to make her final shot on her next turn, winning in a shutout to tie the series again at 2. Game 5 had a bit of everything, with both players holding wild card balls at the end, and defense that nearly contributed to the other player's success. The scratches were frequent enough to have an impact on set up shots, but Sleepy B. eventually got the win, striking the 7 to the top left to take the series 3-2. Ranked #49 in 12-ball, Sleepy B. will host Bells of the Oceanside Waves at this venue in the third round.
Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Dani v. Yekaterina Vasilyeva. The silver cue makes an appearance in Rotation this time. Victoria's Yekaterina pulled ahead with a five-ball run in game 1, putting Capital City's Dani in trouble, and while she tried to rally back, she fell 8-3 as Yekaterina won for a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 played a lot closer, as the Spurs' Yekaterina made a couple of mistakes that allowed the Sharpshooters' Dani to tie the game, but Yekaterina ultimately pulled away with an 8-5 win on a three-ball run-out to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Yekaterina blasted a powerful break in game 3, sinking the 15 (from the middle of the rack) in the top right, as well as the 8 in the bottom side, which would have been a win were the game not Rotation. She wasn't done, converting six more brilliant shots, including a kick-combination off the left rail to make the 5-7 in the top side for an 8-0 win to clinch the series at 3-0, making this one of the best individual games of the tournament. Yekaterina allowed Dani to make a couple of shots in game 4, but then did a double-pot of the 4 and 13 in the bottom right to pull ahead. Her next two turns were a three-ball-run with a tight 7-8 combination to the bottom side, and a two-ball run-out with a sharp cut on the 9 at the top right for the 8-2 win to move up to 4-0 ahead in the series. Game 5 wasn't as dominant for Yekaterina, who chose to use defense a bit more, but she still won 8-2, completing the 5-0 sweep of Dani in a star-making performance for the rookie. Ranked #96 for Rotation, Yekaterina will travel to Toyota Arena in Freedom to face Roxy of the Cascades in the third round.
UPS Hall, Maplewood: Diddley v. Starlight. The red cue is back for this 12-ball series, finishing off the bracket for this round, the third bracket to do so. Pacific's Starlight started game 1 pretty well, but getting a wild card ball from Maplewood's Diddley helped the cause, setting her up for a three-ball run-out to win and gain a 1-0 series lead. The Volcanoes' Starlight looked even better in game 2, maneuvering around the table well. The Lumberjacks' Diddley briefly caught up, but Starlight pulled away with her last two shots to win and take a 2-0 series lead. Starlight couldn't find many clean shots in game 3, and she scratched after making one. Diddley had a much easier go of things, and Starlight gave him a wild card ball at one point, allowing him to pick out the top left for his set-up and final shots, making it a 2-1 series after his win. Diddley came up big again, preventing Starlight from setting herself up in game 4 as he picked his shots carefully and meandered to a win to tie the series at 2. Game 5 proved highly competitive on both sides, as the players had to really earn every inch on the table. Starlight came out ahead, breaking free with her final shot and taking the win for a 3-2 series win. Starlight is ranked #101 for 12-ball, and will next oppose Precious of the Tridents at Pronger's Ford Forum.
Audi Hall, Terrace City: Kiwi v. Puff III. The silver cue is back for 7-ball between Youth Movement mainstays. Terrace City's Kiwi didn't get anything on the break, but when Everton's Puff III missed the 1 on her first shot, Kiwi banked the 1-7 combination to the top right for the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Knights' Kiwi had a very slight edge in possession in game 2, likely stemming from an early scratch by the Eagles' Puff III, and Kiwi capitalized on this advantage with the last two balls, giving her another win for a 2-0 series lead. Puff III was strong near the start and the end of game 3, but her miss on the 7 allowed Kiwi to mop it up and pot it in the top left for the win, securing the series at 3-0. Puff III did virtually everything right in game 4, shooting excellently for a six-ball run but coming up just short on the 7 at the top right, allowing Kiwi a simple tap-in to steal the win and make it a 4-0 series. Kiwi played better in game 5, in part because she received the chance to, and went on an opening four-ball run. Puff III tried to answer, but her bank on the 7 was no good, and Kiwi cleaned it up to sweep the series 5-0. Ranked #63 in 7-ball, Kiwi will travel to Intel Center in Diamond to face Gems rookie Pedey in the third round. With the loss, Puff III is the twentieth player eliminated this year, and Kiwi earns her first kill of the year in a bout of friendly fire.
Mercedes-Benz Forum, Harrison: Twinkie II v. Bryant. The blue cue's one and only appearance of the day is in 10-ball in this series. Game 1 saw a lot of caution from both players, although Maplewood's Bryant did this a bit less intentionally. Harrison's Twinkie II went bold in the end, converting the 8-10 combination to the bottom right to win and take a 1-0 series lead at the end of her three-ball run-out. The Specters' Twinkie II got another lucky break in game 2, as the Lumberjacks' Bryant scratched after his attempt on the 8, giving her ball-in-hand to key off a three-ball run-out for the win and a 2-0 series lead. Twinkie II made a mistake by scratching in game 3. Bryant used the ball-in-hand to do a five-ball run-out in four shots, with the highlight being a double-pot that put the 7 in the top left with the carom taking the 8 down at the top side. Bryant's win cut the series to 2-1. Twinkie II accidentally set Bryant up very nicely in game 4, missing her kick on the 4 to put it in line with the 10, which allowed Bryant to shoot the 4-10 combination to the top right for the win, tying the series at 2 with the sharp snipe. Bryant made an amazing seven-ball run-out in game 5, all stemming from ball-in-hand after a scratch by Twinkie II, with his excellent execution and positioning earning him a come-from-behind 3-2 series win. Bryant is ranked #85 in 10-ball, and will play against the Prestige's Lydia in Lighton's Pepsi Arena in the third round.
Kraft Forum, Royal: Nightfur v. Chris. The silver cue's 10-ball series ends the day and also closes all 10-ball action for this round. Royal's Nightfur took advantage of an early error by Capital City's Chris, when he missed contact with 1. Nightfur potted the 1, and then a 2-10 combination to the top right for the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Sharpshooters' Chris had a couple of illegally potted balls in game 2, but it didn't really matter. The Crowns' Nightfur ultimately had the worst mistake, a scratch that let Chris shoot the 9 from ball-in-hand and then make the 10 to win and tie the series at 1. Chris nearly had game 3, as he played competitively and shot well, but scratched as he made the 10, allowing Nightfur to take a swing at it from ball-in-hand, which she made for the win and the 2-1 series lead that goes with it. Nightfur had her chances to win in game 4, but missed the 10 twice, and on Chris' second attempt, he buried it on a kick to the bottom right, tying the series again at 2 and setting up one decisive game. Chris had a three-ball run in game 5 end due to illegal contact on the 10, and Nightfur used the ball-in-hand to make the last two shots, taking the series 3-2. Ranked #28 for 10-ball, Nightfur will play at Royal's rival Queens in the third round, opposing the Flames' Max in the third round. The loss means Chris is the twenty-first player eliminated, going down as Nightfur's first kill of the season.
We may have cricket tomorrow, but no pool again until Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment