This should be the last day of games for this round, and when we restart play on either Saturday or Sunday, the series would be for a chance to earn a medal. Today, we begin with...
Ebay Center, Queens: Max v. Stinky. The red cue has the first series of the day in 12-ball. Freedom's Stinky saw no reason to be concerned with a solid opening to game 1 from Queens' Max, and Stinky proved it with a four-ball run and good positioning, and then a two-ball run-out with a kick of the 6 to the top left for the win and a 1-0 series lead in the end. The Flames' Max answered back in game 2, winning on a three-ball run-out after a lengthy stretch of set-up shots, helped along by the Cascades' Stinky giving up a wild-card ball early on. The win allowed Max to tie the series at 1. Max survived a challenging game 3, catching a late break as Stinky bumped in one of Max's balls to give him a wild card ball that greatly simplified his task. Stinky had a three-ball run late, but couldn't get set on the 10 at the bottom side, and Max had time to make the 1 to the top left for the win, earning a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 played out well at first, but a spate of misses late in the game ruined the vibe of it all, with Max and Stinky missing contact and shooting errant shots frequently. Eventually, Stinky put the game away with a firm three-ball run-out after a missed contact by Max, with the win tying the series at 2. Both players had three-ball runs late in the game to tighten things up, but it was Max who had a better position for the win in game 5, and it only took Stinky shooting so hard the cue popped off the table to get ball-in-hand for Max's last ball, which he made for the win to give him a 3-2 series lead. Max had control in game 6, but Stinky had defense, and this won out in the end, as Max got himself out of position trying to remove Stinky's defense. Max eventually had defense of his own, but he botched the intentional scratch play, and Stinky won from ball-in-hand on an open bottom left pocket. This retied the series again at 3. In game 7, Max was charging toward victory, working a three-ball run and leaving the 9 at the top right, but he missed the tap-in from long range at a low pace, and he left Stinky lined up for his well-set final shot into the bottom side, giving Stinky the 4-3 series win. Ranked #105 in 12-ball, Stinky's Cinderella run is into the bracket final, where he'll play from Ford Forum in Pronger against the Tridents' Precious. Max is ousted from the tournament, the 84th player eliminated, and the first kill for Stinky.
Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Sprinkles v. Citrus. It's the fourth career meeting for these two infamous cousins, this time with the blue cue in 12-ball. Capital City's Sprinkles played a mostly benign game 1 until breaking through with a four-ball run. Diamond's Citrus scratched on her next turn, and Sprinkles iced the game with the 13 at the bottom left, winning for a 1-0 series lead. The Sharpshooters' Sprinkles ran three balls on the break, but was quickly answered with a three-ball run by the Gems' Citrus. Sprinkles had a good second surge, and a scratch worked out for her, as Citrus couldn't make her last ball, and Sprinkles made her last two after the favorable lead, winning for a 2-0 series lead. Sprinkles had an early three-ball run and nearly made another late, leaving the 10 at the top side. Citrus panicked and couldn't get much on her last turn, scratching to give Sprinkles a clean shot at the 10 for the win, and Sprinkles leads the series 3-0. Sprinkles finally faltered in game 4, surrendering a wild card ball to Citrus on a set-up shot gone wrong, and Citrus poked the 2 around before kicking it to the top left for the win as Sprinkles idly shot around, making it 3-1 in the series. Citrus pulled back a bit more, rallying with a four-ball run from a great break, answered directly by a four-ball run from Sprinkles. The two battled to get position for awhile, and Sprinkles had a chance but missed the 7 wide at the top side, allowing Citrus to finish with the top corners and get the win, cutting the series to 3-2. Sprinkles made a huge run in game 6 against an ineffective Citrus, getting to within one shot that she couldn't quite thread through the defense. Sprinkles backtracked with a scratch, and while Citrus did get a little progress, she ended up losing when Sprinkles softly tapped in the 10 and drilled the 14 to finish the win, clinching the series at 4-2. Citrus lost heart for playing on in game 7, making it easy pickings despite the poor break for Sprinkles, who meandered around the table to take the win and the series 5-2. Ranked #15 in 12-ball, Sprinkles heads to the bracket final, hosting Chelsea of the Eastside Sharks at this venue.
Home Depot Forum, Web City: Shadow v. Puff II. The silver cue's only appearance today comes in this Accuracy series. Boston's Puff II didn't have to be perfect to defeat Web City's Shadow in game 1, as the host was more than willing to shoot odd shots and take misses. Puff II had a 3-5 win in the end, going up 1-0 in the series. In true Spiders fashion, Shadow lost game 2 in overtime. The Swifts' Puff II scratched on her first two shots in overtime, only to see Shadow miss both free shots, and then after her second make, he missed again for a 3-4 loss that made it 2-0 for Puff II in the series. Puff II nearly blew a big lead, but started firing with a lot of pace late in game 3, and she held on to win 3-4 as Shadow likewise buckled down, hoping to luck into a tie. Puff II owns a shaky 3-0 series lead, irony fully intended. Puff II had no problems with winning game 4 to secure the series at 4-0, as Shadow was again inaccurate in his shooting and Puff II won 1-5. Shadow finally got a win, inducing two late misses to break up a tie in game 5, and while he missed one himself, he ended the game with a 3-4 win to make it 4-1 in the series as Puff II still dominates. Puff II pounded out a solid 2-5 win in game 6, taking complete control late in the game as Shadow started missing more frequently. The win sent Puff II to a 5-1 series lead. Puff II couldn't hold on at the end of game 7, falling into a trap that forced overtime, and she went with a soft break in the extra rack, allowing Shadow to spray and pray the bulk of the rack, getting one to fall for the 3-4 win. Ranked #82 in Accuracy, Puff II took the series 5-2, and she'll host Shannon of the Southern Monarchs in the bracket final at Boston's Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center. Shadow's loss made him the 85th player eliminated from the tournament, and Puff II grabbed a share of the kills lead at 3.
Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Dustin v. Snuggle. The blue cue is back in action to play some 8-ball. Oceanside's Snuggle pulled the pool equivalent of the rope-a-dope in game 1, taking just one shot all game. Central's Dustin was working on a five-ball run when his carom illegally potted the 8, gifting Snuggle a win and a 1-0 series lead. The Waves' Snuggle knew he'd have to be more engaged in game 2, and while he shot well, he couldn't make the 8 on his one try, and the Warriors' Dustin swooped in to make two final shots for the win, tying the series at 1. Dustin had a big cluster near the bottom right, and he was able to parlay that cluster into a five-ball run at one point, but Snuggle answered straight back with a five-ball run-out, including cutting the 6 into the bottom side off the 4, with the strong finish earning Snuggle a 2-1 series lead. Snuggle once again started slow in a game he broke on, and Dustin used this to his advantage. When Snuggle did catch up again, Dustin turned a four-ball run-out in response, winning the game and tying the series again at 2. Snuggle was searching for a shot around what would usually be the middle of game 5, struggling to find one, and so he fired into the 11 and 12, and they deflected off the top rail to take the 8 in the bottom side illegally, handing Dustin back a win that he'd given away to make it 3-2 in the series for Dustin. Snuggle needed a couple of turns to really find himself in game 6, but there was no stopping him when he got going, posting an eight-ball run-out to stuff Dustin's performance in the trash as Snuggle picked up a win to tie the series once more at 3. Snuggle had game 7 in his grips near the end, working a three-ball run that ended in a scratch. Dustin couldn't make anything happen on the 8, and Snuggle missed his last ball, allowing Dustin to make his second try, winning the game and taking the series 4-3. Ranked #10 for 8-ball, Dustin will host Victoria Spurs captain Spice at this venue in the bracket final. Snuggle is out in the battle of stars of the year, the 86th player to crash out. Dustin leads the league in kills with four at this point.
Nike Field Events Center, Commerce: Lorde v. Watermelon. The red cue is up for 9-ball. Game 1 was sloppy on both ends until a strong finish by Commerce's Lorde, who sparked a three-ball run-out to take a 1-0 series lead, with Pearl's Watermelon left confused by her poor shooting early on. Game 2 played out with a bit more skill, allowing a few runs to develop. In the end, the Tradewinds' Lorde lost it when she missed the 7 to sever a three-ball run, and the Surfers' Watermelon cashed in with a three-ball run-out on good cuts, tying the series at 1 with her win. Lorde tried to be a bit too fancy in game 3, and it turned out that simplicity was the order of the day, with Watermelon assembling a four-ball run-out, highlight by a cramped quarters distance shot on the 8 that found the top left and gave her position on the 9 to pick up the win for a 2-1 series lead. Watermelon knew she was in trouble as soon as she missed the 8 in a back-and-forth game 4, and this was after she hedged by shooting a tougher shot. Lorde bounced back, drilling the 8 to the top left before scoring the 9 on a good cut to the top side to get the win, tying the series again at 2. Lorde retook a series lead after a bit of a chippy game 5, where both players struggled to get their shots in line before Lorde made the final two to get the win for a 3-2 series lead over Watermelon. In game 6, it was Watermelon's time to shine, with Lorde only getting a couple of shots in early on before Watermelon ran five balls, and then made the final a couple of turns later to grab the win, making it a 3-all series. Lorde started off blazing hot in game 7, doing a five-ball run on her first turn. Things slowed a bit, and she got very lucky that Watermelon illegally struck and sank the 8-7 combination on a follow shot, giving Lorde ball-in-hand on the 9. Lorde turned it in for a 4-3 series win. Ranked #32 in 9-ball, Lorde hosts Smokey of the Diamond Gems in the bracket final at this venue. Watermelon is the 87th player to be eliminated, the first knocked out by Lorde in this tournament.
Google Hall, Modernistic: Puff I v. Bryant. The red cue stays up for a series of Accuracy just to the north. Modernistic's Puff I found a highlight in game 1, making the 12-6 combination follow shot to the top right with the 13 going to the bottom right for a triple-pot. She ended up needing those on the table, as Maplewood's Bryant was perfect in his 0-2 win to take a 1-0 series lead. In game 2, the Union's Puff I missed earlier in the game, but the result was the same in the end, as the Lumberjacks' Bryant again won 0-2 to gain a 2-0 series lead as he remains perfect in this series. Fortunes reversed for both players in game 3, as Bryant had an early miss and then missed again late in the game with his fate on the line, allowing Puff I to play the perfect game this time and take an 0-2 win to cut the series to 2-1. Bryant got back in line in game 4, playing his third perfect game as Puff I was holding on until the very end, where she missed a bunch and lost 0-3, giving Bryant the 3-1 series lead in a series where one miss has been deadly. Bryant looked good on the break of game 5 until he scratched, and this led him to the worst game of the series so far, falling 0-5 to Puff I, whose dominance kept her in the series that now stands at 3-2 favoring Bryant. Puff I made the 2-8-11-15 combination to the top right early in game 6, without it lined up perfectly. Puff I fell behind in the game later on, but for the first time in the series, a comeback was made, as Bryant missed two shots in a row very late in the game and fell 1-2, giving Puff I the win needed to tie the series at 3 and set up a big finale. In game 7, Puff I was up by two in the sloppiest game of the series on either side, but she let this fade, and Bryant came up big to force an overtime. There, Puff I missed again, and Bryant potted the 6 to get the 5-6 win, taking the series 4-3. Ranked #74 in Accuracy, Bryant hosts Chimpy of the Modernistic Union in the bracket final. Puff I was the 88th player eliminated, leaving only 1/3 of the playing populace in action. Bryant took his third kill of the year.
Cisco Arena, Tysini: Charli XCX v. Smokey. The blue cue's last appearance of the round is in Accuracy. Smokey couldn't quite stay under control in game 1, getting a bit inaccurate and paying for it as Tysini's Charli was relentless in taking an 0-3 win for a 1-0 series lead early on. The Gems' Smokey had nothing good in his game 2 performance, taking a beating throughout the game with very little recourse as the Hummingbirds' Charli kept herself in decent form to grab the 2-7 win for a 2-0 series lead. Charli gave the home fans a couple moments of concern in game 3, blowing two leads before getting a third late on a Smokey scratch to take the game 2-3 and move ahead 3-0 in the series that she's dominated thus far. Smokey kept himself alive with an entertaining game 4 performance, pushing Charli far behind before ceding a bit of ground, only to swoop in and save the effort at 2-3 in the end, cutting Charli's lead to 3-1 in the series. Charli wasted no time in securing the series, winning game 5 by a 1-4 margin as she proved nearly infallible against an outmatched Smokey, who couldn't have done much with the shots he missed to avoid falling behind in the series 4-1. Charli very effectively used the trap technique at the end of game 6, going from behind by one to ahead by one very quickly, and then ending the game with a 2-3 win to make it a 5-1 series lead for herself against a waning MVP favorite in Smokey. Charli couldn't quite hang on late in a tied game 7, falling behind 2-3 and eventually losing by that margin to Smokey. Charli still took the series 5-2, and the #57 ranked Accuracy player will head to Nike Field Events Center in Commerce to oppose the Tradewinds' Tigerette for the bracket final.
Gillette Center, Swordpoint: Shawn v. Leonette. The last series in the round is 8-ball with the red cue. Swordpoint's Shawn did fine until he had to shoot the 10 at the top side, missing it at tap-in distance twice to allow Pacific's Leonette a four-ball run and then a finishing shot on the 8 for the win and a 1-0 series lead. In game 2, the Volcanoes' Leonette worked three and four-ball runs early on, and while the Blades' Shawn got a couple back, Leonette brought the game to a close with a simple cut on the 8 to take a 2-0 series lead. Shawn finally had a good start to a game, beginning with a four-ball run in game 3. The finish was the missing piece this time, as he missed on the 8 near the bottom side, and Leonette's prior turn of a four-ball run had her set to take two shots and win, making it 3-0 in the series. Shawn finally put it all together in game 4, making two four-ball runs to get the win, the second being a finishing run right after Leonette had made a threatening four-ball run of her own. The series is still led by Leonette at a 3-1 score. Shawn lost his way in game 5, with an illegally potted ball ending a five-ball run and a scratch on his next turn derailing the effort. Leonette rallied back to win with a four-ball run-out, including double-potting the 3 and 6 to the bottom left on a follow shot to set up for the 8, which she made to take a 4-1 series lead. Shawn saved some face in a rather impressive game 6 effort, making a five-ball run-out after outplaying Leonette from the start, and this burst of brilliance earned him a win to make it 4-2 in the series. Leonette charged through game 7 with a five-ball run, but Shawn staved it off in the end, winning on a three-ball run-out to mitigate the damage and buy some favor with his team. The series ended 4-3 for Leonette, and the #56 ranked 8-ball player will play host to her Volcanoes teammate and captain Starlight in the bracket final at Pacific's Verizon Field Events Center. Shawn is the 89th player eliminated in the league's 1000th series, and Leonette has her second kill to close the round.
That's all for now. We'll try to have the standings updated and a new schedule posted within the hour. Also, I intend to publish the 2016-17 Cricket schedule tomorrow as my day project in place of playing any pool. That will be located on a specific page. We're also trying to get the cricket game posted on a page as well, but there have been difficulties involved with that. We'll resume tournament play on Sunday with the first third of the Bracket Finals.
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