We're wrapping up the first round today, with the final eight series included in this post. We begin with...
Tigerette and Cheddar, known as Grand, facing the Seattle Pride team of Dustin and Sally, with the red cue presiding over this series. Dustin established a strong lead for Seattle Pride in game 1, but it wouldn't be his work that led to their win. Instead, Grand's Tigerette had a four-ball run going as she did a cluster-buster shot, and the 8 went in illegally to the top right, giving Seattle Pride a 1-0 series lead. In game 2, Dustin set the tone from the break, and he had a four-ball run at one point to really pace the Seattle Pride to a nice lead. Cheddar and Tigerette had ineffective turns for Grand, and this allowed Sally to come in and make two straight shots, including a set-up on the 8 that potted the 5 and removed Grand's defense. Sally's strong play gave them the win and a 2-0 series lead. Cheddar and Tigerette worked an effective tag-team in game 3, putting together a strong offense that shut down Dustin and Sally despite their late rally. Seattle Pride proved unable to catch up when Sally missed the 10, and Cheddar iced the game by putting the 8 in the top right for the win, cutting the series to 2-1. Seattle Pride looked to have the series wrapped up after Dustin's massive six-ball run in the game 4 as he took over possession from Tigerette's empty break. Cheddar got nothing on her next turn, while Sally couldn't make the 8, and Tigerette's second turn saw her do an eight-ball run-out, swiping the game away with a well-executed series of shots to tie the series at 2. Game 5 appeared to follow a similar path, as the Seattle Pride pulled out to a nice lead only to watch Tigerette put Grand on her back, carrying herself and Cheddar to victory with a seven-ball run-out with wonderful positioning to grab the series at 3-2. Tigerette and Cheddar will face The Woodelands, Lexi and Caitlin, in the second round.
Next up, the Princesses Peach and Daisy face the Muscle and Medicine duo of Rainmane and Slinks. The blue cue has the games in this series. Muscle and Medicine showed some of the grit that got them through their preliminary round series. They started slow, allowing the Princesses to establish a lead. On the second time through, Rainmane set Slinks up well, and Slinks obliged with a five-ball run-out to give them a 1-0 series lead. Muscle and Medicine's Rainmane suffered a bruised finger as she failed to remove her hand from the table in time, but she contributed two three-ball runs to the cause. Peach got a lot of it back with a four-ball run, but Slinks poked around the defense and made the 8 in the top right on a glancing kick to give her side a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 saw another strong opening run from Rainmane and a bit of a lack of pace from either of the Princesses as they fell with only a turn at the table each. Rainmane iced the game with the last two shots to clinch the series at 3-0 in dominant form. The Princesses finally took a little credit for a game, as Muscle and Medicine didn't show up in much strength for game 4. They allowed their leads to slip away, and this allowed Daisy's finishing turn, pinching and then double-kissing the 8 on a bank to the bottom left for the win, making it 3-1 in the series. Game 5 ended in a flurry of action, as the Princesses saw a four-ball run from Peach to counteract Muscle and Medicine's Slinks assembling a five-ball run. Both left the teams close to victory, and Rainmane was first to act, giving Muscle and Medicine the win and a 4-1 series win. They advance to the second round against the Muscle Bros Lionel and Smokey.
In the day's third series, Sydney and Debby, the Secondaries, face the Exotics, Nicole and Yekaterina, with the silver cue acting as the allocated cue choice. The Exotics struck first with a bold game 1 win, pacing themselves with a lead over the Secondaries. This lead didn't look to hold up very well when Debby embarked on a hard charge with a five-ball run, but Yekaterina had time to make the 8 and did so for a 1-0 series lead. The Secondaries got behind again in game 2, but this time, Sydney made sure to finish what she started, making a seven-ball run-out to shock the Exotics as they had decent position on their remaining shots but never had a chance to shoot them. The series moves into a 1-1 tie after Sydney's heroics. The Secondaries continued to look more comfortable as the series progressed, with Sydney making a four-ball run and leaving the Exotics in a good spot. Nicole couldn't make much of this after an ineffective game between her and Yekaterina, and Debby charged in for the last two shots to get the win and earn a 2-1 series lead for the Secondaries. Sydney put together a good five-ball run from the break in game 4, establishing a lead for the Secondaries that proved unable to withstand Nicole, whose second turn featured a seven-ball run-out with three combinations, three tap-ins, and a medium-range sharp cut to snag the win and retie the series at 2 before the decisive game. Yekaterina stepped up in game 5, ending a fairly deadlocked game with a four-ball run-out to give the Exotics a hard-earned 3-2 series win over the Secondaries. Nicole and Yekaterina had to battle in this series, but they've earned their way to the second round against Davidson's Conquest, Kirstin and Niki.
The silver cue stays up for series four, featuring Unexplored's Bryant and Jasmine against the Second Generation of Puff II and Twinkie II. It took quite a while for anything to click for either team, but the ending of the game looked good for Unexplored, as Jasmine ran out the final four balls to get the win and take a 1-0 series lead over a punchless Second Generation. Jasmine kept Unexplored at a higher pace in game 2, taking a four-ball run on her first turn to set the tone. The Second Generation had trouble at separating some of their shots, and this played well for Unexplored, who made two each on their next two turns to take the win, ending with a long strike from Jasmine on the 8 to the bottom right for the 2-0 series lead. The Second Generation stayed alive with a firm answer to a moderate break from Bryant. Puff II replied with a quick seven-ball run, leaving Jasmine to pick up the pieces. She failed, as did Twinkie II on the first try to end the game, but Puff II quickly had a chance and buried it to cut the series to 2-1. Unexplored struggled again in the later stages of game 4. They had trailed the entire game after a four-ball run by Puff II on the break, and she would be the one to crack them at the end as well. Jasmine scratched on her final shot while making the 5, and Puff II banked the 8 to the top left from the kitchen for the win to tie the series at 2. The Second Generation completed their comeback in game 5, winning a very tense battle with Unexplored. Neither team saw a player go on an extended run of any sorts, with the best being Twinkie II making a three-ball run-out to snag the win and secure the series at 3-2. The Second Generation survived to the second round, where they will face the Tall Blondes, Taylor Swift and Rosalina.
In the fifth series, team Spotter, featuring Spot and Potter, gets some practice time together for the Tridents against team Destiny, featuring Sierra and Spirit. The red cue makes this appearance. Destiny needed very little time to get the win, as only Sierra made it to the table. She ran out the stripes suit and the 8 in one turn to send the rookies of Spotter to the bench as Destiny leads 1-0. Destiny took a more balanced approach in game 2, featuring a strong break from Spirit and some silky shots from Sierra to pace their way to victory again. Spotter's representatives each had a couple of good shots, but keeping up with Destiny's pace was impossible for the rookies, and they fell behind 2-0 in the series. Spirit continued to serve as the breaker for Destiny, and she got enough for a four-ball run this time. Sierra followed with a three-ball run, again ditching Spotter in the dust as they struggled to get a shot in the pockets at all. Sierra was tasked with finishing the game after Spirit missed a bank on the 8, and Sierra came through for the win to clinch the series at 3-0. Spot had a highlight double-pot in game 4, making the 1-6 cut combination to the top right, which deflected the cue into the 4-3 combination to the bottom side. The rest of game 4 went very favorably for Destiny, with Sierra contributing well and Spirit making a three-ball run-out to get the win and preserve the series at 4-0 so far. Spirit went big again in game 5, going for a six-ball run. Spot got Spotter a bit closer with a five-ball run himself, but Sierra shut the door for a 5-0 win by Destiny. They advance into the second round to face the Italian Plumbers, Mario and Luigi.
Series six resumes the round after a break, with Goatee and Strut, the Barnyard, facing off with Misty and Leonette, the Top of the List. The red cue's last appearance of the round is in this game. The Barnyard struggled to finish off game 1 in a timely manner, but they had plenty of time to work with as the Top of the List failed to make much of any impact at all on the game. Eventually, Goatee buried the 8 on her team's third try at it, giving them a 1-0 series lead. Strut just managed to keep the Barnyard on the right track in a very sloppy game 2, in which both teams left a lot of easy shots on the table for the sake of trying to produce a highlight. Top of the List challenged to the end of the game, but fell when Strut made the last two shots to send the Barnyard to a 2-0 series lead. The Top of the List staved off elimination, coming from behind against the Barnyard despite Goatee's excellent break shot. Misty was in line to finish off the comeback after Leonette pulled her side ahead, and Misty made two shots to get the win and cut the series to 2-1. The Barnyard had game 4 in their hands for most of its playing time, as they charged out to a nice lead. The Top of the List chipped back in their later turns, and it eventually led to Misty's final two shots that Strut accidentally set up. Misty barely made the 8, but it counted as the tying shot to make it 2-2 in the series. The Top of the List refused to give up on the series, and the persistence paid off, as Misty dominated for a five-ball run in game 5. Strut made a countering run late in the game, but came up short on the 3 at the top side, and Misty buried the 8 to carry her and Leonette to the second round with a 3-2 series win. They will face Princess and Americus, the Underdogs.
For the penultimate series, we have the Master and Apprentice team of Juno and Bandit against Twinnest's Neopolitan and Ice Cream. The silver cue oversees this series. Game 1 did not end well for the Master and Apprentice, as Bandit proved unable to pick up Juno's slack, while Twinnest's dynamic duo potted balls consistently. The game ended with Juno's illegal potting of the 8 coupled with a scratch, sending them to a 1-0 deficit in the series. Twinnest had a stronger battle on their hands in game 2, but Neopolitan had a strong break, and Ice Cream backed it up well. Bandit couldn't help Master and Apprentice out of a corner during his turns, and this cost them, as Ice Cream banked the 8 to the bottom right for the win to make it a 2-0 series lead for Twinnest. Game 3 went much the same, but it was a hard charge from Twinnest's Neopolitan at the end with a four-ball run-out to clinch the series. Bandit played well, but Juno didn't match with Ice Cream during the game, resulting the 3-0 score for the series at this stage. In game 4, Ice Cream and Bandit exchanged five-ball runs back-to-back, making it a close game up to the end. Ice Cream flubbed her shot on the 8 after a failed run by Neopolitan, and Juno's miss allowed Bandit to be the hero as Master and Apprentice save face with their first win to cut the series down to 3-1. Bandit carried Master and Apprentice through another difficult game 5 as well, working a four-ball run-out at the end to steal the win away for them as Twinnest took their feet off the gas in the later games. Twinnest still won the series 3-2, and they match up against Bright and Wings, the Angel Bears, in the second round.
The first round ends with B. Chapman and Dani, the Mischief Makers, facing off with the Livilottis, Jennifer and Stephanie. The blue cue is on for this series. Game 1 went in favor of the Livilottis, as there seemed to be a lack of coordination among the Mischief Makers, especially with where they wanted shots left. Stephanie played the hero with a clever bank on the 8 to the top side to send the Livilottis to a 1-0 series lead. The Livilottis proved unable to pin the Mischief Makers down in game 2, allowing Dani to carve up the defense and Chapman to chip away a bit more as they struggled to corral the 8. Eventually, Stephanie was able to sink the 8 to the top right, giving them a 2-0 series lead. The Mischief Makers finally broke through in game 3, greatly aided by a six-ball run from Dani to pace the attack. She would be the one to pick up the scraps when everyone had a miss on the 8 after the Livilottis caught up near the end. Dani's big shot on the 8 secured a win and made it a 2-1 series, with momentum favoring the Mischief Makers greatly. In game 4, the Livilottis paced the play, and they paced it slowly, as it was a drawn-out game that saw some close misses for both sides. The Mischief Makers took the game too passively, failing to push their opponents, and Stephanie was able to pot the 8 without hassle on her second try to clinch the series at 3-1 for the Livilottis. The Mischief Makers got one back in game 5, as Dani paced the attack with a five-ball run. This proved not too critical, as the Livilottis were unable to challenge in any significant manner for the game. Dani cruised to a tap-in on the 8 to make it a 3-2 series. The Livilottis advance to the second round to face the Free Fallin' duo of Max and Ruby.
That's it for the first round. As a programming note: tomorrow's post may run a bit late due to personal commitments. I hope not to have to put a delay on it, but there's a reasonable chance that could happen.
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