I've decided to break up the major rounds. Today, we will have all the Quarterfinals series played, and tomorrow will be the Final Four. We begin today with...
Lexi and Caitlin, the Woodelands, facing Jennifer and Stephanie, the Livilottis, in the first of two silver cue series, with the winners of these two series facing each other. Caitlin's four-ball run in game 1 ended up going to waste when Lexi tried a risky bank shot on the 3. The shot failed, keeping Stephanie off the hook for botching a simple run, as Lexi illegally potted the 8 and gifted the Livilottis a 1-0 series lead with their win. Jennifer thought her pacing four-ball run at the start of game 2 would be enough to keep the Livilottis in control, but Stephanie went empty after a three-ball run by Lexi. Caitlin chipped in a bit, but Jennifer was overwhelmed in the end, and Lexi iced it on a three-ball run-out to get the win and tie the series at 2. Jennifer continued to be the heartbeat of the offense for the Livilottis, putting up a four-ball run after Lexi's empty break. Caitlin kept the Woodelands in the game with a five-ball run, and things got choppy from this point, as Jennifer and Stephanie each had misses on the 8. Caitlin provided enough to get the Woodelands back in the game, and Lexi would be the one burying the 8 on a thin cut to the bottom side, giving them a 2-1 series lead. In game 4, the Woodelands allowed Caitlin to break instead of Lexi. The results were the same as previously, an empty break, but Jennifer didn't get as much on the run. Lexi established a lead, and a couple of key misses from Stephanie during the game set up an easy straight-line finish on the 8 for Caitlin, with the win clinching the series at 3-1 for the Woodelands. Caitlin made a deep run in game 5, working a five-ball run for the Woodelands. Jennifer partially answered it, but she couldn't corral her team's last ball, and Lexi made the tap-in on the 8 for the win, giving the Woodelands a 4-1 series win. They'll face the winner of the next series in the first Semifinal.
In the second Quarterfinal, the silver cue will administer the series between Darkest Night's Nightfur and Midnight and Destiny's Sierra and Spirit. Sierra picked her way through a four-ball run after Nightfur had an empty break in game 1, and this paced the game. A bit later, Midnight of Darkest Night had a missed cut shot that deflected the 8 in a perfect line for Destiny's Spirit to pot for the win and 1-0 lead in the series. Sierra didn't get anything on her break, and after a four-ball run from Darkest Night's Nightfur, it didn't look good for Destiny, but Midnight faltered a bit on her turn, and Sierra capitalized, piecing together a somewhat flashy five-ball run-out to snag the win and a 2-0 series lead as well. Sierra and Spirit each chipped a shot in game 3, wasting valuable opportunities to possess the table against a dangerous Darkest Night team. Midnight didn't do much damage on Spirit's mistake, but Nightfur punished Sierra relentlessly with a six-ball run-out to come from way behind and make it a 2-1 series with Darkest Night's win. Destiny staved off any series comeback threat quite effectively in game 4, with Sierra working a six-ball run on her first turn and then setting up Spirit for the final shot in her second turn, while Midnight got frozen with trying to pick out the best run sequence. Spirit won the game for Destiny, clinching the series at 3-1. Destiny tried to mix things up for game 5, and Spirit had the break, getting very little off of it as Sierra had been so far. Darkest Night struggled at the start as well, but they woke up first, with a three-ball run by Midnight. A bit later, Spirit answered on a three-ball run for Destiny, but Nightfur emerged with a four-ball run-out for Darkest Night to take the win and make it a 3-2 series win for Destiny. Sierra and Spirit meet the Woodelands, Lexi and Caitlin, in the first Semifinal.
The red cue gets the next series, with Davidson's Conquest, Kirstin and Niki, facing Dogtown's Princess and Americus. Kirstin and Niki took their time in game 1, as they each contributed to the offense for Davidson's Conquest but never much all at once. Americus couldn't keep pace for Dogtown, and Princess needed a four-ball run to have a chance at a win, but she missed the 8 and Niki made it to steal away the win and a 1-0 series lead for Davidson's Conquest. Game 2 was more of the same, as Davidson's Conquest made a slow and balanced game work for them. Their early strategy featured pinning Dogtown's Princess in bad positions, limiting her game-changing abilities, while Americus proved unable to punish that tactic. Princess did make a late run, but it was again too late, and Niki closed the game to take a 2-0 series lead for Davidson's Conquest. Princess proved she could not be contained forever, but things are getting desperate for Dogtown in the series. Princess had a pair of four-ball runs in the game, stunted only by Americus' scratch on her first turn. Princess' second deep run ended the game after failed defense from Kirstin left all four shots readily available, and Princess converted to cut the series to 2-1. Americus took the break for Dogtown in game 4, a designed play to leave Princess with more normal shooting attempts throughout the game. Kirstin and Niki answered it well for Davidson's Conquest, continuing to play a balanced offense. Princess still had a chance to win it after Kirstin missed on the 8, but Princess couldn't bank the 8 to the top left, and Niki tapped it in to the bottom left for the win, securing the series at 3-1. Americus made things interesting for herself in the late stages of game 5, but she came up with a four-ball run-out after Princess' early failure and a missed run opportunity from Niki opened up the table for the Dogtown player. Davidson's Conquest, despite taking a late loss, still won the series 3-2, and they will advance to the second Semifinal against the winner of the next series.
Closing out the Quarterfinals, Acorn and Oreo, the Founders, face the Forgotten Generation of Spice and Sugar with the blue cue for the final bid in the Final Four. The Founders had a much more reliable start to game 1, and Acorn kept the offense up throughout the game. The Forgotten Generation struggled, but Sugar did manage a five-ball run at one point, only for Acorn to win the game on his next turn for a 1-0 Founders lead in the series. The Forgotten Generation once again struggled in game 2, except this time, the Founders didn't give them an opportunity to get back in the game. Acorn had a late three-ball run with an impressive bank, leaving Spice a chance to go on a run, but she opted for a tough shot, missed, and Oreo finished the game for a 2-0 series lead. The Forgotten Generation survived to see another meaningful game with a win in game 3. Acorn's break saw him pot two stripes, but also scratch, negating one make. Spice then went on a five-ball run, and the Forgotten Generation coasted from there, weathering a four-ball run from Acorn and some defense before finally potting the 8 to cut the series to 2-1. In game 4, it was Oreo coming through with the offense for the Founders, piecing together a five-ball run after a slow start to the game. Spice had a three-ball run in direct response, making it a close finish, but her long strike on the 14 went wide, and Acorn was able to make the 8 to the top left to get the win and see the Founders to a 3-1 series lead, eliminating the Forgotten Generation. Sugar made a very impressive run late in game 5 to stymie the Founders, going for a six-ball run right after Oreo had turned out on a four-ball run to give the Founders a nice lead. The ending was chippy, but Acorn had a miss and Spice made the 8 to get the win and ice the series at 3-2. The Founders advance to the Semifinal with Davidson's Conquest, to be played second tomorrow.
Tomorrow is where this Doubles Tournament ends. It's been a long, arduous process to get this point as we've killed time during the Reconstruction period for the league, but both things are very close to being complete. Once these two things are finished, the league will return to normal function going forward.
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