2017 Qualifiers - Day 1

As my readers know quite well now, data for the UPCL-organized Tournaments was lost earlier in the year. As such, and also due to poor performance in general, the first run of 2017 Qualifiers had to be scrapped so as to prevent potential data issues in the rebuilt documents. After an arduous five months or so, the league is ready to restart its pool Tournament with the first day of Qualifiers. I expect this will take three to four weeks in total, with an average pace of 40 games a day during the week and 50 more over the weekend. We'll try to do 50 today, beginning with...

Gizmo, the Central Warriors veteran, using the blue cue in his 7-ball qualifier. Gizmo started well, but the pressure of going first wore on him. He took no errors among his 12 shots, and he made a ball on the break to set a good tone going forward. B. Chapman of the Victoria Spurs took the next game, playing with the silver cue in 7-ball. Chapman made two balls on the break in this appearance, and played a savvy shot off the 1 to pot the 3, easing her path to 7 shots and no errors in the game. The third player of the day was Fluffina, the Maplewood Lumberjacks captain, set to play 7-ball with the silver cue. Fluffina's turn was a forgettable one, as she needed 17 shots with three errors mixed in and an empty break to top it off. Following that, Potter, the Pronger Tridents rookie, keeps the silver cue at the table for his career debut with the silver cue. Potter had a good break, getting a ball in the top right, but two early errors set him off track, finishing with 13 shots and the pair of errors. The group ends with Misty, the Westside Rockers captain, using the blue cue to play 7-ball. Misty had the first perfect game of the season, taking the 7 on the break to the bottom left on a long-route shot that gave her 0 shots for the session.

The second group begins with Bryant, the Maplewood Lumberjacks veteran, activating the red cue for the day with his 7-ball appearance. Bryant matched Misty's performance, scoring the 7 on the break for 0 shots, no errors, and a successful opener to the season. The pressure is even higher for Hoot, the new Viewpoint Sound Meteor, as he uses the blue cue for 7-ball. Hoot did get a ball on the break, and he kept a clean sheet with no errors, but his shooting was sporadic, and he ended at 10 shots for the appearance. Kirstin will get the next game, keeping the blue cue up for more 7-ball for the Everton Eagles sophomore. Kirstin came up empty on the break, and got a bit lucky to avoid errors, riding a strong start and fading finish to 13 shots for the game. The ninth player drawn to shoot is Oceanside Waves captain Snuggle, another blue cue player for 7-ball. Snuggle was not good, getting a ball on the break but getting no positioning after that, nor any errors to explain why he needed 16 shots to complete the game. Finishing the group, Golden Pilots captain Valencia brings out the silver cue for her game. Valencia got a ball on the break but also had a scratch in the game, with one error over 10 shots being the results for a long-time star of the league.

The third batch is led off by Stripes of the Terrace City Knights, who brings the blue cue back for her 7-ball game. Stripes did not let an empty break hold her back, as she calmly and sharply finished the rack in 10 shots with no errors during the course of play. Continuing along, Midland Predators star Rainmane keeps the blue cue at the table for 7-ball in the twelfth game of the day. Rainmane got a ball on the break and got sloppy during her game, accumulating three errors among her reasonably solid 11 shots, begging the question of what could have been. The red cue returns to action with Paps, the Eastside Sharks' offseason acquisition, playing his season debut in 7-ball. It was a rough start for Paps, as he scratched on his break, but he was solid from there on, needing only 9 shots with the single error to finish the appearance. Up next, Twilight, the Central Warriors captain and superstar, has the blue cue up for 7-ball once again. Twilight got a ball on the break and seemed to have a loose grip on the game the rest of the way, needing only 8 shots with no errors despite some difficult positions to shoot out of. Closing out this group, Max of the Queens Flames keeps the blue cue up for more 7-ball. Max got nothing out of his break, but some reliable shooting brought him to a fairly average 11 with no errors in the game.

Group four opens with the sixteenth player of the day, Citrus of the Diamond Gems, who has the red cue primed for her 7-ball qualifier. Citrus went empty on her break, and then charged her way through 9 shots to end the game, taking no errors along the way in the admirable performance. Next up, Violetta of the Queens Flames gets her turn at 7-ball with the silver cue in her career debut. Violetta couldn't get anything going for herself, going empty on the break and then needing 14 shots through the game with no errors to finish it off. Continuing along, Pronger Tridents sophomore Zach plays 7-ball with the blue cue. Zach also came up empty on his break shot, and while he got lucky with his early shots, later attempts caused him to slip to 12 shots with no errors in the game. Lexi of the Harrison Specters got called for the next game, and she'll play 7-ball with the red cue in this appearance. Lexi couldn't make the most of a firm break that did sink a ball, but she kept the game clean with no errors and finished on 11 shots, a good total for the experienced veteran. Wrapping this batch up, Nikolai of the Freedom Cascades keeps the red cue at the table for his 7-ball appearance. Nikolai was unlucky with his break, as nothing fell, and he took 12 shots, including one error, to finish the rest of the rack.

Starting the fifth batch, Leonette of the Pacific Volcanoes uses the blue cue to start her year in 7-ball. Leonette got a ball late on her break, and then kept a strong performance going with no errors among her crisp 9 shots, starting her year off well. The 22nd player to shoot today is Diamond Gems rookie Rosalina, using the silver cue to make her career debut with 7-ball. Rosalina didn't look out of place, getting an empty break but needing only 10 shots in the end, with no errors, to complete the game. She would have been faster had she not missed on the 5 the first time she tried. Following her is Paps, making his second appearance for the Sharks, with this one being 8-ball with the silver cue. Paps did alright on the turn, making a ball on the break but suffering two errors during the course of play and finishing on 20 shots in total. Moving along, we have Tridents rookie Potter using the blue cue for his 8-ball game. Potter did very poorly in the game, getting a ball on the break and then watching it all go bad from there. Inaccurate shooting and five error shots tacked on for illegally potting the 8 sent the rookie to 26 total shots in a poor outing. Wrapping up this batch, the longtime Swordpoint Blade Dreamy shoots 7-ball with the red cue. Dreamy got nothing on the break and looked fine until taking her only error on a scratch, which slowed her pace to 10 shots in the end, still a good effort from the veteran.

Batch six kicks off with the Everton Eagles' Blizzard shooting 7-ball with the silver cue. Blizzard played well, striking a ball on the break and needing just 9 shots with an error to finish the game in good form, a successful opener for the veteran. The next player drawn is Puff I of the Modernistic Union, who also has the silver cue in use for her 7-ball opener for the year. Puff I dazzled on her turn, needing only 8 shots with no errors and nothing on the break to finish the game, placing herself very near the top of the leaderboard for the event. Following her game, Tysini Hummingbirds newcomer Brownie picked up the silver cue and kept its run in 7-ball going. Brownie bested her predecessor with two balls from the break and just 5 shots overall, taking no errors in a very dominant appearance to raise appeal for herself to her new fanbase. The 29th player to shoot today is Niki of the Eastside Sharks, who has the blue cue in hand for her 7-ball season debut. Niki lacked command of her shot throughout the game, managing to get by on 12 shots with nothing from the break and no errors in a fairly average performance for the veteran. The group finishes with a game of 7-ball for Watermelon, who uses the red cue in this appearance. Watermelon set out on a fast pace in the game, with a three-ball run after an empty break, but slowed down to finish with 11 shots and no errors in the end.

The seventh group sees its first player, Oceanside Waves rookie Celestia, making her debut with the silver cue in a game of 7-ball. Celestia needed only 9 shots, including an error, after a sharp break that resulted in one ball going down early. She was shaky at first, but settled in on a six-ball run after the error to finish well. The next game belongs Cobalt, the Stonebridge Wolves rookie, who debuts with the blue cue for 7-ball with a somewhat tough act to follow. Cobalt needed a couple of bounces to go his way, but he scored 0 for the game, potting the 7 to the bottom side on the break, and he took no errors. Going 33rd today is Snowball, the Swordpoint Blades captain, and she uses the silver cue to get her season going in 7-ball. Snowball came up empty on her break, and she needed 12 shots, with one error for a scratch, to complete the game in a fairly average form. The next player is Roxy of the Freedom Cascades, who will also use the silver cue for 7-ball. Roxy scratched on her break, her only error, and otherwise didn't start with any advantage, so her 10 shots were fairly solid, ending with the 6-7 combination to the top right for an early finish. Gradley made a ball on the break but also suffered an error with an unlucky scratch, but he didn't get discouraged, rallying to finish with 10 shots in the good game.

In group eight, the first player is Rockers captain Misty, who is playing 8-ball with the blue cue in this appearance. Misty was impressive despite a very lousy break until she accidentally potted the 8 on a deflection off the 2, resulting in five error shots as penalty. Misty still closed with 20 shots in the end, showing just how good the game was. Whiskers of the Infinity Torpedoes got the next game, bringing the silver cue back for her season debut in 7-ball. Whiskers got nothing on the break, but played a dominant stretch after that, taking only 8 shots to end her turn without an error, a good performance for the veteran. Up next, Eastside Sharks captain Chelsea plays 7-ball with the blue cue in her season debut. Chelsea did very poorly in her turn, getting nothing on the break and failing to convert on the simple shots, dooming her to a bottom-dwelling 17 for her score with one error. The 39th player drawn to compete is Twilight, the Warriors captain, who has the blue cue set for another 8-ball game. Twilight struggled at the start, scoring a ball on the break but failing to navigate the table well. She eventually rounded into form, but took one error among 24 shots in the game. The afternoon ends with Spirit, the Lighton Prestige star, shooting 7-ball with the red cue. Spirit got nothing on her break, but went 7-for-7 in shots following that, ending the game with no errors in a spectacular display of shooting skill.

In the night session, the games begin with Sparkles of the Todavía Stills shooting 7-ball with the blue cue. Sparkls couldn't connect on her shots throughout the game, wasting a fruitful break to the tune of 14 shots, but she didn't take an error during her turn, the lone positive. Going 42nd today is Ted of the Web City Spiders, as the strong rookie plays 7-ball with the red cue for his career debut. Ted had a very similar result in his appearance, getting nothing on his break and needing 15 shots to sink the rack, a poor effort from the high-expectations rookies. Following that, Mr. Snowman makes his Infinity Torpedoes debut with the red cue in hand for a game of 7-ball. Mr. Snowman had the worst game of them all so far, getting nothing on the break and then collecting five errors among his 21 shots in a horrendously bad appearance to start the next chapter of his career. Wario, the Victoria Spurs rookie, is tasked with getting the league's qualifying back on track nearing the end of day 1, and he'll shoot 7-ball with the blue cue for his debut. Wario didn't totally melt down on his turn, but a score of 14 with nothing from the break and two errors included wasn't exactly what the league was looking for as a beacon of hope. The ninth group ends with Luigi, the North Modernistic Nighthawks rookie, shooting 7-ball with the red cue and hoping to provide some sign of life for the league. Luigi crashed his way through the rack, much like the players before him, needing 15 shots after the empty break, and four errors throughout the game to finish it off, ending one of the sorriest groups of qualifying history.

The last group of the day begins with Lionel, the Commerce Tradewinds veteran, going with the potentially lethal silver cue in his 7-ball game. Lionel settled in with a ball on the break but a quick scratch followed for his lone error among a solid 12 shots in the game, a respectable mark. Next up, Chicky Phil makes his Pacific Volcanoes debut with the red cue in a game of 7-ball. Chicky Phil got a ball on the break, and only had one error in his game, taking a total of 12 shots to keep the league as a whole fairly steady after his decent debut game. Continuing along to Hoppy, the Southern Monarchs rookie who will keep the red cue at the table for 7-ball. Hoppy didn't manage to score anything on the break, but kept pace with those immediately before her, scoring 12 with a single error on a mid-game scratch, a solid effort for the newcomer. The 49th player called to shoot is Terrace City Knights superstar and captain Kiwi, who continues the trend of having the red cue on hand for 7-ball. Despite getting a bad leave on the first two shots after the break, Kiwi, avoided an error, using craft shooting to show why she deserves the superstar title, and she finished on 11 shots total. Finishing off the day's games, Archtown Arrows star Sally shoots 7-ball with the red cue, hoping to get a good result. Sally needed 11 shots, getting nothing on the break and taking no errors in a well-paced game.

Day 2 is tomorrow, with the aim of 40 games set as the target.