2017 Qualifiers - Day 7

We return to action after two days off to celebrate Christmas. The games today begin with...

Twinkie III of the Whitewater Shores playing 7-ball with the blue cue to lead off the day's first group. Twinkie III made two balls on the break in a very confident start, and while she did scratch while shooting the 4, it was her only error in a very quick game of 6 shots. The second player to shoot today is Shannon of the Southern Monarchs, using the blue cue as well for her 10-ball game. Shannon almost got a ball on the break, and she shot effectively in the rest of the game, taking one error for an illegally potted ball and closing with 16 shots for the game. Following that, Sleepy B. of the Archtown Arrows gets the silver cue in action for 9-ball. Sleepy B. made a ball on her break, although she did take a late scratch as her shot betrayed her near the end. She had just one error in 13 shots for a strong outing. Next up, Shaggy, the new Whitewater Shore, plays 7-ball with the red cue in her debut for the team. Shaggy had a bad error, her only one, when she lightly brushed the ball before her shot. This shook her confidence, but she ended with 12 shots and the one error after an empty break. Closing out the batch, Sally of the Archtown Arrows gets her 10-ball game with the silver cue. Sally rallied quickly in the game, getting nothing on the break but taking good shots early on and needing only 14 shots after some productive misses, as she also finished the game without an error.

Group two begins with Luigi, the North Modernistic Nighthawks rookie, shooting 8-ball with the blue cue. Luigi got a ball off the break, but struggled slightly at the start and the end. This didn't matter withe fantastic middle, allowing him to have only 17 shots and no errors for his second career appearance. His fellow Nintendo Universe character, Rosalina, gets the next game, as she shoots 9-ball with the silver cue in this appearance. Rosalina was mediocre for this game, missing a couple of carom attempts to take the 9, and she ultimately needed 16 shots and no errors to finish the appearance. The eighth player of the day is Caitlin, the Oceanside Waves player, who has the silver cue up for a game of 8-ball. Caitlin did well in her game, narrowly missing a ball on the break, and then picking through 17 shots with no errors to wrap up her second appearance of the season. Up next, Neopolitan of the Pearl Surfers will shoot 9-ball with the silver cue. Neopolitan had a ball on the break, and received many chances to end the game early, but she mis-positioned herself each time, needing 16 shots with two errors to clear the table. The group ends with Bryant, the Maplewood Lumberjacks stalwart, shooting Rotation with the blue cue to join the pace-setters. Bryant did well, getting a ball on the break and then clearing the table in 25 shots, although he did have three errors for illegal contact, mostly in the early parts of the game.

The third batch is led by another Lumberjack, the rookie Waluigi, who has the red cue ready for his 10-ball appearance. Waluigi was charged with four errors in the game, but he also made a ball on the break. All this resulted in mixed feelings about scoring 19 shots for the game, but those feelings lean positive. Daisy, the Modernistic Union rookie, gets the next game, making her second career appearance in 8-ball with the red cue. Daisy had one error in her game, just missing taking the 8 on the break, and she needed 21 shots to work through the rest of the game. Continuing along, Commerce Tradewinds sophomore Lorde uses the red cue for her 8-ball game as well. Lorde's break was bad, resulting in a scratch that constituted her single error, and she settled in to score 19 the rest of the way on in a reasonably good outing. The fourteenth player to shoot today is Dewey, the Oceanside Waves rookie, who makes his career debut in 7-ball with the blue cue. Dewey shot 12 in the game, going empty on the break but also taking no errors with a few crafty kicks and deflected shooting techniques. Ending this group, Bright of the North Modernistic Nighthawks plays 9-ball with the red cue. Bright had an unlucky break, with nothing going down, and then a cluster gave him some trouble with illegal contact, resulting in him taking two errors among 15 shots before finishing the game.

Group four gets going with Crystal, the Queens Flames captain, who will shoot 9-ball with the blue cue. Crystal couldn't figure her game out at all, making two balls on the break and suffering two errors, then chasing the 8 around the table for half her shots, finally ending with a dead-last 24 shots. The league will be hoping to nip this trend quickly, putting pressure on Crystal herself to jump back on the horse and shoot 10-ball with the blue cue. Crystal was basically reduced to tears after this game, needing four errors after an empty break to just sink the 1. She looked good from 2 to 9, but then chased the 10 as well, ending with 25 shots, about half of which were probably unnecessary, and the knowledge that her career with the Flames may be in jeopardy if her season goes like qualifiers have. Snowball, the Swordpoint Blades captain, hopes to have a better game than Crystal, using the silver cue in Rotation. It's questionable if Snowball got what she wanted, making a ball on the break but also taking six errors to complete the game in 32 shots overall, a middling score. The pitiful performances need to end soon, and it's up to Crystal once again, who's now also facing fatigue as well as bad play. She'll use the red cue to shoot 12-ball in her third appearance in four games. Crystal redeemed herself a bit in this game, making a ball on the break and needing 19 shots, including a late error for missed contact, in a decent performance for the beleaguered veteran. The group finishes with Hughbert, the Southridge Defenders rookie, shooting 8-ball with the silver cue. Hughbert concluded a poor group of games with his own middling performance, getting nothing on the break, taking an error for a scratch, and then chasing at the end to finish on 24 shots for a weak outing.

Batch five starts with Salmo of the Lighton Prestige shooting 9-ball with the red cue in his third career game. Salmo did get a ball on the break, but he had some struggles for the rest of the game, taking one error for a scratch and closing on 16 shots after some poor angle choices for his shots. Next up, Watermelon of the Pearl Surfers has the blue cue ready for some 12-ball. Watermelon made a ball on the break but took two errors, the latter of which was very lazy for an illegally potted ball, and she ended with a decent 23 shots. Lorde, the Tradewinds sophomore, returned to the table for her second game of the day, 9-ball with the blue cue. Lorde came up empty on the break and a few shots after it, and took one error in the game before finding the 7 as a release valve to deflect the cue off of and pot the 9 in the bottom right, ending with a barely-acceptable 15 shots. Following that, Westside Rockers stalwart Goatee shoots 8-ball with the silver cue. Goatee didn't take an error in the game, nor did she make a ball on the break, but she wasn't very accurate, needing 23 shots to finish the appearance. The 25th and final player to shoot before today's mid-afternoon break is Central Warriors superstar Dustin, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue. Dustin couldn't get his shot calibrated at all, taking an empty break and two errors among 17 shots for the outing, a disappointment for a player of his caliber.

The sixth batch keys the post-break portion of the day, opening with Sierra of the Todavía Stills, who will also use the silver cue for 9-ball. Sierra didn't get anything on the break, and she kept her shots down at 15 despite taking two errors, as the silver cue is not performing well today. Next up, Kayla of the Royal Crowns shoots 8-ball with the blue cue in her second appearance with the team. Kayla did see a ball go down late after the break, and she needed 21 shots from there to clear the rack, including an error for a scratch that caused her some trouble on the later shots. Kayla stayed at the table and kept the blue cue in her hand, as she was called again to play her 9-ball qualifier immediately afterward. This game went very well for Kayla, who made the 4 on the break and then converted the 6-9 combination at the end of the game, taking 10 shots with no errors in the abbreviated turn. The 29th player called to shoot today is Smudge, the long-awaited Infinity Torpedoes captain making her season debut with the silver cue in 7-ball. Smudge was shooting just fine despite an empty break, but she took four errors in the appearance, and ended with 13 shots because of the disregard for legality. Rounding out this group, Web City Spiders newcomer Dani shoots 8-ball with the silver cue for her second appearance with the team. Dani made two balls on the break and looked remarkable from then on, needing only 15 shots with no errors (although she almost had one) to complete a very strong game.

The seventh group kicks off with the Crowns' Kayla getting a third appearance in rapid succession, with her 10-ball qualifier using the silver cue in this game. Kayla did the best she could in the game, scoring 18 with a ball on the break and no errors in a fairly decent performance despite some bad shooting positions early on. Moving along, Maplewood Lumberjacks veteran Diddley shoots 9-ball with the silver cue. Diddley made a ball on the break and had a single error for illegal contact around the middle of the game, but he played well and ended with 13 shots in total for the game. Precious, the Pronger Tridents captain, gets the next game, playing 8-ball with the blue cue. Precious had a great break and not much else, taking no errors over a whopping 25 shots, as her shooting accuracy was absolutely miserable despite a well-scattered rack. Following that, Nightfur, the Royal Crowns captain, also will use the blue cue in her 8-ball game. Nightfur had a poor break but showed efficiency in navigating the table, taking only 20 shots with no errors to manage to hold onto a decent performance. Closing out the batch, Kayla returns to the table for her fourth game out of the last nine for the league, shooting 12-ball with the silver cue. Kayla didn't make anything from the break, and struggled initially with the flow of the game before settling it to finish it on 23 shots and no errors.

Bunch eight starts with Missy of the Capital City Sharpshooters making her season debut with the silver cue in a game of 7-ball. Missy maintained a pretty good game, getting a ball on the break and suffering one error for illegal contact in the game, ending on a solid 10 shots. The 37th player called to shoot today is Shadow, the Web City Spiders captain, who uses the red cue in 8-ball for his second game of the year. Shadow had a lot of trouble at the start of the game, failing to get anything on his break, and he buckled down to get it done in 20 shots with no errors to weigh him down. Continuing along, Strut, the Golden Pilots veteran, plays 9-ball with the red cue. Strut came out with guns blazing in his game, shooting a ball off the break and taking a quick three in the next two shots. He did suffer an error at one point, and that threw him off, where he ended with 14 shots. Moving along, one of the two big Stonebridge Wolves acquisitions, Frosty, makes her debut with the team in 7-ball, using the red cue. Frosty had a ball on the break but also suffered three errors due to a scratching propensity, pushing her score to 12 shots despite a solid effort. The final player of the afternoon ends this group, and that player is B. Chapman of the Victoria Spurs, using the blue cue for 9-ball. Chapman continues to be an early front-runner for qualifier of the year, as she took only 8 shots despite an empty break, ending with a 7-9 combination to the top right to finish the game with no errors.

Group nine, the first of the night, is Salmo, the Prestige rookie, who plays 10-ball with the blue cue in this outing. Salmo did his best to stay legal at the end of a game that saw him end with a ball on the break, one error, and 18 shots after softly kicking the 10 into a workable position. Next up, Modernistic Union veteran Puff I shoots 12-ball with the blue cue. Puff I did well to set herself up, although later execution didn't work very well. She did get a ball on the break, but had a couple of mid-game errors for scratches among the 20 shots she needed to finish the appearance. The 43rd player drawn for today is Arrows star Sally, who will also shoot her 12-ball game with the blue cue. Sally fared very well in her game, getting two balls from the break and never looking back, as she rallied to end with 17 shots and just one error for an illegally potted ball. Following that, Spiders captain Shadow returns to action to shoot 9-ball with the red cue. Shadow continued to hover right around the averages, taking 14 shots with two errors and a ball on the break in this appearance that left him a little frustrated given how well he started the game. At the tail end of this group, Terrace City Knights veteran Jennifer Livilotti plays 8-ball with the silver cue. Jennifer didn't get anything on the break, but she kept her nose clean with no errors and played a solid game for 20 shots to clear the table off.

The tenth batch gets going with a game of 7-ball for Pounce, the new Southern Monarch, and he'll use the red cue for this debut. Pounce is not off to a good start on the south coast, shooting 15 shots with two errors after an empty break to finish this game. Hoot, the new Viewpoint Sound Meteor, gets the next game, shooting 10-ball with the blue cue. Hoot had a ball on the break for his game, and while he did take a single error, he completed the outing in a strong 15 shots to pace himself well in the event. Up next, Lionel of the Commerce Tradewinds shoots 9-ball with the blue cue. Lionel did very well in this game, shooting in two balls on the break and then taking no errors for the rest of the game, which only last 11 shots and would have been less had he not been forced to use bank set-up shots on the 8 and 9. Moving along, Juno, the Stonebridge Wolves captain, makes her season debut with the team in 7-ball with the red cue. Juno didn't make anything on the break and did suffer an error early on, her only one of the game among the 14 shots it took her to finish the effort. The 50th player called to shoot today is another Wolf, Frosty, who will play her second game of the day, 8-ball with the silver cue. Frosty had a decent effort in her game, needing only 21 shots to complete the game after getting nothing on the break, and five of those were errors from illegally potting the 8 early.

That's it for the games today, as we'll try to play another long session tomorrow.