2017 Qualifiers - Day 17

So much for the weekend special, as I was out and about much of yesterday. We'll begin a fairly standard Sunday with...

The first group, and its first player Mario, the Central Warriors rookie, who has the blue cue up for Rotation. The highly-hyped rookie Mario went empty on his break, and he needed 29 shots with six errors to finish the appearance, a mediocre outing for him. Next up, Web City Spiders rookie Ted plays Rotation with the red cue. Ted needed 30 shots for the appearance, going empty on his break and collecting five errors in the early stages of the appearance after unfavorable clusters developed from the break. Nikolai of the Freedom Cascades got the next game, playing 10-ball with the silver cue. Nikolai was just unlucky to not get a ball on the break, and he did take two errors during the game, but he ended on 11 shots as he dialed in the 7-10 combination to the top side for an early finish in an impressive game. The fourth player of the day is Rainmane, the Midland Predators star, who will use the silver cue for Rotation. Rainmane played a clean game after her break went empty. She had only two errors over 28 shots, electing to follow the rules and get a little lucky here and there to keep her score reasonable. Ending the group, Stinky of the Freedom Cascades plays Rotation with the red cue. Stinky had a ball on the break, and this propelled his confidence upward, as he would err only two times in the game, ending with 25 shots in a display of precise shooting.

The second group begins with Gizmo of the Central Warriors playing 9-ball with the silver cue. Gizmo played fairly well in this game, but he needed 16 shots after getting nothing on the break, and he didn't take any errors but a few shots came close to them. Following that, Snuggle, the Oceanside Waves captain, plays 12-ball with the silver cue. Snuggle made two balls on the break, and then proceeded to pick quite easily through the favorable rack, taking only 14 shots with no errors to complete the game. The eighth shooter of the day is Stonebridge Wolves captain Juno, who has the red cue in for Accuracy, becoming the 21st player to finish qualifying. Juno couldn't quite make anything on the break, but played well with no errors in the game, and she finished with 18 shots for the appearance. Overall, Juno had 154 shots in qualifying, a solid performance. Next up is Cheddar of the North Modernistic Nighthawks playing Rotation with the red cue. Cheddar played well in this game, just narrowly going empty on the break, but shooting well early on and taking no errors over a quick 21 shots. Icing the group, Eastside Sharks captain Chelsea plays 10-ball with the red cue. Chelsea had nothing at the break, and she took an error on her first shot from play, but she calmed down and finished with 16 shots after that.

Batch three starts with Bryant of the Maplewood Lumberjacks playing Accuracy with the red cue, the 22nd player to finish qualifying. Bryant made an outstanding three balls on the break, and he would finish the game with no errors in 16 shots, a great score. Even better was his overall score of 119 shots, taking a massive lead in qualifiers. Moving along, Viewpoint Sound Meteors rookie Nibbles plays 12-ball with the silver cue. Nibbles went empty on his break, but still managed to complete the game in 18 shots, taking no errors for the game in a sterling performance. The thirteenth player drawn to shoot today is Snuggle, the Waves captain, who is back to play Rotation with the blue cue. Snuggle had nothing on the break, and picked up three errors accidentally early in the game, before he buckled down to finish with 28 shots for a good game. Continuing along, Blizzard of the Everton Eagles plays 9-ball with the red cue. Blizzard did make a ball on the break, but she also took an error for one scratch around the middle of the game. Blizzard would close with a solid 14 shots for the appearance. Wrapping up the group, Oreo of the Terrace City Knights plays 12-ball with the blue cue. Oreo made a ball on the break, but she also had a late error en route to scoring 18 shots, which required some fancy work to keep the score so low.

Group four leads off with Dusky of the Archtown Arrows playing Accuracy with the silver cue as the 23rd player to complete her qualifiers. Dusky needed only 16 shots after making a ball on the break, and she took no errors in the game. For all of her qualifying, she had 160 total shots, an average effort. Up next, Golden Pilots captain Valencia shoots Rotation with the blue cue. Valencia potted a ball on her break, and she took only 20 shots for the game as a whole, needing three errors to help things along in the early going before shutting it down quickly. Continuing along, Klaus of the Atlantic Pirates plays 15-ball with the blue cue. Klaus did not have a good game, taking five errors and needing 35 shots to complete the appearance after a multitude of struggles with perfecting his shot. Victoria Spurs captain Spice plays the next game, using the red cue for 12-ball. Spice had a dreadful appearance, making a ball on the break and then stumbling to five errors and 36 shots for the whole game in her worst game of the year so far. Rounding out the group, Diamond Gems sophomore Pedey plays 12-ball with the red cue, trying to redeem its reputation. Pedey did get a ball on the break, but he had two errors as he had to bust a cluster before proceeding. He would finish with those two errors and 25 shots in a decent outing.

Group five gets going with Oceanside Waves rookie Dewey playing 10-ball with the blue cue. Dewey was very much in charge despite his empty break, picking up only one error, which was unavoidable, as he completed the game in 14 shots. The 22nd player called today is Chicky Phil of the Pacific Volcanoes, who plays 12-ball with the silver cue. Chicky Phil had no issues with his game, getting a ball on the break and then needing only 18 shots with no errors to finish the appearance in fairly standard form. Boots of the Pearl Surfers was called for the next game, playing Rotation with the silver cue. Boots did pretty well early on despite going empty on her break, and while she did take three errors during the game, she finished the appearance with 25 shots, a good mark for the veteran. Going next, Missy of the Capital City Sharpshooters plays 10-ball with the blue cue in her fourth game of the year. Missy did well, getting a ball on the break and taking no errors in a short appearance that saw her make the 4-6-10 combination to the top right, double-potting with the 4 bouncing back to the bottom side to give her only 7 shots. Ending the group, Peach, the North Modernistic Nighthawks captain, plays 10-ball with the red cue. Peach's break was empty in this game, and she took two errors for uncalled shots that converted, but she still finished the game with 16 shots.

The sixth bunch opens with Waves captain Snuggle playing 15-ball with the silver cue. Snuggle couldn't get anything going in this game, seeing nothing fall on his break and then his erratic shooting produced seven errors before he was able to finish the game on 32 shots. Following that, Wings of the Pearl Surfers tries to keep his good work going in 15-ball with the silver cue. Wings didn't have the best game, going a bit weak on the break and collecting five errors over the course of the game, finishing with 29 shots after skidding around on the last two balls. Moving along, North Modernistic Nighthawks rookie Luigi plays 12-ball with the red cue. Luigi made a mess of the game, getting two balls on the break, but also scuffling with five errors, failing to acknowledge where he should put his shots. This led him to taking 28 shots in the end. Lighton Prestige rookie Salmo gets the next game, using the blue cue for Rotation. Salmo had a decent game, taking 28 shots in the game with no balls potted on the break and three errors during the game for minor offenses. Ruby, the Archtown Arrows star, will be the last player in the afternoon, and thirtieth for the day, playing Rotation with the red cue. Ruby's break didn't go as planned, leaving her with no bonus to start the game, and she spread out three more errors over 29 shots for the appearance.

The night begins with group seven and Lighton Prestige captain Acorn shooting 12-ball with the silver cue. Acorn made two balls on the break and worked a clean game from there, taking no errors over a quick 18 shots to complete the game. Moving along, Viewpoint Sound Meteors captain Mams plays 15-ball with the blue cue. Mams made a triple pot halfway through the game, using the 6 to carom the cue to take the 14 at the top side, and then driving the 6-7-14 combination to the bottom left, which sent the 6 back to the top side to complete the highlight. Mams ended with 23 shots and six errors after not making a ball on the break. Her final shot was a double-pot, sending the 15 to the bottom side and the 10 off two rails to the bottom right. Following that highlight-laden performance is Snowball, the Swordpoint Blades captain, who will finally finish qualifying with Accuracy and the silver cue, the 24th player to do so. Snowball played pretty well, although her break was empty and she did take an error early on. She finished with just the one error and 21 shots, and she closed her qualifying at 153 shots total. The 34th player of the day is Pacific Volcanoes veteran Ms. Kitty, who will shoot 12-ball with the red cue. Ms. Kitty made a ball on the break, and generally did well, but she sputtered at the end with an error before finishing the appearance with 22 shots. Ending the group, Lexi of the Harrison Specters plays 15-ball with the silver cue. Lexi ended up having a dreadful game despite making a ball on the break, as she would need 32 shots and seven errors to get through the appearance.

The eighth group kicks off with Nicole of the Capital City Sharpshooters playing 15-ball with the silver cue. Nicole did pretty well with two balls on the break, but she couldn't keep the game going, taking three errors en route to a fairly average 27 shots for the game. The 37th player to shoot today is Bells of the Todavía Stills, who will play Rotation with the blue cue. Bells had a fairly solid game, making a ball on the break and limiting her errors to two in the game, giving her 26 shots in the end, a score that should sit on the A-level bracket. After that, Meteors captain Mams is the 25th player to finish qualifying with her Accuracy game with the blue cue. Mams kind of had an average game in this appearance, playing to 18 shots with no errors and nothing on the break, almost disappointing for her. Mams had a score of 118 across all her qualifiers, taking the league lead by one shot. Continuing along, Terrace City Knights captain Kiwi shoots 10-ball with the red cue. Kiwi made a ball on the break but also took an early error in the game, ending with a score of 16 for the appearance. Closing out the group, Leandra of the Tysini Hummingbirds uses the silver cue for Rotation. Leandra didn't produce anything on her break, but she did play the game fairly honestly, still taking four errors throughout the appearance for her mistakes as the score ballooned to 28.

Group nine begins with Solaris, the Infinity Torpedoes rookie, shooting 15-ball with the red cue. Solaris made a ball on the break, giving him some early confidence. He would take three errors in the game, but a 10-15 combination to the top right halted the game early at 19 shots, a great effort. Following that, Modernistic Union newcomer Strawberry tries to recover from her previous outing by using the red cue in Rotation. Strawberry did get a modicum of retribution against the sport, as she made a ball on the break and had only one error, but mistakes late in the game cost her, pushing her score to 26 shots despite her solid shooting early on. Next up, Harrison Specters captain Twinkie II plays Accuracy with the silver cue, the 26th player to finish qualifying. Twinkie II had a good game, making a ball on the break and suffering no errors for the appearance, taking a score of 17 for the game. Overall, Twinkie II clocked in at 157 shots, a decent output. The 44th shooter of the day is Zach, the Pronger Tridents newcomer, who will play Rotation with the silver cue. Zach decided to play an honest game despite his empty break, and this didn't lead to much for him, as he took two errors and needed 31 shots once he had to chase the 15 at the end of the game, a poor showing. Ending the batch, Niki of the Eastside Sharks shoots 15-ball with the blue cue. Niki didn't have many clear shots early on, opting instead to hawk the 15 for a bit. This, combined with an empty break, led to many wasted shots when it wouldn't fall, and she ended with five errors and 32 shots for the game.

Today's final group is led by Prestige rookie Salmo playing his second game of the day, 15-ball with the silver cue. Salmo faced a merciless rack, taking seven errors and 41 shots after getting nothing but bad positioning and poor shooting attempts for the game. The 47th player of the day is Sharks captain Chelsea, who will use the blue cue in her 12-ball qualifier. Chelsea had a good start to the game, getting a ball on the break, but the rest of the game was iffy, as she had to chase her final shots a bit to get set up well, and this required her to take 26 shots with two errors for the appearance. Going next, Klaus of the Atlantic Pirates is the 27th player to finish qualifying as he plays Accuracy with the silver cue. Klaus absolutely destroyed the rack on his break, taking three balls, and he had no errors over the next 13 shots, which is the score he closed the game with in an incredible performance. Klaus had 151 total shots to finish his rookie qualifying campaign. That's a tough act to follow for Capital City Sharpshooters veteran Sprinkles, who will use the silver cue in her Rotation appearance. Sprinkles had a potentially even better game, as she made two balls on the break and took an early error and still managed to finish the game in a mere 17 shots, a remarkable performance to top the event's list. The day will try to end on a high note with Strut, the Golden Pilots veteran, shooting 15-ball with the blue cue. Strut didn't get anything on the break, and he did have two errors, but he mixed in some remarkable shots during his game as well, and he closed with 28 shots for the appearance.

After the thrilling end to the day, I can provide an update: as the third week of play ends, 800 of 1152 qualifiers have been completed. I am estimating that qualifying will end on January 17th, pending any crises in my life or problems with my shooting ability. Cricket is struggling along, with a post likely up tomorrow, and I mean it this time.