2017 Qualifiers - Day 24

It's the penultimate day of qualifying, which means a lot of full-rack games like Rotation, 15-ball, and Accuracy. We begin with...

Group one's first player, Max of the Queens Flames, who will shoot 12-ball with the red cue. Max made a ball on the break in this game, and he didn't take any errors in his 19 shots, showing very well as he is one of the later arrivals with qualifying. Continuing along, Marsell of the Whitewater Shores plays Rotation with the red cue. Marsell played with a lot of integrity in this game, taking 25 shots with one error after making a ball on the break, and he seemed very comfortable with his shot. Next up, Prism, the Stonebridge Wolves rookie, shoots 15-ball with the blue cue. Prism had a bit of a rough game this time out, needing 32 shots after an empty break, and she took three errors as well as she couldn't get enough good looks. The fourth player of the day is Terrace City Knights captain Kiwi, who will use the silver cue in Accuracy as the 109th player to finish qualifying. Kiwi played pretty well, making a ball on the break and avoiding any errors as she cleared the table in 18 shots. She finished qualifying with 155 shots, a fairly average performance. Finishing the group, Bianca, the Southridge Defenders rookie, is the 110th player to complete qualifiers, using the red cue in Accuracy. Bianca made a ball on the break, but she also picked up her only error on a scratch on the same shot. She would end the game with 18 shots, and her overall performance clocked in at 162 shots total.

Group two begins with Pronger Tridents captain Precious playing Accuracy with the blue cue, the 111th player done with qualifying. Precious needed 20 shots for this game, taking two errors on scratches after her empty break, so she hovered around the average. She ended qualifiers with 154 total shots, also a near-average performance. Gizmo of the Central Warriors is next, and the seventh player of the day will play 12-ball with the red cue. Gizmo didn't have much of a game here, making a ball on the break but racking up four errors in the game, and this sent his score to 27 shots for the game. After that, Web City Spiders rookie Ted plays 15-ball with the red cue. Ted had 24 shots in the game, but he took three errors after a making a ball on the break. His first error was unintentional, but it proved very valuable at the end, with the 15 lined up nicely. Moving along, Whiskers of the Infinity Torpedoes plays 15-ball with the silver cue. Whiskers came out blazing with two balls on the break, but she faded in the middle of the game, taking three errors and needing 28 shots to get through the appearance. Closing out the group, Oceanside Waves rookie Dewey plays Rotation with the silver cue. Dewey put up a wonderful game, taking no errors and only 21 shots after a somehow empty break.

The third group starts with B. Chapman of the Victoria Spurs being the 112th player to finish qualifying as she shoots Accuracy with the red cue. Chapman made a ball on the break, but she did take an error later in the game, ending with 18 shots. Overall, she scored a very strong 142 shots. Bright of the North Modernistic Nighthawks gets the next game, playing Rotation with the red cue. Bright had nothing on the break, and only took two error despite the unfavorable shooting positions, as he would ultimately score 35 shots for a very poor game. The thirteenth player to be drawn today is Sydney Sierota of the Harrison Specters, and she's the 113th player to finish qualifying by playing Accuracy with the red cue. Sydney made a ball on the break and breezed through the rest of the game too, needing 16 shots with no errors for the appearance. She finished qualifying with a total of 148 shots, a bit better than average. Going next is Pronger Tridents rookie Potter, who also plays Accuracy with the red cue as the 114th player to finish qualifying. Potter made nothing on his break, and he took a late error trying to set himself up, so he ended with 21 shots for the game. Potter also scored 161 shots overall, a middling effort from the newcomer. The group ends with Missy of the Capital City Sharpshooters playing 15-ball with the silver cue. Missy made a ball on the break, and that seemed to help her score better, as she had three errors in just 23 shots for the game, finishing quite well.

Batch four gets going with Caitlin of the Oceanside Waves finishing her qualifying 115th, while playing Accuracy with the silver cue. Caitlin did fairly well in this game, taking the rack in 19 shots after making a ball on the break and taking no errors. She finished qualifying at 173 shots, mostly due to yesterday's fiasco. Moving along, Tigerette plays 12-ball with the blue cue as the Commerce Tradewinds captain makes an appearance. Tigerette made two balls on the break, but she had some tough shots to play from, ending with 23 shots and three errors for the appearance in a challenging outing. Delila of the Atlantic Pirates is next, shooting Accuracy with the blue cue as the 116th player to finish qualifying. Delila had a poor break in her game, but she stayed clear of any errors and finished with 20 shots for the game. Overall, Delila took 145 shots in qualifiers, indicating it might her best year ahead since 2014. The nineteenth player to shoot today is Wolves rookie Prism, who returns to shoot Accuracy with the blue cue as the 117th player to complete qualifiers. Prism needed only 17 shots in the game, going empty on her break but also taking no errors in the appearance. Prism dazzled in an overall sense, taking only 141 total shots for qualifying. Wrapping up the group, Ted of the Spiders comes back to play Accuracy with the silver cue, the 118th player done with qualifying. Ted had nothing but his lone error on the break, and he would clear the table in 19 shots after that. Overall, Ted shot 156, a decent performance for the rookie.

The fifth group opens just before the mid-afternoon break, as Chelsea, the Eastside Sharks captain, shoots 15-ball with the blue cue. Chelsea did alright, getting nothing on the break and collecting five errors in the appearance, but she closed at 21 shots with a 7-15 combination to the bottom right. After the break, Chelsea plays again, the 119th player to finish as she shoots Accuracy with the blue cue. Chelsea finished the game in 17 shots, making a ball on the break but also suffering a scratch for her only error. Overall, Chelsea needed 164 shots in qualifiers, a bit worse than average. Next up, Tradewinds captain Tigerette shoots Rotation with the blue cue. Tigerette got a bit unlucky at times, making nothing on the break and taking five errors without intent on any of them. She ended the game with a reasonable 29 shots. The 24th player called today is Waves rookie Dewey, playing 15-ball with the blue cue. Dewey showed disregard for the rules in this game, collecting four errors after an empty break, but he was done in 24 shots, proving efficient to overcome the penalties for a good game. Closing out the group, Frosty of the Stonebridge Wolves plays 12-ball with the silver cue. Frosty didn't get a ball on the break, but she also showed poise to not take an error despite a challenging rack, which she cleared in 20 shots.

The sixth batch kicks off with Spot, the Pronger Tridents rookie, shooting Accuracy with the silver cue as the 120th player finished with qualifying. Spot had a ball on the break, but he couldn't locate his shot very well, taking 21 shots with no errors in the game. Overall, he finished with 145 total shots. After that, Yekaterina Vasilyeva of the Victoria Spurs uses the blue cue in Accuracy, finishing 121st by speed in qualifying. Yekaterina had a good break, but it did lead to her only error as well as potting a ball. She ended the game in 19 shots, a good mark. Overall, she qualified with 160 shots total, a bit worse than average. Leonardo, the slow-starter from the Midland Predators, is now the 122nd player done with qualifying as he uses the silver cue for Accuracy. Leonardo did not do well in this particular game, needing 24 shots after an empty break to complete the game with no errors. Overall, despite late struggles, he did well with 146 total shots. Continuing along, Gizmo of the Central Warriors plays Rotation with the silver cue. Gizmo scratched on his break, his first of three errors in 29 shots after the otherwise empty break in a bit of a disappointing game. The thirtieth player of the day closes this group, and that player is the Wolves' Frosty, set to play Rotation with the silver cue. Frosty did manage to get a ball on her break, but she faltered with three errors and some late fade-out as she would need 29 shots for the game.

The seventh group leads off with Dewey, the Waves rookie, becoming the 123rd player done with qualifying as he plays Accuracy with the blue cue. Dewey had a great game despite an empty break, taking just 17 shots for the appearance, and without any errors. He ended with 137 total shots, pushing elite status. Next up is the Flames' Max, who will shoot Rotation with the silver cue in this game. Max made a ball on the break, and while he took one error early on, he controlled himself during the rest of the game, ending with 23 shots for a very impressive game. The 33rd player drawn today is Nikolai, the Freedom Cascades sophomore who will finish 124th in qualifying as he uses the silver cue for Accuracy. Nikolai couldn't get anything on the break, and then he faltered at the end, needing 19 shots without an error to complete the game. Nikolai ended at 172 total shots, a poor total, for all of his efforts. Moving along, Debby Ryan, the Southridge Defenders captain, is the 125th player done with qualifiers as she plays Accuracy with the silver cue. Debby scratched on the break, taking her only error early, and then scuffled before finishing on 19 shots. She took 155 total shots in qualifying, a solid mark. At the back of the group, Frosty is back to play 15-ball with the blue cue for the Wolves. Frosty didn't see anything drop on the break, and she would gather three errors in the game, but she finished on 26 shots, a respectable effort from the veteran.

The last group of the day gets going with Americus of the Atlantic Pirates shooting Rotation with the blue cue. Americus needed 33 shots in this game despite making a ball on the break, as the unfavorable distribution forced her into five errors. The 37th player of the day is Spirit of the Lighton Prestige, who will also use the blue cue in Rotation. Spirit was no better in this game, making nothing on the break and adding five errors to her score for a final of 32 shots, leaving her very frustrated. Up next, Whiskers of the Infinity Torpedoes is the 126th player to finish qualifiers, using the blue cue in Accuracy. Whiskers couldn't make a ball on the break, but she also avoided taking any errors in a spectacular game of 17 shots. She ended all of her qualifiers at 138 total shots, a very good mark for the veteran on a team with championship hopes. Continuing along, Missy of the Capital City Sharpshooters plays Accuracy with the silver cue as the 127th player to finish qualifying. Missy went on an absolute tear after getting nothing from her break, needing only 15 shots without an error to complete the game, as she rarely missed. She ended with an overall score of 148 shots for all her qualifiers. Finally, the day ends with Ms. Puppy of the Modernistic Union, who will shoot Rotation with the blue cue. Ms. Puppy made two balls on the break, but faded in the middle of the game, ending on 28 shots with no errors for the appearance.

Tomorrow's the big day, as Qualifiers are scheduled to end. After that, Tournament-related action will be on a bit of a break. I will be working administrative tasks in the background, preparing for the upcoming competition. Additionally, I have a couple of projects to work on related to the league, as I plan to launch an official league Twitter account and also do hand-drawn logo work. Following, or alongside, those things are more pressing matters. I will be doing up some brackets for this year, and adjusting things for the next Tournaments. I will also be analyzing the Qualifiers data and posting a report on that. In the report, there will be analysis of the impact of making a ball on the break, as well as year-over-year results and error tracking. With the extra down time, I hope to get more cricket played. Finally, for months from now, the Heart of the Game brand is looking into up to three tournaments to hold over pool action between the end of this tournament and the end of the cricket season, which is likely to be delayed. These would include a Cutthroat tournament, featuring the first-ever three-way combat featuring UPCL players. Also, a straight up 9-ball tournament is expected, and the debut of a new event, 13-ball, would be possible as well. More details will arrive later, likely in July or August if the events materialize.