This is the last game day this week, with Saturday definitely being a day off, and Sunday more than likely also not having any pool played. You can expect Cricket to occur a little bit tonight and on Sunday to help finish up week 14. We begin this pool day with...
Ebay Center, Queens: Max v. Wario. The red cue gets to open the festivities today, playing 12-ball. Victoria's Wario had a good game 1, while Queens' Max scratched twice, gave away a wild-card ball, and had no positioning advantage. Wario, predictably took the win in a patient battle, only striking when the time was right to get a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 was a colossal failure for the Flames' Max, who was down to his last ball and had the Spurs' Wario retreating with scratches, but Wario made a three-ball run and gained enough position to earn a draw and a replay. In the replay, Wario got the win cleanly, but it took a bit of time, as Max held his defenses for as long as possible. Wario's persistence earned him a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 went to Max, and at this point, the details are unimportant except to say that it was another sloppy, painfully slow to develop game driven by defense. Wario won the series 2-1, although barely deserving to as he heads to the second round.
Audi Hall, Terrace City: Stripes v. Bear. The red cue stays up for a series of 8-ball between Urban Division rivals, with hopefully less frustration. Whitewater's Bear had a decent start to game 1, but Terrace City's Stripes took over with a four-ball run followed by a three-ball run. Stripes' scratch slowed her game, and Bear rallied back with a four-ball run and then the final two shots on the next turn for the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Knights' Stripes shot back well in game 2, keeping the Shores' Bear off the board until she was onto the 8. Bear did make a couple of short runs, but a chipped shot lined Stripes up for the winner, which she made to tie the series at 1. Game 3 saw Bear hold the early advantage, but he couldn't get any position on the 3, his final ball before the 8. Stripes cleared things up with a four-ball run, but twice missed the 8, and Bear buried it on his first try for the win, taking the series 2-1 as he advances to the second round.
Honda Driftwood Coliseum, Pearl: Boots v. Sparkles. The silver cue comes on for a series of Rotation. Pearl's Boots had the early lead in game 1, and while Todavía's Sparkles encroached early on, Boots had a three-ball run to assert herself and ended up with the 8-3 win. Boots leads the series 1-0 thanks to the good first game. The Stills' Sparkles weathered two three-ball runs from the Surfers' Boots in game 2, once early and one more late. Sparkles had to tie the game after the first one, and she made two shots after the last one to earn the 8-6 win, tying the series at 1 game apiece. Game 3 saw Sparkles break out on a five-ball run to take a lead, but she melted after Boots converted an 8-15-10 bank combination to the top side, which tied the game and gave her momentum to win 8-6 eventually. Boots took the series 2-1.
AT&T Hall, Oceanside: Celestia v. Sprinkles. Two of Youth Movement's members face off in 7-ball with the silver cue. Capital City's Sprinkles needed only one shot in game 1, as Oceanside's Celestia made two balls on the break but left the 7 up at the bottom left. Celestia's shot on the 1 brought it close, and Sprinkles double-potted the 7 on a deflection to the bottom left and the 1 to the top right to win for a 1-0 series lead. The Waves' Celestia had the better of play in game 2 as well, making a three-ball run after the Sharpshooters' Sprinkles came up empty on the break. Celestia then made the last two balls on cuts after another rough turn for Sprinkles, and Celestia's win tied the series at 1. Celestia made a four-ball run from the break, including a double-pot of the 4 on a deflection to the bottom side, and the 1 in the bottom right. Sprinkles had the first chance to win, but her run ended with a miss on the 7, and Celestia made it to win, taking the series 2-1. Celestia punches her ticket to the second round.
UPS Hall, Maplewood: Diddley v. Dewey. The final player to debut is the visitor in this series of 15-ball with the blue cue. Oceanside's Dewey was a bit jittery in his first competitive game at this level, scratching twice, the latter of which Maplewood's Diddley used the ball-in-hand to make the 6-15 combination to the bottom right for the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Waves' Dewey had to fight hard for the game 2 win, and his frustration showed late as he battled for position with a stubborn Diddley of the Lumberjacks. Dewey eventually prevailed with a rocket shot on the 14 to the top left, and a cut on the 15 to win, tying the series at 1 as the shooting quality drops again. Diddley showed no mercy for a scratch by Dewey around the middle of the game, which had been fairly even and mediocre to that point. Diddley used the ball-in-hand to make the 9-15 combination to the bottom side, winning the game and the series 2-1. Diddley is through to the second round.
Audi Hall, Terrace City: Oreo v. Snowball. The blue cue remains at the table for a series of 12-ball. A comedy of errors early in game 1 gave way to brilliance later. Swordpoint's Snowball scratched while trying to claim a suit, allowing Terrace City's Oreo to take solids. Snowball ended up being okay with this, making a five-ball run-out a few turns later to get the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Knights' Oreo had to be patient in game 2, not only because she scratched but because positioning was hard to come by. This was a fact very familiar to the Blades' Snowball, who couldn't get anything going at the left corners. This allowed Oreo enough time to position herself, and she made her last two shots to win, tying the series at 1. Game 3 was much higher paced for both players, as Oreo had a good break but also gave away a wild-card ball to Snowball, who would return it later. Snowball almost made this meaningless, but she shanked a shot on her final ball after Oreo missed a shot from distance. Oreo had a second chance and converted to win, taking the game and the 2-1 series win to the second round with her.
Gillette Center, Swordpoint: Stealth v. Luigi. The Blades veteran takes on a Nighthawks rookie as the silver cue gets another Rotation series today. Swordpoint's Stealth broke free with a five-ball run from the break in game 1, never letting North Modernistic's Luigi into the game. Stealth would later pull off a kick to sink the 9 at the bottom side, and he won 8-2 for the 1-0 series lead. The Nighthawks' Luigi had control in game 2, building up a very large lead, but he flailed at the end under the pressure of a rally from the Blades' Stealth, whose choppy turns eventually led to him winning 8-7 with a three-ball run-out, securing the series at 2-0. Stealth burst out with another five-ball run from the break in game 3, but he faltered a bit more in this appearance. Luigi answered, getting pretty close at one point, but Stealth locked it down for the 8-4 win and 3-0 series sweep. Stealth heads to the second round with the win.
Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City: Chris v. Shadow. Captains collide in this 8-ball series with the red cue. Web City's Shadow made quick work of Capital City's Chris in game 1, making a three-ball run on his first turn and then a five-ball run-out from ball-in-hand after Chris scratched with no balls potted. Shadow's shutout earned him the 1-0 series lead. The Sharpshooters' Chris was much better in game 2, working an amazing six-ball run for the early advantage. The Spiders' Shadow nearly outdid him late in the game, but Shadow's run stopped with a miss on the 8 at six balls, and Chris tapped in the last two shots to win, tying the series at 1 in a fast-paced battle. Chris had a highlight in game 3, triple-potting the 1 and 7 to the top right and the 3 to the bottom right with an assist off the 10. Chris rallied from here, with a fair amount of resistance from Shadow, but Chris made the final two shots for the win. Chris takes the series 2-1, advancing to the second round.
McDonald's Hall, Atlantic: Delila v. Gradley. The Pirates captain faces a Swifts stalwart in 7-ball with the silver cue. Boston's Gradley nearly won early in game 1, but a deflection spared Atlantic's Delila from illegally potting the 7. She still struggled, and Gradley would get the win in due time, making the last two shots to go ahead 1-0 in the series. The Pirates' Delila didn't have as many close calls in game 2, playing a cleaner game that saw neither player develop much of a run. The Swifts' Gradley had the first chance on the 7, but he missed contact, and Delila won with a shot from ball-in-hand to tie the series at 1. Game 3 was very similar, as the shooting was poor, and Delila ended up with a loss when her hard shot on the 7 failed, but left Gradley lined up. He converted, winning the series 2-1 with the game 3 win.
Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Mario v. Stinky. The blue cue is back for 9-ball in this series with a rookie and a veteran. Central's Mario seemed to have a slight edge in game 1, but it didn't matter when he couldn't end the game on a run after Freedom's Stinky scratched. Mario left the 9 standing, and Stinky took care of it, winning for a 1-0 series lead after losing hope when he scratched. The Warriors' Mario undoubtedly held a possession advantage in game 2, but he couldn't make anything of it this time either, as the Cascades' Stinky was responsible for making one ball on the break and two more at the end for the win and a 2-0 series lead. Stinky left no doubt to who deserved the game 3 win, serving up a near perfect break that sank the 9 in the bottom right immediately to make it a 3-0 series sweep. Stinky is through to the second round.
HP Field Events Center, Midland: Shawn v. Diddley. The M-Line Derby is on in 10-ball with the red cue for this series. Midland's Shawn scratched on the break of game 1, giving Maplewood's Diddley a short-lived advantage. Things were even throughout the game, with Diddley making a three-ball run answered by Shawn's three-ball run-out at the end, giving Shawn a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 also came out pretty even, although the Lumberjacks' Diddley was a bit less sharp and no runs developed on either side with much force. The Predators' Shawn prevailed in the end, making his third shot at the 10 after Diddley's soft attempt was short at the bottom right. Shawn clinched the series at 2-0. Shawn had his shots in game 3, but it was Diddley coming out on top this time, making the 6-7-10 combination to the bottom right after Shawn left the 10 too close to the pocket. Shawn still won the series 2-1 to get to the second round.
Intel Center, Diamond: Rosalina v. Potter. The final series of the day is also in 10-ball with the red cue, between a pair of rookies. Diamond's Rosalina was doing fine until a late scratch after her attempt at the 8 in game 1. Pronger's Potter, who had also had a decent game, pounced for a three-ball run-out to get the win and a 1-0 series lead. The Tridents' Potter spent much of game 2 snookered by a wonderful defensive stance from the Gems' Rosalina. She wasn't just defense either, as Rosalina made a five-ball run at one point, but she faltered on the 9, and Potter made the last two shots to win, taking the series at 2-0. Rosalina clearly had the better of play in game 3, but she couldn't suppress her nerves, as a four-ball run and a three-ball run went to waste when she rattled the 10 out of the bottom left. Potter tapped it in for the win, sweeping the series 3-0 en route to the second round.
We're done with a testy, occasionally poor day of pool. As mentioned at the start, the most likely scenario is resuming Tournament action on Monday.
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