We're back with more games today, likely reaching at least four series again with the possibility of a fifth. First up...
Hoot v. Citrus v. Princess at Volkswagen Stadium Events Center, Viewpoint Sound. Game 1 stayed even at first, as Citrus selected mediums and Princess took highs on their first turns. Hoot struck back, but couldn't weather their combined storm against him. Princess ousted Hoot, and then Citrus took out Princess for her first win. Citrus couldn't make anything on the break in game 2, and Princess showed no mercy with a hot start. Hoot supported that with more damage to Citrus, who also wasted her second turn. Princess would get the win on a four-ball run-out, dispatching Citrus on the second shot and Hoot two shots later for her first win. Citrus bounced back in game 3, facing a stern challenge from Hoot's good start to the game. Citrus elected to knock out Princess early, and then played excellent defense before getting two pairs of shots to fall to defeat Hoot for her second win. Citrus targeted the mediums on her opening run in game 4, choosing to protect the highs, which backfired against a seven-ball run from Hoot that featured collateral damage. Hoot wouldn't get the last laugh either, as Princess picked up the win on a three-ball run-out after Hoot's take-down of Citrus couldn't extend to Princess. The strong finish gave Princess her second win of the series. Citrus used her first turn in game 5 to put Hoot in deep trouble after he started well attacking against what would be Princess' highs. Princess recovered after that, helping to bury Hoot before Citrus finished him off. Princess then made a three-ball run-out to take out Citrus, earning her third win in the series. Hoot made a good choice to take lows on his first turn, as he held the advantage late in the game against Princess and Citrus, who had battled each other to a weakness for both. Hoot swooped in and knocked out Citrus and then Princess for his first win to conclude game 6. Citrus and Hoot had decent starts in game 7, but they couldn't sustain their offense in the later stages of the game. Both Citrus and Hoot had short second turns, and this gave way to a three-ball run-out from Princess, taking out Citrus and then Hoot for her fourth win. Hoot seemed to have a good start in game 8, but he couldn't put up a similar result on his second turn. Citrus and Princess quickly attacked against him, and he was out when Princess made his final low ball. Princess struggled to get Citrus out, but Citrus missed a tap-in, gifting Princess the win, her fifth and final of the series. Princess heads off to the second round, while Citrus qualifies with 8 points and Hoot takes 7 points.
Paps v. Bells v. Niki at Cisco Arena, Tysini. Paps and Bells both shot well on their opening turns in game 1, combining to take out Niki before she could take a shot. Bells did a lot of damage to herself in the process of keeping her turn going, and Paps just made the 9 on his second turn for the win, his first. Niki promptly got revenge in game 2, using an effective first turn to protect her highs quite well. Paps found himself in a bit of trouble later in the second turn, but Niki took out Bells first and then Paps on the last turn for her first win. Paps and Niki worked hard to put Bells in a deep hole early in game 3, as she had just the 3 on the table after Niki's second turn. Bells held on as Paps and Niki turned to fight each other, and Bells would take out Niki on the second shot of a six-ball run-out that ended with Paps getting knocked out. Bells recorded her first win of the series. Each player had a surge in game 4, with Niki doing well at the start, Bells starring in the middle of the game, and Paps cranking a four-ball run-out to take out Bells and then Niki for the win, his second of the series. Game 5 saw more strategy than usual, as the players tried to balance offense and defense after Niki's scratch. In the end, Bells compromised with Niki, taking out Paps on a three-ball run before offing Niki on the next turn for Bells' second win. Bells and Niki failed to close out Paps in game 6 after leaving him deeply damaged, and he struck back, double-potting the 9 and 10 to take out Bells before offing Niki on the next turn for his third win. Bells and Niki feuded a bit in game 7 after Niki tried to take out Bells. Paps was already deep behind at this point, but Bells made sure to take him out before attacking Niki, which would be a failure. Niki shot back with the last two shots for the win, her second of the series. Game 8 featured quite the battle for Niki, who managed to hold onto her last ball long enough to earn second place, while Bells did the heavy lifting to beat Paps and then Niki for her third win in the series. Game 9 got off to a slow start, which benefited Bells quite a bit as she made an eight-ball run to pressure both of her opponents. In need of points, Niki would betray Paps at her first chance, and she would have to settle for second place when Bells offed her in turn for her fourth win. Niki got established first in game 10, but it would lead to her being the first to exit against Bells, who carried that momentum a little farther to get the win on a six-ball run-out. She ended by banking the 7 of Paps into the top side for her fifth win to advance to the second round. Paps took 12 points in qualifying, while Niki holds 11 points for her efforts.
Puff II v. Wild Thing v. Slinks at Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston. Puff II got off to a big start with a seven-ball run to pressure her opposition. Wild Thing further made things worse for Slinks, but the wily veteran hung around and ended up winning on her second turn, offing Puff II and then Wild Thing. Wild Thing had a sloppy game 2 as well, scratching on his second turn. This made him an easy target, and his highs were quickly off the table thanks to Slinks. Puff II then battled with Slinks, and got the win with a two-rail bank on the 3 to the bottom side for her first win. Wild Thing eased up on his shooting force in game 3, and while Puff II and Slinks battled among themselves, he sat in wait. Wild Thing went head-to-head with Slinks and got the win through solid shooting, his first win in the series. Game 4 saw Wild Thing establish himself early on, but Slinks did the bulk of the offense as the protect of the medium set. Puff II worked with Slinks to take Wild Thing out, but Slinks scratched to revive him. Puff II then continued her attack, and Wild Thing weakened Puff II. This left Slinks to make two shots in the end for the win, her second of the series, with Puff II finishing second. An even start to game 5 gave way to a big five-ball run-out by Puff II in the end, as she started with collateral damage to get position on Slinks' remaining pair of balls before taking out Wild Thing's last two for her second win in the series. Slinks successfully defended the highs in game 6 after a rocky start to the game on Puff II's poor break. Puff II was the first out as Wild Thing downed her, only to be taken out by Slinks in her third win. Puff II countered in game 7, defending the highs after Wild Thing had a bit of a slow start. Wild Thing would pick up the second place as Puff II took him out on the last shot of her five-ball run, right after bouncing Slinks to pick up her third win. Puff II had a huge six-ball run-out on her second turn of game 8, after Wild Thing had claimed highs on his first turn. Slinks had a rough turn, and never got to truly defend her lows, as Puff II wiped her out first before taking down Wild Thing in her fourth win. Wild Thing seemed a bit more determined in game 9, protecting his highs quite well. Slinks did well to keep the lows on the table as well, and they survived a single-handed push by Puff II. Wild Thing would get the win over Slinks after taking out Puff II on an earlier turn. Slinks stepped up again in game 10, challenging right from the start as she claimed the lows to protect. Puff II took the highs, and successfully pushed back at both opponents, but Wild Thing and Puff II had a mutual protection clause with their 6 and 14 frozen. Slinks did what she could around the rest of the table, and then took out Wild Thing's 6 on the combination before glancing Puff II's 14 off her own 5 and into the top right on a long deflection play. This was Slinks' fourth win, putting two players on the brink of advancing. Wild Thing, in a must-win situation in game 11, did just that despite Puff II having a remarkably hot start. Slinks struggled for a bit of the game, but picked up the pace later. Wild Thing also had a scratch to complicate the game, but a cluster-buster on his next turn helped continue his run to eventually end the game. He made seven in a row for the win, ousting Puff II and then Slinks for his third victory. Slinks took over the offensive driving with an eight-ball run on her first turn of game 12, taking highs completely out of the game. Puff II had a chance to assure the series be decided in this game, but she missed on the 5, and Wild Thing made it to take out Puff II. Slinks wouldn't back down even as Wild Thing made a four-ball run, and Slinks eventually poked around for the last pair of balls she needed to take her fifth win. Slinks advances to the second round, while Wild Thing took 15 points and Puff II scored another 14 in the tight series.
Marsell v. Stealth v. Dreamy at Samsung Arena, Whitewater. Marsell has the distinction of being the first to face league teammates, but that didn't bother him in game 1. He promptly selected highs and weakened lows, which led to Dreamy finishing third. Stealth fought well in response, but had to settle for second as Marsell made a four-ball run-out for his first win. Marsell appears to be attacking one suit fiercely as his strategy, this time going after highs in game 2. Stealth and Dreamy combined to fight him off, although Dreamy was briefly out of the game until Stealth forced Marsell into a scratch. This proved too much for him, as Stealth took out Marsell and then Dreamy for his first win. Dreamy and Stealth switched roles a bit in game 3, as Dreamy took the mediums and had to bunker down for much of the game. Stealth provided a strong attack against Marsell, who lashed out at the two players but couldn't eliminate either one of them. Dreamy dealt the final blow to Marsell and then took out Stealth for her first win. Dreamy kept up well in game 4, as Stealth established himself with the medium set. Marsell tried a different strategy, trying to fly under the radar by taking the damaged lows, and while Dreamy did inflict damage on Stealth and vice versa, Dreamy's final turn was a three-ball run-out that saw Marsell seated before Stealth once again in Dreamy's second win. Marsell had some success playing Dreamy and Stealth against each other early in game 5, but a scratch from Marsell ruined that. Dreamy and Stealth used their next three turns combined to wipe out Marsell, with Stealth ending on a four-ball run-out that also beat Dreamy in the end for his second win. Stealth made an executive decision on his second turn in game 6, electing to wipe out Dreamy's highs first before tackling Marsell's mediums on his six-ball run-out. Marsell had done well to damage Dreamy on his turn after she started the picking, but Stealth took the win, his third. Marsell pulled a lot of the strings in game 7, and he thought it would nearly work, but after he took out Stealth, he couldn't make Dreamy's last ball. Dreamy fought back with the final pair of shots including a difficult bank of the 5 to the top side for the win, her third of the series. Game 8 saw Marsell again choose his suit, taking lows, which led Stealth to take highs. Stealth did quite a bit of damage to Dreamy's mediums, but Dreamy recovered just fine in the end, helping take down Marsell first and then finishing her three-ball run-out against Stealth for her fourth win. Dreamy did brilliantly to betray Stealth at the end of the series, going on a huge eight-ball run from the break at first. Stealth claimed his suit but also scratched, and this kept Marsell in the game. He couldn't do enough on his run, and Dreamy took him out before also ending Stealth in her fifth win. Dreamy heads to the second round, while Stealth qualified at 14 points and Marsell had only 5 after being successfully double-teamed.
Expect more of the same for playing time tomorrow and going forward.
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