We'll be doing four series today as we inch closer to the end of the round. We begin with...
Pedey v. Stripes v. Anton at Intel Center, Diamond. Pedey had a positive start in game 1, making a ball on the break and claiming the lows to defend. Anton had the next best turn, going on a short run that Pedey answered with a three-ball run to bump Stripes from the game. Anton tried to counter, but Pedey had good positioning and got the win, his first. In game 2, Anton erupted with a nine-ball run that saw him commit some collateral damage, but it would be Stripes with the glory in the end, as she knocked out Pedey on her first turn before taking Anton down on the second turn for her first win. Anton played well again in game 3, although Pedey delivered the first four-ball run on his second turn to knock Stripes from the game. Anton countered to put Pedey on the brink, but he held on to get the win, his second of the series. Game 4 saw a similar pattern, as Anton attacked the highs viciously, and Stripes claimed lows to leave Pedey with the damaged suit. Pedey found himself out by the end of the second turn, but Stripes and Anton battled for quite awhile before Stripes made two in a row at the end for her second win. Stripes scratched twice in game 5, ruining her momentum early on and allowing Pedey to take the highs and Anton to claim the lows. Stripes then countered with an eight-ball run, erasing Pedey from the game, but Anton made Stripes' 6 for his first win of the series. Anton crashed the party a bit in game 6, blasting a nine-ball run from the break as he defended the highs. Stripes, in an effort to preserve a point, made one of his balls and kept going until she had the win on a five-ball run-out, her third victory of the series. Stripes went on the longest run of the tournament, a twelve-ball run-out from the break of game 7, to pick up her fourth win. Stripes' run was so long due to two incidental moments of collateral damage, which ended up being harmless when she wrapped up the win to split the extra point between her opponents. Stripes continued her dominant stretch with runs of five and six balls on her first two turns in game 8, both featuring collateral damage. Anton steadied himself to earn a point and keep Pedey from the table for the third straight game, but Stripes collected her clinching win a few turns later to advance to the second round.
A. Charlton v. Missy v. Cheddar at Amazon Field Exhibition Hall, Golden. Game 1 showed balance between the players, as Missy took the highs early, while Cheddar put in a strong first turn. A. Charlton played from the weak mediums but ousted Missy before getting beat by Cheddar at the end as the latter player won her first game. Game 2 followed a similar pattern, with a clear improvement by Cheddar in her decisive shooting in defense of the highs. She worked a five-ball run-out at the end after a prior run, taking out Charlton and then Missy this time in her second win. Offense was a bit slower to come by in game 3, although Charlton did burst into action with a seven-ball run on her second turn to bump Missy from the game. Cheddar tried to make a counterattack, but it fell short, and Charlton had her first win of the series. In game 4, Charlton saw a disturbing trend as Cheddar and Missy claimed the lows and highs and attacked a vulnerable medium set readily. Charlton tried to fight back, but scratched on her second shot of the turn, and Cheddar took her out on a three-ball run. Missy followed with a three-ball run before the game stagnated. When the action returned, it was on Cheddar's three-ball run-out for her third win of the series. Missy made a very unfortunate accidental play, taking out her last high ball as she tried to attack against Charlton's highs. Cheddar stepped in to protect her lows from here, weathering an early storm from Charlton before going on a three-ball run-out to win for the fourth time in five games. Charlton set the tone again in game 6, with a good start to help her protect the highs. Missy pounded the lows to take the mediums, but Cheddar found herself in the battle right up to the end, where Charlton took her out a shot before Missy on her closing three-ball run-out for her second win. Game 7 saw another coordinated attack against Cheddar as Charlton took the mediums and Missy took the highs to leave Cheddar with the weakened lows. Cheddar was out in two turns, and then Charlton played defense until she could open up her attack with a three-ball run-out to beat Missy for her third win. Game 8 saw a questionable play by Missy, who took the weakened highs after Charlton claimed the lows, leaving Cheddar in a strong spot with the healthy mediums. Cheddar and Charlton battled a bit, with Cheddar getting the knockout, and while Missy got close to beating Cheddar, she ultimately fell short, allowing Cheddar to clinch the series with her fifth win, eliminating both other competitors from secondary qualifying.
Gradley v. Watermelon v. Wario at Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston. Watermelon started with a five-ball run in game 1, imposing her will on the game. Wario soon followed up, but he also scratched, and he and Gradley got into a fierce battle, paving the way for Watermelon to take them both out with a three-ball run-out for her first win. Wario went on a deep run on his second turn of game 2, eliminating Gradley to escalate their feud as the series progresses, only to fall victim to Watermelon who recovered from an earlier scratch to win on a bank shot. The win was Watermelon's second. Game 3 saw a change of pace from Wario, who attacked more decisively and earned quite the win. Watermelon was the first to fall as Gradley wiped her out in hopes of creating a big finishing run, but that run fell short, gifting Wario his first win. Wario ripped a seven-ball run in game 4, the first of three big plays in the game. The second was Watermelon's second turn, in which she claimed the mediums to knock out Gradley, and the third was Wario's finish, a three-ball run-out with collateral damage to earn his second win of the series. Watermelon did a lot right with a six-ball run to claim the lows in game 5, but Gradley was a touch better with a seven-ball run-out to bump Watermelon and Wario on consecutive shots. Gradley finished his first win with a tough bank of the 13 to the top side. Gradley and Wario exchanged five-ball runs in game 6, both of which hurt Watermelon, while Wario did a little extra damage to Gradley. Watermelon did enough to hurt Wario that Gradley finished off the game with a three-ball run-out for his second win, bringing all players level in that category. Wario made a pretty firm attack at the start of game 7 to defend the lows, and Watermelon took the mediums, leaving Gradley at a disadvantage. Gradley held on for awhile, but he had an unproductive game until Watermelon knocked him out on a six-ball run. Wario and Watermelon tangled in a fierce battle, which Watermelon ultimately won for her third victory. Wario again established himself with the lows, electing to spread his damage over the mediums and highs. He didn't deter Gradley from taking the mediums, and he had a good turn as well. Watermelon struggled to protect the highs, and fell victim to a four-ball run by Wario on his second turn. Wario left Gradley well defended, but Gradley used his own 8 in a bank-combination to sink the 2 to the top side, then struck the 1 to the bottom left and the 3 on a tap-in to the top left for his third win. Wario jumped right back into the mix with his third win in game 9, battling hard to protect the lows. He made quick work of Watermelon in this game, and then bested Gradley head-to-head to get the victory. Wario had a bad break in game 10 of the series, leading to a painfully slow game for all involved. Gradley worsened the issue with an early scratch, leading to a deadlock that only broke when Wario took Watermelon out of the game. Gradley and Wario still struggled to produce offense, but Gradley's numbers advantage helped him send Wario's mediums out of the game for his fourth win. Game 11 went a bit rough at the start for Wario and Gradley, and Watermelon probably would have been in the clear were it not for a scratch that ruined her performance. Gradley took her out on the next shot, and beat Wario on the next turn for his fifth and series-clinching win. Wario qualifies at 16 points, in good position to keep playing, while Watermelon is out with 10.
Nikolai v. Hannah v. Spirit at Toyota Arena, Freedom. Nikolai started with a commanding run in game 1, but Hannah quickly answered against his highs, and she defended the mediums well. Spirit couldn't do much and found herself as the first player out as Nikolai ended on a five-ball run-out in his first win, giving Hannah the second place point. Spirit struck first in game 2, electing to protect the lows, while Nikolai went back to the highs and had one good run to take out Hannah during a six-shot stretch. Spirit held on and used good defense to stop the aggression of Nikolai, then countered him on two turns for her first win. Hannah struck first in game 3, taking the highs to defend this time. Nikolai and Spirit had some sloppy play figuring out the rest, but Nikolai ended up protecting the mediums, and he did it well with a six-ball run that ousted Spirit a turn later. Hannah tried to counter that, but he positioned himself well, and beat her with a pair of shots for his second win. Hannah figured it out in game 4 with a strong performance, defending the mediums. Nikolai ended up with the highs, and he did a lot of damage to both of his opponents, but Hannah charged back on a five-ball run-out to oust Spirit and Nikolai on consecutive shots in her first win. Hannah and Spirit ran a concerted effort to weaken Nikolai after he started strong in game 5, getting him down to just one ball. He played well from here, countering Hannah's run with a four-ball run-out that saw Hannah eliminated first and Spirit following on the last shot as the host earned his third win. Spirit pummeled a nine-ball run from the break, but she faded toward the end of that run. Hannah poked in one of Spirit's lows to protect the 8, the last remaining medium, and Hannah did fine until a late scratch. Nikolai was revived and immediately stormed to a five-ball run-out from the kitchen for his fourth win, gifting the second place point to Spirit for her early run. Nikolai struggled again at the start of game 7, allowing Spirit to make a big push at first, but Nikolai got back into the game late, winning on a five-ball run-out that saw him sit Hannah down two shots before icing off Spirit. Nikolai's quick romp to the series sees him alone through to the second round.
That's all for today. Tomorrow, we'll have the final three series and probably the play-ins for the secondary qualifying should any be necessary.
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