2018 Qualifiers - Day 10

It's Thanksgiving Eve, and we're only playing pool today. We begin the 40-50 game slate with...

The Boston Swifts' struggling star Puff II, who uses the silver cue for 10-ball. Puff II snapped during her game, taking five errors and 28 shots for the appearance. She will be suspended for the next Swifts cricket game after her post-game outburst. The Whitewater Shores' Shaggy tries to turn thing around for the league as a whole by playing Rotation with the red cue. Shaggy had a dazzling performance in her game, taking just one error and finishing the game in 20 shots despite her empty break. Harrison Specters rising star Sydney Sierota is next up, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue. Sydney needed 15 shots for her game, making a ball on the break but also scratching after illegal contact early on for her two errors. She played well in the end, adjusting to today's humid conditions to position herself better. Her Specters teammate Lexi Woode is next, playing 9-ball with the silver cue as well. Lexi had a good start despite an empty break, but the performance faded late. She had two errors for scratches, and she would end at 18 shots after chasing the 9 around. An eventful first group ends with the Golden Pilots' A. Charlton using the blue cue in 9-ball. Charlton had one of the best 9-ball games yet, making two balls on the break and finishing with 3 shots as she potted the 3-9 combination to the bottom right. She had no errors in the productive outing.

Group two leads off with Salmo making his second Eastside Sharks appearance, using the silver cue in 8-ball. Salmo had a decent outing this time, struggling for a run early before surging late. His one error came late on missed contact, slowing him down to finish at 21 shots for the game. Precious, the Pronger Tridents captain, plays the seventh game today, using the red cue in 9-ball. Precious turned a potentially ugly game into a great one by missing on the 1 after making a ball on her break. This second chance at the 1 set her up for a 3-9 combination to the bottom right to end her turn at 3 shots and no errors. Following that, Harrison Specters captain Twinkie II steps in to shoot 10-ball with the blue cue. Twinkie II had a mediocre outing, needing 19 shots with one error after a poor break didn't produce anything but an impossible first shot. Leonardo of the Midland Predators keeps the event as 10-ball, but switches the red cue into action. Leonardo had a ball on the break, but he was left with a variety of impossible positions later in the game, taking three errors among his 20 shots as a hot start went to waste yet again in 10-ball. His Predators teammate Fuchsia closes the group with her 9-ball game with the blue cue. Fuchsia made two balls on the break, and then played well save for her single error over the course of the game. She ended with a strong 12 shots for the appearance as 9-ball seems to be a favored game today.

The third group gets going as Cobalt, the Stonebridge Wolves sophomore, plays 10-ball with the red cue. Cobalt had nothing on the break, but he did get mostly clear shots for the game. He took only one error, but couldn't flip the performance and ended at 19 shots. The red cue remains in action as Diamond Gems captain Smokey shoots 8-ball in his second appearance of the year. Smokey had a rough outing, unable to get anything to drop on the break and taking one error over a lackluster 26 shots as he struggled to finish plays with success. Ted of the Web City Spiders will face quite the challenge with the red cue in hand for 10-ball. Ted couldn't break the cycle of mediocrity for the event, taking one error and nothing on the break in his game that finished at 19 shots. Dominic gets the silver cue some action as the Southern Monarchs veteran plays 9-ball on this turn. Dominic smashed through the game easily, making a ball on the break and needing only 10 shots even with one error to finish the stunning turn. The 15th game of the day belongs to Jeremias of the Royal Crowns, who shoots 9-ball with the red cue. Jeremias had a ball on the break, but he also collected three errors during the game, and his late play left much to be desired as he ended with 17 shots total.

The Stonebridge Wolves rookie Hershey begins the fourth batch with his 8-ball game with the silver cue. Hershey showed strong command on his shots, struggling with solid but nailing stripes. He made a ball on the break, and he finished in 20 shots without an error for a star performance. The Diamond Gems' Cassandra goes next, playing her 10-ball with the silver cue. Cassandra put in a wonderful performance, making a ball on the break and leaving the 10 near the bottom side. She had some shaky shots, but didn't take an error, finishing on the 2-10 combination at the bottom side for a score of 5 shots. The Golden Pilots star Dusty will try to follow that up with her 8-ball game, using the red cue. Dusty had a great game going, making a ball on the break and pushing her offense well, but a late scratch, her only error in the game, caused her to need 21 shots to finish. The 19th player drawn today is Bright of the Pearl Surfers, who plays 9-ball with the blue cue. Bright had nothing on his break, and he took one early error, but he had 14 shots for the game in a reasonable performance. Rounding out the group, the Queens Flames' Kyle shoots his 9-ball game with the silver cue. Kyle wasted a ball on the break by taking three errors, two for illegal contact and one for a scratch on the break. He would take 16 shots, ending a shot early presumably as he made the 8-9 combination to the top left.

Group five opens with Royal Crowns star Kayla playing 9-ball with the blue cue. Kayla couldn't pot a ball on the break, but she also steered clear of errors during the course of her game, needing only 13 shots to clear the table quite smoothly. Viewpoint Sound Meteors sophomore Nibbles is next, debuting for the year in 7-ball with the blue cue. Nibbles quickly went from a ball on the break to playing for the combination as the 2 gave him trouble. Luckily, he cut the 2-7 into the top side to end his turn at 6 shots before he could take an error. Another season debut is on the way, as the Swordpoint Blades' Stealth picks up the blue cue for 7-ball as well. Stealth could have done better at the start, chasing the 1 for too long to get anything positive from the game. An error, an empty break, and 14 shots later, he finished the game in mediocre form. The Archtown Arrows captain Ruby gets today's 24th game, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue. Ruby showed why she's one of the game's best, as her empty break and single error looked to hold her back until an amazing triple-pot. Out of desperation, Ruby cut the 4 into the bottom right as intended, with the 6 also dropping in the top right on a bank and the 7 getting kicked into the bottom side as the cue caromed around. This helped Ruby pave her way to only 13 shots for the game. Closing out the group, Twinkie I makes her long awaited Pacific Volcanoes debut in 7-ball with the blue cue. Twinkie I didn't get a ball on the break, but she took no errors and closed the game in 9 shots, a successful first step on her comeback tour.

The sixth group is headed by Pacific Volcanoes superstar captain Starlight, who has the silver cue in hand for 12-ball this time. Starlight had to play differently than usual in this game, needing 24 shots with one error after an empty break to get through the mentally challenging game. Next up is the Spiders' Ted, returning to action for his second game of the day in 12-ball, and he also will use the silver cue. Ted couldn't get anything on the break either, and he faced a similar challenge as Starlight, having to play smart instead of aggressive. He did slightly better, taking only one error among 23 shots for the game. Midnight of the Westside Rockers goes 28th today, playing 10-ball with the red cue. Midnight had nothing on the break, and took two errors early trying to line up a combination on the 10. She backed off, and then made a late push as well, taking her third and final error many shots before ending at a pitiful 26 shots. Moving along, Tysini Hummingbirds captain Princess plays 12-ball with the red cue in an increasingly difficult group. Princess got wrecked despite making a ball on the break. Her struggles were in late positioning and keeping the cue on the table, as she had three errors, two for scratches, and then bad positioning before ending at 27 shots. At the back of the group, the Diamond Gems' Rosalina plays 9-ball with the silver cue. Rosalina needed 17 shots to get through the game, making nothing on the break and adding three errors before a 5-9 combination to the bottom left in a truly bad game.

Group seven starts with Quincy, the Terrace City Knights rookie, using the blue cue for 8-ball in his second career game. Quincy ended up at 36 shots for the game, including eight errors, three of which came from play, and the last five for illegally potting the 8 at the end of the game. It can't possibly get worse for the 32nd player today, the Pronger Tridents' Zach, who uses the silver cue for 9-ball. Zach calmed things down easily, going empty on a fiery break, but using the 1 to deflect into the 8-9 combination, which caromed off of two rails before dropping in the bottom side to end his game at 1 shot and no errors. Central Warriors sophomore Mario goes next, using the red cue for his 9-ball game. Mario had a ball on the break, bringing optimism to his game. He lulled in the middle of the performance, the nadir being a scratch, but he recovered to end with 13 shots and just the one error. Jack of the Web City Spiders draws in for 9-ball with the silver cue in the next game. Jack did alright at first, making a ball on the break and showing a lot of control, but he slipped at the end, finishing with 13 shots and no errors. Finishing the group is another returnee, the Everton Eagles' Cleo, who plays her 9-ball with the blue cue. Cleo made two balls on the break, and then followed up with a spinning deflection off the 1 to pot the 9 at the top right to end with 1 shot and no errors for the game.

Today's final group kicks off with Jack returning to play 10-ball with the red cue as the Spiders newcomer gets a second game in short order. Jack had one of the better performances in the event today, making a ball on the break and ending in 16 shots despite accumulating three errors on his turn. Pronger Tridents rookie Lize gets the 37th game today, playing 9-ball with the silver cue. Lize didn't have anything special for the game, needing 17 shots just to deflect off the 4 to pot the 9 in the bottom left corner. She had one error and an empty break during the appearance. The Swifts' Puff II is back for 12-ball, with the league fearing another meltdown from the struggling veteran as she shoots with the silver cue. Puff II finally had a good qualifier, needing only 16 shots without an error here after making a ball on the break to cease the curse hanging over her. Following that, the Crowns' Jeremias returns for his second game today, using the silver cue for 10-ball in this appearance. Jeremias had nothing on the break and took three errors among an awful 29 shots, one more casualty of a rough day of games. Sleepy B. of the Archtown Arrows leads us out of action, playing 8-ball with the blue cue in the final game. Sleepy B. did alright on her turn, going empty on the break and taking one error but closing in 21 shots for an acceptable effort.

That's all for today. Tomorrow is exclusively for Elite cricket, and pool returns for two of three days between Friday and Sunday, with one off day somewhere.