2018 Qualifiers - Day 5

We're back for another day of games, already more than 10% through the qualifying season. We begin today with...

Lorde, the Capital City Sharpshooters newcomer, who debuts with the team in 7-ball with the blue cue. Lorde made the 5 on the break in the first game of the day, and then potted the rest of the rack in 9 shots without an error for a solid debut with her new team. Lorde will go again, playing her 8-ball with the silver cue in a back-to-back set of appearances. Lorde did well again, making another ball on the break. She had one error for illegal contact, but it didn't faze her, as she closed the appearance with 21 shots and just the one error. The Pacific Volcanoes' Leonette gets the next appearance, shooting 8-ball with the blue cue. Leonette committed a brutal foul early in the game, potting the 8 on her first shot from play. That accounted for all five of her errors, and she wrapped things up in 26 shots for a mediocre result. The Queens Flames rookie Briana Livilotti steps in for 9-ball with the blue cue, nursing a stinger on her wrist from cricket. Briana did alright in the game. She had nothing on the break, and she went left-handed for some of the easier shots, but she still needed 17 shots to finish the game without an error due to a cluster at the bottom right. The Diamond Gems star Citrus rounds out the group with her 9-ball game, using the red cue. Citrus also went empty on her break, and she took one error for a scratch after trying to get crafty on the 2. She scored 17 shots for the alright performance.

Group two leads off with the Westside Rockers' Slinks playing 9-ball with the blue cue. The event is proving frustrating today, as Slinks took two errors and 18 shots to get through her appearance, the last error coming on her final shot. She also went empty on the break. Wild Thing of the Archtown Arrows is next, making his second appearance with the team in 8-ball with the silver cue. Wild Thing struggled to string his shots together after an empty break, closing with 25 shots in total despite no errors to inflate his score. Fluffina makes her second appearance for the Infinity Torpedoes in 8-ball with the red cue. Fluffina had the most commanding of the recent performances, going empty on the break like most but clearing the table without an error in only 21 shots for a good outing. The ninth game of the day goes to the Royal Crowns captain Nightfur, who makes her season debut in 7-ball with the red cue. Nightfur watched her break shot slowly and steadily roll the 7 to the bottom left, where it dropped to give her a score of 0 and no errors for a perfect debut. Following that, the Lighton Prestige's Katelynn gets her 8-ball game with the blue cue. Katelynn made a pair of balls on the break, and only got held back by a scratch while shooting the 10 about halfway through the game. She ended on 19 shots and the one error for a strong performance.

The Infinity Torpedoes rising star Solaris heads group three with his debut in 7-ball with the silver cue. Solaris slumped in the middle of his game, but recovered by the end to score 11 shots with no errors after taking nothing from the break. The Todavía Stills captain Easter is next up, shooting 9-ball with the silver cue. Easter had a decent performance going, but she couldn't produce a combination on the 9 that would have ended the game sooner. Instead, she erred late twice, taking 21 total shots and two errors for the appearance. The Web City Spiders star captain Shadow is up next, shooting 7-ball with the silver cue as he begins his favorite time of the year. Shadow had no trouble with this game, ending in 3 shots with a deflection off the 2 to pot the 7 in the top right. He took no errors and had nothing on the break. The Rockers' Slinks is back for her second game today, using the blue cue for 10-ball this time. Slinks wasted a good start, making two balls on the break and showing well early on, but faltering to take three errors late in the game before finishing at 18 shots total in a still-decent performance. Avril Lavigne of the Southern Monarchs hoes 15th today, ending the group with her career debut in 7-ball with the silver cue. Avril didn't have anything special beyond simple shots, leading to a somewhat challenging game that took 13 shots and saw her take no errors with her clean style.

The fourth batch gets going as Midnight of the Westside Rockers shoots 8-ball with the blue cue. Midnight made a ball on the break, but she couldn't separate the clusters and took three errors among her 31 shots in an enraging effort. The Bostons Swifts' Gradley will try to calm things down as he plays his 8-ball with the blue cue as well. Gradley did settle the emotions with his reserved demeanor. It looked bad early after an empty break, but he ended with no errors and 21 shots total, a good performance from the reliable veteran. Brownie kept the controversy-filled 8-ball train rolling as she plays her second qualifier with the red cue. Brownie split the two previous performances down the middle, taking the no errors side from Gradley but an inflated 25 shots and an empty break in a shaky outing for the veteran. The Viewpoint Sound Meteors newcomer Dani plays the 19th game today, using the silver cue for 8-ball. Dani had all the makings of a decent performance, but a scratch on the break and an extra two errors during the course of play left her at 24 shots in the end for a merely average outing. Wrapping this batch up, Nikolai of the Freedom Cascades debuts in 7-ball with the blue cue. Nikolai made a good showing in his debut for the year, making two balls on the break and needing only 6 shots without an error to get through the rack.

Group five starts with Westside Rockers captain Misty shooting 7-ball with the silver cue in her season debut. Misty had a poor outing, taking an early error on a scratch and then ending with 13 shots after chasing the 6 and 7 for too long. Cleo of the Everton Eagles is next, the 22nd game of the day being her return to the league in 7-ball with the red cue. Cleo kept things interesting, making a ball on the break but also taking her only error on a scratch after failing to get a good position naturally. She closed the game in 9 shots anyway, a great effort from the returning veteran. Pedey keeps the red cue at the table for his 8-ball game. Pedey couldn't make anything on the break, and he sprinkled a couple of errors in the middle before illegally potting the 8 to end with 32 shots and seven errors for the game. Kyle makes his return to action for the Queens Flames as he plays 7-ball with the blue next. Kyle played well, staying calm despite getting nothing on a good break. This led to plenty of easy tap-ins, and he finished in 8 shots without an error for a triumphant return. The Atlantic Pirates sophomore Klaus finishes the group with his 7-ball game, also with the blue cue. Klaus also had an empty break, but he also struggled a bit more than the previous player. Klaus would need 11 shots without an error to finish the appearance cleanly.

The sixth group opens with Everton Eagles captain Goldy shooting 8-ball with the blue cue. Goldy showed off quite nicely in her game, taking nothing on the break but working through the rack in a mere 17 shots without an error to push herself near the top of the list for the event. Another star captain plays next, as Starlight of the Pacific Volcanoes gets her 8-ball game with the red cue. Starlight did fine in her performance, taking an empty break and a single error late in the game for missed contact, but she needed only 20 shots to clear the table in the efficient outing. The old rookie Sage of the Victoria Spurs goes 28th today, playing 9-ball with the red cue. Sage struggled at first and even took an error from an impossible lie after her empty break, but she closed the game in 11 shots on a 6-9 combination to the bottom right at the end with just the one error. Cheddar of the North Modernistic Nighthawks is next, playing 8-ball with the blue cue. Cheddar had a decent start, but an early error and an infuriating finish caused her to end on 31 shots after chasing the 3 around out of frustration from many previous shots. The Midland Predators captain Shawn rounds out this bunch with 10-ball and the red cue. Shawn struggled from the start with an empty break, then picked up the pace in the middle before a slow finish put him at 19 shots and no errors for the appearance.

The seventh group begins as Gal Gadot, the North Modernistic Nighthawks rookie, shoots 8-ball with the red cue in her second career game. Gal had a rough start to the game, taking her only error for illegal contact early, but she rounded into form to finish with 24 shots for the appearance. Valencia, the Golden Pilots captain, goes next, shooting 7-ball with the red cue in her season debut. Valencia couldn't get control of the game, taking two errors after her empty break. She nearly added another at the end, but she held on to finish with 12 shots. Eastside Sharks veteran Chelsea gets the next game, playing 8-ball with the silver cue. Chelsea produced a solid outing despite an empty break. She took no errors and played with a solid strategy to finish at 22 shots total. Chelsea will go again for 9-ball, using the silver cue again in her back-to-back sequence. Chelsea made this a quick appearance, making a ball on the break but also scratching. She made the 1 on her next shot, and then the 2-9 combination to the top right to end with 3 shots and the one error. Modernistic Union captain Ms. Puppy ends the group with 8-ball and the blue cue. Ms. Puppy knocked in a ball on the break, and while she did have two errors in the game, one of which was unavoidable, she also finished quickly with 20 shots in a well-played game.

Finally, the last group sees the Pronger Tridents' Zach play 8-ball with the blue cue to lead off the closing portion of the day. Zach had a ball on the break, and he started with a binge of successful shots, but he looked different after taking his only error, and this caused him to buckle to 22 shots before ending the game. Another Freedom Cascades veteran debuts for the season today, as Roxy takes the blue cue with her for 7-ball in the 37th game of the day. Roxy had a horrible start to the game, and she took one error for a scratch to make things worse. She let herself off the hook by making the 5-7 combination to the top right to end with 13 shots and just one error. The Victoria Spurs' Strawberry is next up, playing 10-ball with the silver cue. Strawberry had her best game so far, making a ball on the break and finding a groove early. She slipped a bit but recovered to call and pot the 10 on a deflected shot off the 7 in the top side to end with 10 shots and no errors. The Golden Pilots veteran A. Charlton is next to debut, using the silver cue for her 7-ball qualifier. Charlton struggled immediately at the start, getting nothing on her break. She took one error with intent, and then had 15 total shots for the game. Rudolph will get the last game today, as the Harrison Specters rookie makes his career debut with the silver cue in 7-ball. Rudolph had one error early, but it was for the best. He shaved many future shots off the board with the play, and ended at 10 shots with just the one error to his name.

That's all for today. Quality of play was concerning, but not egregiously out of line. We'll play tomorrow after Premier cricket begins its season in the morning.