This is it for the preseason in pool. The first three series today will determine which three players advance to the championship series. We begin with...
Twilight v. Shaggy v. Katharine McPhee at Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central. Shaggy displayed her patented high-energy attack in game 1, with a five-ball run on her first turn. Katharine gave good support in defense of the lows, weakening Twilight early. It took some time, but Shaggy picked up the win over Katharine, her first win of the series. Twilight had a five-ball run on her second turn of game 2, defending the lows this time, but it wasn't quite enough. Twilight had taken out the early riser Katharine, but Shaggy answered with a pair of shots to take her second win of the series in clean fashion. Twilight had herself primed for a big run in game 3, but she missed on the first shot, and Katharine did the work instead, creating an eight-ball run in defense of the highs. Shaggy had a three-ball run to claim the lows to prevent Twilight from earning a point, but Katharine got the win, her first of the series. Game 4 featured a quick start and a very long ending, as Twilight and Shaggy primarily battled, with an intermittent bit of play from Katharine. Twilight had a scratch to revive Katharine once, and nearly did it again before Shaggy finally dropped Twilight's 12 in the bottom side to take her third win of the series. Twilight finally struck back in game 5, countering a seven-ball run from Shaggy with a five-ball run of her own to take Shaggy out. Katharine jumped in with a nice shot, but she missed a short second shot, and Twilight picked up her first win of the series instead. Twilight had a five-ball run to open game 6, looking to attack the lows in particular. Katharine took the mediums to defend against Twilight's highs, and she attacked with Shaggy to weaken Twilight. The game was still close at the end, but Shaggy knocked Twilight out before falling to Katharine, who took her second win of the series. Katharine had a surge from the game 7 break, smashing an eight-ball run with a little collateral damage. Shaggy fired back with a five-ball run, nearly poaching the win, but her miss allowed Katharine to get a third win in the series with a cut on the 11 to the bottom left. Twilight wouldn't let them get away easily, taking her second win in game 8 with a six-ball run-out that saw her off Shaggy on the second shot before a double-pot of the 2 and 3 and some collateral damage lined her up to beat Katharine. Shaggy stormed back into the fight in game 9 with a six-ball run-out after a gritty opening few turns. Katharine established herself with the highs, clearing the way for Shaggy's later run, which was rewarded by giving Katharine the second place point. Shaggy struggled in game 10, but Katharine did well, taking the mediums to fight with Twilight's highs. A long run from Katharine made Shaggy easy pickings for Twilight, but Katharine would win her fourth game on a three-ball run-out. Shaggy launched a fierce attack in defense of the mediums against Twilight's lows, weakening her but not enough. Katharine would fall first to Shaggy's hopeful attempt at a finish. Twilight played good defense, and then struck on a nice run, picking up her third win to keep the series alive. Twilight made a mistake by scratching on her first turn of game 12 and then missing on her second turn, allowing Shaggy to create a penetrating run against Katharine while bumping Twilight from the game. Katharine kept it close, but Shaggy walked away with her fifth win at the end, advancing to the final series.
Isabella v. Cheddar v. Goldy at McDonald's Hall, Atlantic. Cheddar had a dominant performance in game 1, with a four-ball run early on to take the mediums and then a five-ball run-out to beat Goldy and Isabella both on the fourth and fifth shots for her first win of the series. Isabella put her own spin on the fast paced series in game 2, working a five-ball run on her first turn to claim the highs. Goldy countered by taking the lows, and she nearly eliminated Cheddar, who made one shot before Isabella returned for a four-ball run-out and her first win on the series. Isabella spared Cheddar until the end to give her a point. Goldy inserted herself in the series in game 3, making a seven-ball run on her first turn and finishing the game with a three-ball run-out at the end for her first win, as neither Isabella nor Cheddar offered any resistance. Goldy started with a three-ball run to claim the lows in game 4, followed by a short run from Isabella to take the mediums. These two turns left Cheddar in danger with the highs, and Goldy took her out on a four-ball run on her second turn. Isabella tried to counter but failed, leaving Goldy to grab her second win of the series with ease. Goldy had the best first two turns in game 5, but two scratches mitigated her progress. Cheddar emerged as a force in the middle of the game, and she got into a war with Isabella after taking Goldy out. Isabella pulled out the win in the end, her second of the series, with tensions rising between the two younger players. Isabella had a six-ball run on the break of game 6, but had to be revived when Cheddar's seven-ball run ended in a scratch. Goldy then tried to take out Cheddar and scratched as well, leaving Isabella a nearly brilliant chance to double-pot both of them out of the game. It came up short, allowing Cheddar to make a four-ball run-out for her second win of the series. Game 7 saw Goldy unleash a four-ball run to make mincemeat of Cheddar before the second turn. Goldy tried to attack similarly against Isabella, but the latter's defense and an eventual five-ball run-out with collateral damage prevented that as Isabella took her third win of the series. Goldy and Cheddar both put a bit more effort into getting Isabella and the lows out of game 8, and they did it within two turns. Goldy dealt the final blow this time, but she couldn't get the better of Cheddar at the end, as Cheddar picked up her third win. Isabella had a massive seven-ball run on her first turn in game 9, taking out Cheddar and nearly beating Goldy as well, but it would be her only turn, as Goldy charged back with a four-ball run-out to even things up at three wins apiece. Isabella had a strong four-ball run negated by a scratch early on in game 10, creating a choppier game than many before in this series. Cheddar further weakened Goldy's highs, and she would take the win in the end with a four-ball run-out, knocking Isabella and Goldy out on consecutive shots for her fourth win. Cheddar again set the tone in game 11, taking the lows on her first short run. Goldy claimed the highs soon after that, but both were weakened by a four-ball run from Isabella. Cheddar tried to fall into a defensive shape, and Goldy tried to bump Isabella from the game, but both failed, leaving Isabella a four-ball run-out for her fourth win in the incredibly tight series. Cheddar had a four-ball run to claim the lows in game 12, but Goldy upstaged her quite easily with an eight-ball run-out, offing Isabella quickly before finishing on Cheddar for her fourth win of the series. Game 13 did not disappoint, as Cheddar took the highs on a short run early on. Isabella countered with a six-ball run, but it remained anyone's series to take until neither Cheddar nor Goldy could stop Isabella's three-ball run-out for her fifth and clinching win, sending Isabella on to the final series.
Chris v. Princess v. Neopolitan at Capital City SuperCenter, Capital City. Neopolitan had a grip on game 1 from the start, keeping the highs quite safe as Princess doubled down against Chris. It didn't work, as Chris offed Princess and held for awhile before falling to Neopolitan, who earned her first win. Neopolitan had to lay low with the mediums in game 2, trying to play Chris and Princess off of each other. The plan worked well, although Neopolitan was close to elimination when she burst free on a five-ball run-out. She offed Chris first this time, and then beat Princess a shot later for her second win in the series. Princess began with a five-ball run on her first turn in game 3, weakening both of her opponents. Chris wasted his first turn, allowing Neopolitan to take the mediums. Later on, Neopolitan would have knocked Chris out if not for a scratch, but it worked out later, as Neopolitan made a six-ball run-out, with a little collateral damage, to get her third win in as many games. Neopolitan raised the impressiveness of her harrowing game 4 escape. The game was slow to get going, with Chris taking the lows but failing to do much with them. Princess grabbed the mediums and took a four-ball run, but Neopolitan, on the verge of getting bumped, ripped an eight-ball run-out, finishing the game with an 11-8 combination to the bottom left over Princess for her fourth win of the series. Princess carved out a seven-ball run early in game 5, and Chris finally followed through to take out Neopolitan early. Chris went on a couple of short runs, trying to get around Princess, but Princess took the win, her first, a couple of turns later. Game 6 saw Neopolitan return with a vengeance on a seven-ball run, but Princess and Chris shut her down first, and Chris would poke in Princess' last ball a turn later for his first win of the series. Game 7 saw Princess work an early run to weaken her opponents, but Neopolitan fired back, defending the highs. A turn later, everything was even as Neopolitan stepped in, beating Princess on a cut and Chris on a bank to the bottom side for her fifth win. Neopolitan heads onto the final series, which will commence after a travel break is accounted for.
Isabella v. Shaggy v. Neopolitan at McDonald's Hall, Atlantic. This is the Final series of this preseason mini-Tournament. Isabella unleashed a seven-ball run from the break with a bit of collateral damage to start game 1. Shaggy soon countered, taking out the highs to protect the mediums, and by the end of the game, Shaggy's crafty experience earned her the first win. Shaggy couldn't pull off the same thing in game 2, her five-ball run coming up short against Isabella on her second turn. Isabella offed Shaggy, but allowed Neopolitan to escape with the win after missing contact on her last shot. Neopolitan has one win. Isabella needed to be more decisive in finishing in game 3, as she had Shaggy down and out and Neopolitan had just one ball left when she scratched. Shaggy would also scratch, bringing clutter to the table, before Shaggy charged with a four-ball run-out to take her second win of the series over Isabella. Shaggy led off game 4 with a five-ball run, and Isabella followed up with a four-ball run of her own. Neopolitan made things worse for herself with a scratch, prompting Shaggy to take her out as part of a three-ball run. Isabella wasted a chance to counter, giving Shaggy the win on her third turn, her third win of the series. Shaggy and Isabella had to deal with an erratic Neopolitan in game 5, as Neopolitan had an early scratch derail her strong offense. Things got tense in the middle and late stages of the game, until Shaggy broke through the defensive stalemate on a four-ball run-out, offing Neopolitan and then Isabella for her fourth win in the series. Isabella made sure to keep the series going, using a big seven-ball run on her first turn in game 6. The strategy worked, as it weakened both of her opponents, although another scratch by Neopolitan gave Shaggy a bit of life. Shaggy pushed a five-ball run near the end of the game, but she missed the last shot, and Isabella came up true for her first win of the series. Shaggy started off with a four-ball run to claim the mediums in game 7, and she had to hold on tight against Neopolitan and Isabella, the latter making a six-ball run to even things out a bit. The problem was, Isabella took herself out of the game, and Shaggy shot next, missing the 1 at the bottom left but getting it to drift into the top right on the two-rail carom for her fifth and championship-clinching win.
That's all for the preseason in pool. There's still 14 games of preseason cricket, which should be done by Friday at the latest. A few small maintenance and administrative tasks will be performed in the coming days ahead of the pool qualifiers and the beginning of the cricket regular season across all three divisions next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment