Many more pieces will fall into place after today's games, likely the last seven-series day in the round (though the split-day scheduled for this weekend will feature seven series as well). We begin with...
Pepsi Arena, Lighton: Acorn v. Pounce. The blue cue makes a big return to the table in this 12-ball series between veterans. Lighton's Acorn needed only two turns to win game 1, potting two balls at the right corners from the break and then using ball-in-hand from missed contact by Southern's Pounce to find a four-ball run-out on his second turn. Acorn's dominant win gives him a 1-0 series lead. The Prestige's Acorn had another good start, and used the advantage from his break and bad positioning for the Monarchs' Pounce to stay a step ahead. Acorn received a favorable spot from Pounce for his final ball, converting for a win to take a 2-0 series lead. Acorn had stripes on the break, but he wanted solids. Pounce proved why, getting good position for every shot almost instantly. Acorn dropped into a defensive shape, but this only slowed down Pounce's attack, and he made five balls over his last three turns to grab the win before Acorn could catch up. Acorn remains ahead 2-1 in the series. Pounce had an unfavorable break in game 4, which led to Acorn making a five-ball run. Acorn had his difficulty in lining up his last shot, but Pounce only made four of his six balls before Acorn kicked the 4 to the bottom side for the win. Acorn restores a two-game advantage with the series at 3-1. Acorn employed a similar attack in game 5, although to a slower pace with only a four-ball run in the middle. Acorn still struggled to line up with the bottom side, and he gave Pounce enough time to make four balls over two turns after a scratch. Pounce's push gave him the win, cutting the series back to 3-2. Pounce sprung forward in game 6 with a five-ball run from the break, and while it wasn't pretty, he had plenty of time to strike at the top side given Acorn's disjointed attempts at offense. Pounce's win here tied the series at 3. Pounce brought the heat on offense again in game 7, forcing Acorn into a defensive stance yet again. Acorn had a scratch and a missed contact to ruin that play, and Pounce took two shots at the end for the win, completing the series comeback as he advances with a 4-3 win. Pounce will face Pacific Volcanoes top-seed Twinkie I in the bracket finals in a Coastal Derby. Acorn is the 123rd eliminated player, giving Pounce his first kill.
Honda Driftwood Coliseum, Pearl: Watermelon v. Mr. Snowman. Another pair of veterans matches up in Rotation with the blue cue. Pearl's Watermelon took a little time to get going, having to cover an early lead from Infinity's Mr. Snowman. Once Watermelon got going, her production was strong, and she outran Mr. Snowman for an 8-5 win and 1-0 series lead. The Surfers' Watermelon held her ground for a bit despite a poor attack in game 2, but it didn't last long. The Torpedoes' Mr. Snowman slowly pulled ahead, and Watermelon couldn't challenge him. Mr. Snowman won 8-3 to tie the series at 1. Watermelon belted a five-ball run on her first turn of game 3, a mark that Mr. Snowman never matched in the game. Watermelon slowed down after the run, but matched Mr. Snowman from that point on, taking an 8-3 win to regain the series lead at 2-1. Watermelon had a bad break for game 4, leading to congestion on the right side of the table. She split the first points with Mr. Snowman, but then made the 2 and a double-pot of the 3 and 4 to the right corners to ignite what became her seven-ball run-out. Watermelon's surprising burst gave her an 8-1 win to push her series lead to 3-1. Mr. Snowman and Watermelon exchanged three-ball runs early in game 5, but Mr. Snowman built more of a lead from here. Watermelon challenged him a bit later on, but Mr. Snowman could not be shaken enough as he won 8-5, pulling back to a 3-2 deficit in the series. Mr. Snowman took the lead initially in game 6, only to see a five-ball run spurred by a double-pot of the 2 to the top side and the 3 to the top left pull Watermelon ahead. Watermelon floundered from here, and Mr. Snowman took a four-ball run-out for the 8-6 win, tying the series at 3 games apiece. Watermelon battled with Mr. Snowman early in the critical game 7, but Mr. Snowman rebuffed many of Watermelon's late attacks with ease. Mr. Snowman cruised to the 8-3 win, taking the series 4-3 to earn his spot in the bracket finals. Mr. Snowman took his second kill to make Watermelon the 124th ousted player. The Surfers were eliminated as a team with this loss.
Nestle's Warriors Hall, Central: Twilight v. Twinkie II. Northeastern captains and Reality club-mates meet after lunch in Accuracy with the blue cue. Both players started quite well in game 1, with Harrison's Twinkie II only falling into a tie after a miss near the end. Central's Twilight would lose it with a miss on her second shot in overtime, her only other foul being an earlier scratch. Twinkie II won 1-2, taking a 1-0 series lead. The Specters' Twinkie II scuffled a bit after a positive start to game 2, but the Warriors' Twilight failed to punish the visitor for her misses. Twilight then tried a soft break in overtime, scratching to give Twinkie II an easy conversion for the 3-4 win. Twinkie II leads 2-0 in the series. Twinkie II got lucky with a lot of her early shots in game 3, and while her luck faded later in the game, she had put Twilight far enough behind to only fall even. Twilight suffered the worst, missing on her last shot as Twinkie II walked away with a 3-4 win on a tap-in to make it a 3-0 series lead. Twilight showed a bit more urgency in her style in game 4, doing everything she could to avoid a miss while Twinkie II couldn't seem to stop flubbing shots. Twilight just slipped up on the last ball, settling for a 1-4 win to cut the series to 3-1. Twilight kept things close with Twinkie II to start game 5, but just slipped behind at the wrong time. Twinkie II was unflappable near the end, only missing once she had the result in her favor. Twinkie II secured the series at 4-1 after this 2-3 win, another close result for the Cinderella bid. Both players remained perfect deep into game 6, with the only miss coming on the last ball when Twilight couldn't strike from distance. Twinkie II made a tough cut to secure the 0-1 win, pushing her series lead to 5-1. Twilight dominated in game 7, getting the upper hand on Twinkie II with four balls to go and closing out a confident 2-5 win. Unfortunately for her, that's also how the series ended, with Twinkie II advancing to visit the Midland Predators captain Shawn in the bracket finals with the 5-2 series win.
Google Hall, Modernistic: Daisy v. Kiwi. Another Urban Derby featuring a Knight goes down in 8-ball with the silver cue. Modernistic's Daisy absolutely tattooed her break shot in game 1, but still had to spar with Terrace City's Kiwi for short runs throughout the game. Daisy had just enough time at the end to put the 8 in the top right for the win, likely only taking the 1-0 series lead by a turn. The Knights' Kiwi showed just how dangerous she can be on the run in game 2, answering a pair of balls on the break from the Union's Daisy with a seven-ball run-out after Daisy had some collateral damage. Kiwi's massive run, full of positioning and skill, helped her quickly tie the series at 1. Kiwi fell behind after a bad break in game 3, allowing Daisy to soak up some offense. Kiwi fired back with a four-ball run, and while Daisy had a chance to counter it, she missed on the 2 after setting up for it, and Kiwi tapped the 8 into the top right. Kiwi holds a 2-1 series lead now. Kiwi followed that up with an awful break in game 4, leading to a poor start on offense for both players. Daisy did manage to pot a couple of shots before giving a ball away to Kiwi, but Kiwi's cluster-buster on her next turn sank the 8 illegally at the bottom left to gift a win to Daisy. This tied the series at 2. Daisy also had a bad break to lead off game 5, but she used it to her advantage. Kiwi established a defensive shell around the 1, which Daisy slowly broke down over the course of the game. Kiwi had to go for a late run, but missed her second shot, allowing Daisy to put the 8 in the bottom right for the win, restoring her own series lead at 3-2. Kiwi wouldn't go quietly, using a good break from Daisy to her advantage. The offense was mostly back-and-forth between the players, even right until Kiwi potted the last two shots to take the win, which tied the series at 3. Kiwi had a good break in game 7, but Daisy scooped up a quick four-ball run. Kiwi pulled back a little bit, not in time to stop Daisy from driving the 8 to the top left for the win. Daisy took the roller-coaster series 4-3 to move into the bracket finals.
GE Stadium Events Center, Southridge: Stephanie Livilotti v. Bianca. Two of the Defenders' young stars meet, with only one getting to continue on in 10-ball with the blue cue. Stephanie did most of the heavy lifting in game 1, taking a large portion of the offense over many turns. Bianca held off for much of the game until she struck on the 10 at the top right for the win, poaching her way to the 1-0 series lead. Game 2 saw Bianca get more involved on offense with a pair on the break and a three-ball run late in the game. Stephanie emerged from a defensive style to bank the 10 to the bottom side at the end, picking up the win to even the series at 1. Stephanie had a true majority of the offense in game 3, splitting pairs of shots with Bianca early on before making a three-ball run and a pair on her later turns. Stephanie's scratch on the 9 allowed Bianca to take the 10 from ball-in-hand for the win, giving Bianca the series lead again at 2-1. Bianca again took a backseat on offense in game 4, unable to do much after leaving most of the rack in close quarters. Stephanie took her time before finding a four-ball run to move things forward. Stephanie then mopped up the 10 that Bianca missed, giving her another win to tie the series at 2. Bianca continued to operate on thin margins in game 5, allowing Stephanie a fair amount of possession after a couple of errors. Stephanie made some shots, but couldn't kick in the 10, and Bianca cut it to the top right for the win, pulling ahead at 3-2 in the series. Stephanie maintained her power on offense, including a late three-ball run in game 6 that directly led to Bianca's counterattack on the final pair of balls. Bianca picked up this win as well, efficiently working her way to sealing the series at 4-2. Bianca did enjoy a three-ball run early in game 7, but she ceded possession and allowed Stephanie to make an impressive seven-ball run-out for the win in the finale. Bianca settled for a 4-3 series win over her teammate, and Bianca will host the Central Warriors' Noelle in the bracket finals. Stephanie is the 125th eliminated player, giving Bianca her fourth kill this year.
Google Hall, Modernistic: Puff I v. Hannah. Another series from the league's premier city is in 15-ball with the blue cue. Queens' Hannah pulled off an absolute stunner on her first shot of game 1, splitting a shot off the 1 to bump the 15 into the bottom right for the win. Hannah takes a 1-0 series lead over a shocked Modernistic crowd and Puff I. The Union's Puff I still looked shaken early in game 2, scratching twice against a calm but determined attack from the Flames' Hannah. Puff I cleared up enough to assemble a four-ball run-out, ending with a cut 6-15 combination to the bottom side for the win, tying the series at 1. Puff I and Hannah likely couldn't play a more even battle than they did in game 3, with each getting their looks and taking short spurts of offense. Hannah had a pair near the end of the game, and in true even form, Puff I answered it with the last two shots for the win, pulling ahead 2-1 in the series and looking fully recovered from her early scare. Puff I made the first five balls in game 4 over a couple of turns, pressuring Hannah to respond, which she did with a three-ball run that ended in a scratch. From there, the offense remained fairly even, with Puff I poking in the 11-15 combination to the top side to snag the win for a 3-1 series lead. Puff I looked absolutely dominant on offense, growing in each game. This time, she had a pair of three-ball runs and a four-ball run-out among other small bits of offense to defeat Hannah again. Puff I clinched the series at 4-1 with this win, making the game 1 loss look like an anomaly. Hannah finally offered a response in game 6, weathering fierce bursts of offense from Puff I for much of the early half of the game before delivering a four-ball run-out. Hannah's win cut the series to 4-2 in Puff I's favor. Game 7 was an impossibly boring battle of missed shots, fouls, and frustration that finally went to Puff I after Hannah fittingly missed on the 15 at the top left. Puff I took the series 5-2 to advance to the bracket finals.
Subway Arena, Stonebridge: Cobalt v. Vincent Sullivan. The red cue ends the day in 10-ball after a temporary rest. Viewpoint Sound's Vincent illegally potted the 10 early in game 1, leading to a four-ball run for Stonebridge's Cobalt. As the game went on, Cobalt lost his touch, and Vincent would win with the final pair of shots, good for a 1-0 series lead. The Meteors' Vincent didn't take as much offense in game 2, especially with a sloppy start. The Wolves' Cobalt paced himself better this time, saving up to unleash a four-ball run-out at the end for the win, which tied the series at 1. Cobalt had a three-ball run fairly early in game 3 before the offense got choppy on both sides. Vincent picked up the pace at the end, making the 8 and 9 smoothly, but he rattled the 10 out of the top right. Cobalt ended up banking it to the bottom side for the win, pulling ahead 2-1 in the series. Cobalt led off with a massive five-ball run in game 4, immediately asserting himself in the attack. Vincent fired back on a four-ball run of his own, just missing the 10 at the top right, which Cobalt tapped in to take the win for a 3-1 series lead despite the nervy finish. Cobalt got good movement on the 10 on the game 5 break, so much so that he tried a 2-10 combination on his second turn. He missed, and Vincent glanced a shot off the 2 to tap the 10 into the top right for the win. Vincent has cut the series to 3-2. Cobalt managed a quick-fire five-ball run in the middle of game 6, a great spurt but it ended with a miss on the 9 at the top right. Vincent answered with a tap-in on the 9 and a long shot on the 10 to the bottom left for the win, tying the series at 3. Vincent put in a five-ball run after a tense start to the decisive game 7, doing everything but making the 10, which stood at the top left. Cobalt made the tap-in, relieved to take the win as his home fans celebrated his 4-3 series win. Cobalt will travel to face the Commerce Tradewinds' Taylor in the bracket finals. Cobalt took his second kill of the year to make Vincent the 126th player eliminated this year.
That's all for today. Over the weekend, we will play one day's worth of games over the two calendar days. The distribution is to be determined. The Bracket Semifinals are on track to end on Monday.
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