We're up to five-game series for the rest of the preseason, which is just the next two days. Today's eight series begin with...
Lucio Adame v. Precious. The best-rated unaffiliated player meets a tough league captain in the first series with the silver cue. Lucio had the bulk of the early offense in game 1, but Precious stayed on track in her shooting. She got positioning late in the game, making the 13 and 8 to the bottom right on consecutive shots for the 1-0 series lead. Lucio got down to the 8 with relative ease in game 2, but a late scratch disrupted his attack. Precious pulled back with a pair of good turns, and then won with the 8 at the top right, an epic comeback propelling her to a 2-0 lead in the series. Precious went straight on offense in game 3, beginning with a three-ball run and needing only a little time at the top side to corral the 9. Lucio never had a chance as Precious stormed her way to a win, securing the series at 3-0. Precious continued to display confidence with a four-ball run in game 4 at the start. She took herself out of position a bit, but Lucio didn't have enough time to counterattack before Precious brought in a long shot on the 8 to the bottom right for the win. Precious' lead extends to 4-0. Lucio finally got lucky in game 5, starting well early and having just enough left at the end to stop Precious from taking the win. Precious will be happy with a 4-1 series win as she is the first to punch her ticket to the Quarterfinals.
Barasa Contee v. Jake. Another unaffiliated player is up with the blue cue against a league veteran. Barasa used his curveball break to get stripes in game 1, and he outplayed Jake in a tough middle section before striking the 8 to the top right for the win and a 1-0 lead in the series. Jake had the lead for much of game 2, but he took too long on his last solid and the 8. Barasa had set some shots up and converged for a four-ball run-out just in time, tapping the 8 Jake missed into the top right for the win and 2-0 series lead. Barasa had a bad break in game 3, and Jake quickly took the side pockets. Barasa was flustered by Jake's defense and gave away a ball, but Jake would do the rest on his own with a four-ball run-out with masterful precision for the win. Jake cut the series to 2-1. Jake struck first in game 4, challenging Barasa on virtually every shot. Barasa had defense at the top right for awhile, but Jake managed to get by that and rally over a few turns at the end for the win to tie the series at 2. Jake had a decent start in game 5, but too many scratches and a well-positioned final run from Barasa turned the momentum around. Barasa took the series 3-2 with a four-ball run-out, earning his spot in the Quarterfinals.
Smokey v. Strut. Two league veterans from the first year meet with the red cue. Strut had a comically quick loss in game 1, making the 4 to the bottom side but missing a cut on the 1 toward the top side that bumped the 8 off a couple of balls and into the bottom right. Smokey took the gifted win for a 1-0 series lead. Strut's misfortunes in game 2 weren't quite as bad, but he still illegally potted the 8 while trying to create motion with the rack. Interestingly, Smokey has a net total of zero balls potted so far, but he leads the series 2-0, leaving Strut with no margin for error. Strut finally made it safely through a game, although he had plenty of help from Smokey's poor positioning. Strut found the win with a well-made four-ball run-out, cutting the series to 2-1 in the process. Strut continued to live on the edge in game 4, allowing Smokey to get down to his last ball before igniting for a five-ball run-out to just nab the win, tying the series at 2. Smokey again got down to his last ball in a very quick game 5 battle, but Strut had just enough defense to block him before potting a pair of shots himself for the win. Strut cut it as close as he could multiple times but won 3-2, moving himself into the Quarterfinals.
Dewey v. Crystal. We haven't mentioned teams much, but with a Wave facing the Flames captain, the silver cue has arguably the biggest series of the round. Dewey started off well but had to weather a five-ball run by Crystal as she worked a quick mid-game attack. Dewey fired back on the next turn with a four-ball run-out, using good positioning to get the win for a 1-0 series lead. Dewey started well again in game 2, but Crystal stayed right on him the entire time, until Dewey blocked her last pocket with the 8. Crystal tried a little defense, but Dewey won with a tap-in on the next turn, moving up to a 2-0 series lead. Dewey found ways to play an annoyingly effective style of defense in game 3, even overcoming Crystal's strategic scratch at the end. Dewey made a pair of shots on his last turn for the win, sealing the series at 3-0. Dewey put in a good performance after making one of each on the break, racing Crystal to the left side of the table. Dewey had an elegant cut on the 8 to the bottom left for the win, moving up to a 4-0 series lead. Game 5 was a mess for something that had no meaning. Neither player easily advanced past two balls to go, until Crystal finally made a slow push for the win. Dewey is happy to defeat a rival with a 4-1 series win that sees him into the Quarterfinals against Precious.
Ruby v. Sarah. One of the league's best-ever players meets a rookie with the blue cue. Ruby took solids after a good break in game 1, and it didn't take her too much time to navigate around Sarah's attempts at defense either. Ruby would surge to the win fairly easily for a 1-0 series lead. Ruby had another positive start in game 2, but Sarah played a bit better this time. Ruby had trouble with positioning late in the game, and Sarah made a pair of shots, including a bank on the 8 to the top side, to pick up the win, retying the series at 1. Sarah quickly got onto the 8 the first time in game 3, but she struggled to pot it and scratched to put a solid back on the table. Ruby was helpless to get an angle on her last two balls, leading to Sarah eventually pushing her way to a win for the 2-1 series lead. Sarah had the advantage in game 4, but her inefficiency on the 8 at the top right would haunt her later. Ruby played a defensive shot and left Sarah with only a kicking angle, which she converted but also scratched on. Ruby took the gifted win to retie the series at 2. Sarah had no offense in game 5 at all, Ruby's awkward break only benefiting herself. Ruby did quite well with sub-par positioning, making a three-ball run-out at the end for the decisive win of a 3-2 series win. Ruby will face Barasa Contee in the Quarterfinals.
Waluigi v. Sage. Two less-experienced league players meet in the red cue's last series of the round. Waluigi started off with stripes in game 1, but Sage made a great push on solids to take the lead. She had some troubles at the end, but quickly solved it with a pair of shots for the win. Sage leads the series 1-0. Sage had one of the most impressive turns of the preseason with eight balls from the break in game 2, making two solids and two stripes initially before adding three more stripes and a solid. Despite getting spotted three balls, Waluigi couldn't complete the game, and Sage made a pair on her second turn to get the win for a 2-0 series lead. Sage started a little cooler in game 3, but she still had a four-ball run abbreviated by a scratch. Waluigi stayed in the game the whole time, benefiting from Sage's later scratch as he finally attacked to get the win. Waluigi's win cut Sage's series lead to 2-1. Waluigi played with an unnecessary risk in game 4, taking stripes and using a tough cut shot on his second turn even with the lead in hand. Sage ended up getting the series-clinching win for free as Waluigi illegally potted the 8 to the bottom side, giving Sage a 3-1 advantage. Waluigi played much better in game 5, getting good positioning and holding off a furious push-back rally from Sage near the end to take the win. Sage will settle for a 3-2 series win as she prepares to play against Strut in the Quarterfinals.
Kiwi v. Natal Badillo. A giant from the league meets a top unaffiliated giant killer with the silver cue. Kiwi made a stripe on the break in game 1, but Natal had an early run on solids and found great success after that. Kiwi was much less enthused, watching as Natal pushed her defense aside to win at the bottom right for his 1-0 series lead. Natal again showed little respect for Kiwi's defensive tactics in game 2, pushing another of her balls out of the way at the top left. Kiwi pushed from there, but she illegally potted the 8 to the bottom right on failed cut shot, gifting a win and 2-0 series lead to Natal. Natal had everything but the finish in game 3, putting Kiwi under immense pressure until he chipped the shot on his last solid. He missed contact on the 8, and Kiwi made the next two shots for the win to stay alive while trailing 2-1 in the series. Kiwi skinned her thumb on the game 4 break, but proceeded to have her best game of the series, running circles around a hapless Natal. Kiwi easily took this win, tying the series at 2 to set up a decisive finale. Natal chose solids in game 5 after Kiwi had an empty break. This proved to be a foolish choice, as Kiwi made stripes look very good. Natal had to play defense late while he was out of position, and that didn't work either, as Kiwi buried the 8 on her second try for the win and 3-2 series win. Kiwi had an early scare and her injury will be one to watch, but she's through to the Quarterfinals.
Nibbles v. Azul Mora. The last series is with the blue cue, featuring a third-year from the league and the last Venezuelan unaffiliated player. Nibbles had an efficient game 1 with a three-ball run from the break, and then pairs of shots on the next two turns to utterly dominate over Azul. Nibbles leads the series 1-0. Nibbles made game 2 fast as well in a completely different way, taking solids on the break but then potting the 8 prematurely two shots later. Azul didn't have to take a shot in this game to get the win, tying the series at 1. Azul took a couple of solids from the break in game 3, but he had no answer for a quick attack from Nibbles, who wiped out the top row of pockets quickly. Nibbles cooled until Azul potted his defensive blocker, sparking Nibbles to make a three-ball run-out after a world-class shot on the 14 to the bottom right. Nibbles leads the series again at 2-1. Azul had some trouble with scratching in game 4, buying a little extra time for Nibbles to work with. Nibbles put the fouls to good use, positioning himself well enough to get a comfortable win to seal the series at 3-1. Azul brought a good finishing effort in game 5, starting with the lead and never letting Nibbles catch him. Nibbles will take the 3-2 series win to earn a spot against Kiwi in the Quarterfinals.
Tomorrow, we wrap up the preseason.
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