2019 Clan Cup Quarterfinals

The attention shifts to the clubs for two days. We'll begin with the Clan Cup Quarterfinals today, from Ford Forum in Pronger. We'll play an all-around series for each matchup. This also marks the league debut of the brand-new green cue. First up...

Oriental United hosts Youth Movement. OU's Wild Thing had a positive start with a ball on the break, but YM's Bianca answered with a three-ball run-out. She won by deflecting the cue off the 3 to pot the 7 at the bottom left for the 1-0 series lead. YM's Bianca kept up the good play in 8-ball, shooting steadily throughout the game. OU's Stealth had a hot start but couldn't sustain it at the end. Bianca won on a three-ball run-out to push YM's series lead to 2-0. OU's Chimpy tried to get cheeky in 9-ball, taking a swipe at a 2-3-9 combination toward the top right. He failed, and YM's Solaris countered by banking the 2 to the bottom side and converting the 3-9 to the top right to push their series lead to 3-0. OU finally got on the board in a fast 10-ball meeting, as YM's Sierra scratched to end a four-ball run. Wild Thing put OU on the board with a three-ball run-out from ball-in-hand, cutting the series to 3-1. Sierra bounced back well in 12-ball, weathering a three-ball run from OU's Chimpy at the start. Sierra made a five-ball run and later added her last ball at the bottom left to push YM's series lead to 4-1. OU's Sparkles had a strong start to 13-ball, and she was first onto the 8 as well. YM's Gradley did his best to catch up, and he won with a pair of shots at the end when Sparkles couldn't cut the 8 to the top right. Gradley's win secured the series for YM at 5-1. OU's Mams staked out a lead with a three-ball run in Rotation, but YM's Spirit pulled ahead for awhile in the middle. At the end, Spirit scratched on the 15, and Mams took it from ball-in-hand for the 8-7 win to shrink the series to 5-2. Mams kept up a strong attack in 15-ball, but the OU star missed on the 14 this time. YM's Solaris capitalized with the final pair of shots for the win, stretching their lead back to 6-2. In Accuracy, OU's Sparkles got a little revenge on YM's Gradley, as the former claimed a 1-4 win to produce the series final score of 6-3.

Solid Core v. Prime. The second quarterfinal features a partial homecoming for former club-mates. Prime's Diddley struck for a four-ball run in 7-ball, but he left the 7 standing. Solid Core's Frosty capitalized with a tap-in to the top side for the win and 1-0 series lead. In 8-ball, a cautious battle unfolded between Prime's Easter and Solid Core's Leonardo. Easter held the edge for much of the game and made it work for the win, tying the series at 1. Solid Core's Frosty fired back in 9-ball, winning a back-and-forth battle with Prime's Diddley again after Diddley missed the 8. Frosty took the final pair and put her side ahead 2-1. Solid Core's Smudge held her own in a tense 10-ball battle, but she scratched as she made the 9. Ms. Puppy made the 10 from ball-in-hand for the win, helping Prime tie the series again at 2. In 12-ball, Shaggy blasted three balls on the break, but the Solid Core star couldn't get set up at the end. Prime's Acorn rallied with a four-ball run-out for the win to put them ahead 3-2 in the series. Blizzard had the edge on Prime's Sage in 13-ball, but Solid Core's representative sank the 8 in an uncalled pocket at the end. This gave Sage the win, and Prime now holds a 4-2 series lead. The two players battled again in Rotation, and Sage staked out a big lead. Blizzard had too many errors in her game, and Sage won 8-3 to lock up the series at 5-2 in favor of Prime. Ms. Puppy took the stick up for 15-ball, and the Prime veteran had a three-ball run near the end but couldn't find her shot on the 15. Smudge fired back with a tap-in at the end to get the win, cutting the series to 5-3. Leonardo gave Solid Core a proud finish, holding off Prime's Acorn at the end for the 2-3 Accuracy win. Prime won the series 5-4 and will play in the Clan Cup semifinals.

Enterprise v. Humanity Junior. The next bid is up for grabs between these younger teams. Enterprise's Twinkie III had to watch most of the 7-ball match as Junior's Sarah made a four-ball run, but Sarah missed the 7. Twinkie III knocked it down for a 1-0 Enterprise series lead. Junior's Jason N. had a pair of three-ball runs in 8-ball, making a good impact, but he was unable to defend. Enterprise's Whiskers stormed back for a six-ball run-out, earning the win for a 2-0 lead. Whiskers stepped right back into action in 9-ball, but it was a poor game for her. She left the 9 at the top side as the final mistake, and Junior's Sarah tapped it down for the win to cut Enterprise's series lead to 2-1. Junior's Vladimir cashed in with a four-ball run-out in his only appearance, using the 4 as a decoy to bump the 10 to the top right at the end of it. He beat Enterprise's Max and tied the series at 2 with that shot. Enterprise's Max lived dangerously in 12-ball with a five-ball run from the break and two wild-card balls surrendered. Junior's Mitchell made an effort at positioning, but Max played fast enough to win, restoring a series lead at 3-2 for Enterprise. Fluffina set the bar high in 13-ball, and Mitchell matched the first volley, but couldn't keep pace after that. Fluffina stormed away for the win, helped by Mitchell's missed contact. Fluffina's win put Enterprise up 4-2 over Junior. Fluffina fell behind early in Rotation, as Jason N. attacked viciously early on. Jason N. struggled in the middle but won 8-6 at the end, keeping Junior alive as Enterprise leads 4-3 in the series. In 15-ball, neither Enterprise's Ice Cream nor Junior's Jason V. looked particularly confident in themselves. Jason V. eventually erred near the end of the game, and Ice Cream took the 15 from ball-in-hand to secure the series at 5-3 for Enterprise. Twinkie III faced no problems in Accuracy, picking up a 1-3 win to finish the series at 6-3 over Jason V. and Junior. Enterprise is in the semifinals.

Humanity Senior v. Reality. Today's last series features the top seed versus the club looking for redemption after a multi-round collapse. Senior's Bryant had a decent start in 7-ball, doing well to keep Reality's Stinky from any good angles. Bryant made a three-ball run-out for the win and 1-0 series lead. A pair of Sharpshooters teammates went in 8-ball, with Missy striking first for Reality, but Chris charging back to win on a five-ball run-out for Senior, who now leads 2-0 in the series. Senior's Jennifer didn't get anything on the 9-ball break, but Reality's Boots potted the 9 banked off a deflection from the 1 on her first shot. Boots' win cut Senior's lead to 2-1 in the series. Puff II had some good looks for Reality in 10-ball, but she left the 9 standing late, and Senior's Bryant grabbed a second win to push his side ahead 3-1. Beth took a gamble in 12-ball, trying to play for positioning on her last ball. She scratched at the bottom side, and Spice struck her last shot to the bottom right for the win that got Reality within a game as Senior leads 3-2. Reality's Stinky had no answer for Senior's Chris in 13-ball. Chris led off well and kept total control on the table, earning the win to put his club on the verge of advancing with a 4-2 series lead. In Rotation, Senior's Kirstin had a total grip on the game, especially after Reality's Boots scratched on the 15. Kirstin then flubbed a shot, and Boots won 8-7 to pull back to a 4-3 series. Kirstin bounced back in 15-ball, doing well on offense despite shaky command. Missy gave her some trouble, but Kirstin converted the 12-15 combination to the top left to seal the series at 5-3 in Senior's favor. Beth couldn't do much in Accuracy, as Spice knocked down a 1-3 win for the final game. Senior still beat Reality 5-4 to advance.

We're done for today, but tune in tomorrow for the Semifinals and Finals of the Clan Cup.