UPCL Bowl Series - Day 4

We're back for the middle day of Bowl Week. First up today...

Cisco Arena, Tysini: Neopolitan v. Shaggy. Enterprise and Solid Core send their representatives to battle with the red cue. Pearl's Neopolitan was too inconsistent in 7-ball, giving Whitewater's Shaggy the time to grab the win for a 1-0 series lead. The Shores' Shaggy surged in 8-ball, and it paid off as the Surfers' Neopolitan couldn't quite finish her late run. Shaggy made a pair after Neopolitan scratched, taking the win for a 2-0 lead in the series. Shaggy couldn't sustain much offense in 9-ball, an unusually weak effort for her as Neopolitan plucked the 9 for the win at the end. Shaggy remains ahead 2-1 in the series. Shaggy finished 10-ball early after Neopolitan didn't see much go right for herself. Shaggy converted the 2 to the top side and the 3-10 combination to the bottom right to push her advantage to 3-1. Neopolitan came out blazing in 12-ball, but she couldn't get positioning for her last ball. Shaggy's rally was quick, and sharp enough to pick up the win in the end to stretch her lead to 4-1. Neopolitan thought she had 13-ball in the bag after Shaggy scratched late, but Neopolitan couldn't get onto the 8. Shaggy then rallied with a six-ball run-out to seal the Tysini Bowl at 5-1 with an impressive comeback. Shaggy stepped up with a three-ball run early in Rotation, which Neopolitan matched. Shaggy then pulled away and got the 8-4 win to keep rising to a 6-1 series lead. Neopolitan got one back in 15-ball, taking the win as Shaggy let up a little bit in a challenging event. This made it a 6-2 series heading into the final game. Neopolitan kept close in Accuracy, but she wouldn't get anything to go her way at the end as Shaggy held on tight for a 2-3 win. Shaggy won the bowl by a 7-2 margin.

T-Mobile Center, Victoria: Watermelon v. Gradley. Another Enterprise star heads to the Southwest to take on a Youth Movement opponent with the blue cue. Boston's Gradley picked up the opening win with a three-ball run-out as Pearl's Watermelon was a little off with her shots. Gradley leads the series 1-0 after 7-ball. Everything was close in 8-ball until the Surfers' Watermelon had a scratch. The Swifts' Gradley made good use of that, surging to the win in the next couple of turns to give himself a 2-0 series lead. Watermelon made three balls on the break, which Gradley followed with a four-ball run. He missed the 9 on a deflection from the 6, and Watermelon kicked that combination to the bottom right for the win to cut the series to 2-1. Watermelon scratched on the break in 10-ball, and two shots later, Gradley had converted a 2-10 combination to the top right to put his series lead at 3-1. Watermelon had a great start in 12-ball, and then kept it up near the end. Gradley made it close with a three-ball run, but Watermelon had better positioning and earned the win to pull back to a 3-2 series deficit. Gradley couldn't hang onto his lead in 13-ball, as Watermelon's five-ball run and eventual finish on the 8 to the top right earned her the win to tie the series at 3. Watermelon led for much of Rotation, and she was able to cash in for an 8-6 win when Gradley didn't have enough left at the end. Watermelon now leads 4-3 in the series. Watermelon had a fair amount of early offense in 15-ball, but Gradley shined with a four-ball run late. Watermelon couldn't finish on the 15, and Gradley converted it to retie the series at 4. Accuracy was a worthy finish to the Victoria Bowl, as both were perfect late into the game. Watermelon missed the last ball on her first try, but Gradley did too, and Watermelon won 1-2 to take the series 5-4.

Pepsi Arena, Lighton: Sydney S. v. Wario. The two factions of the Celebrity club clash in our third Southwest bowl today, this one with the silver cue. Harrison's Sydney S. couldn't get much going in 7-ball as Southridge's Wario ended up with a three-ball run early and a pair late for the win and 1-0 series lead. Neither player looked to be in form in 8-ball, but it was the Defenders' Wario who broke the stalemate at the end with a five-ball run-out to go ahead 2-0 over the Specters' Sydney S. Wario couldn't keep his momentum in 9-ball, where Sydney S. ripped a four-ball run-out capped by a bank of the 9 to the top right for the win to pull within a game in a 2-1 series. Sydney S. had a scratching problem early in 10-ball, but she corrected it with a four-ball run-out at the end when Wario failed to capitalize. The series is tied at 2. Sydney S. took a three-ball run from the break in 12-ball, but her late positioning wasn't great. Wario had a rare moment of flexible positioning and the ability to convert, winning in a four-ball run-out to reclaim the series lead at 3-2. Wario picked through the rack again quite well in 13-ball, outpacing Sydney S. throughout the game to earn another win. Wario is up to a 4-2 series lead. Wario played extremely well in Rotation, never even letting Sydney S. have a sniff of the lead. Wario won 8-1 and secured the series in his favor at 5-2. Wario tried his best late in 15-ball with a six-ball run, but Sydney S. was able to cash in on a positive start by making the final pair to cut the series to 5-3. Wario and Sydney S. had a fiery start that petered out to a weaker finish. Wario sportingly avoided overtime by missing late, and Sydney S. converted for a 3-4 win to give Wario a 5-4 series win in the Lighton Bowl.

Subway Arena, Stonebridge: Dominic v. Jake. Brute Force against Forest SC, the league's newest club rivalry, is set to go with the purple cue here. Southern's Dominic missed contact on the 1 on his second shot in 7-ball, and Royal's Jake rallied for a six-ball run-out and the win. Jake leads the series 1-0. The Monarchs' Dominic had a better performance in 8-ball, picking up some solid offense. The Crowns' Jake kept it close, but Dominic got the win to tie the series at 1. Jake bounced back well in 9-ball with a three-ball run at the end to grab the win over Dominic. Jake's series lead was restored at 2-1. Dominic sank the 10 without even realizing during his big five-ball run in 10-ball. It was an intended shot so it'll count as Dominic's win to tie the series once again at 2 games each with Jake. Dominic gave away two wild-card balls in 12-ball, but his strong shooting and positional play still left Jake with no chance. Dominic easily grabbed the win and took a 3-2 series lead. Dominic had poor positioning in 13-ball, and Jake attacked with a thorough five-ball run early on. Jake would eventually add the last pair for the win to retie the series at 3. Dominic started hot in Rotation and finished the same way with a three-ball run-out capped by a deflection off the 8 to put the 10 in the top right. Dominic beat Jake 8-2 and retook the series lead at 4-3. Jake rattled off a nine-ball run in 15-ball to dominate possession. He almost lost the game, but Dominic couldn't corral the 14, and Jake made the final pair to pull even once again as the series is tied at 4. Dominic held true in Accuracy, winning the decisive game by a 1-4 margin after Jake couldn't keep up from the start. Dominic took the Stonebridge Bowl 5-4.

Toyota Arena, Freedom: Americus v. Citrus. Today's action ends with the green cue between Brute Force and Solid Core players. Midland's Americus had a three-ball run from the break and a pair at the end of 7-ball to down Lighton's Citrus. Americus leads the series 1-0 after the smooth-shooting win. The Predators' Americus retained her edge in 8-ball, but she did it with a much slower pace. The Prestige's Citrus challenged for a bit before turning to strategic scratches, which backfired as Americus won anyway to go ahead 2-0 in the series. Americus had too many scratches to stay successful in 9-ball, none worse than the one she had after making the 8. Citrus took this win, cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the process. Americus had better play in 10-ball, but Citrus still got the result with a pair of shots at the end of the close game. Citrus' win tied the series at 2. Americus potted three stripes on the break and another right after, but her positioning was poor at the end. Citrus was quick to even the game and get ahead at the end for the win, which put Citrus ahead 3-2 in the series. Americus saw a similar pattern emerge as she started fairly well in 13-ball. She couldn't position her last ball after taking out Citrus' defense. Citrus then eventually found a four-ball run-out for the win and 4-2 series lead. Americus stayed alive in the series with an ugly 8-7 victory in Rotation that saw Citrus squander at least a dozen chances to tie the game, take the lead, or secure the win. Citrus remains ahead 4-3 in the series. After another poor break in 15-ball, the two players saw frustrations reach a peak near the end. Americus got the win on a cut off the 10 to deflect the 15 to the top right, but many snookered shots came before, especially against Citrus. Americus' win tied the series at 4. Americus had her chances in Accuracy, but a late miss put her behind, and Citrus didn't let up from there. Citrus won the game 3-4 and the series 5-4 to take the Freedom Bowl.

Tomorrow's the off-day in the UPCL Bowl Series. We'll resume with 5 or 6 bowls on Saturday.