We've arrived at the Finals round of TYAT play. We'll play three series a day over the next three days to determine each event champion. These series will be a whopping 11 games long each. First up...
Smokey v. Princess. The red cue gets the start today in 8-ball. Neither player had much control in game 1, but Diamond's Smokey eventually buried a four-ball run-out to beat Tysini's Princess for the 1-0 series lead. The Gems' Smokey was much better to start game 2 with a six-ball run. The Hummingbirds' Princess made a five-ball run later, but Smokey won with the 8 in the top left to go up 2-0. Princess found herself in trouble in game 3, following up a four-ball run with a critical miss on the 7. Smokey had made a four-ball run and easily tapped the 8 into the top right on the next turn to stretch his series lead to 3-0. Smokey made a five-ball run off the break in game 4, but Princess appeared to better him with a six-ball run. Smokey then posted a three-ball run-out for the win, moving ahead 4-0 in the series. Princess finally got on the board in game 5, slowing down the pace of the offense into her comfort zone while Smokey struggled overall. Princess got the win, but Smokey remains ahead 4-1. Princess opened game 6 with a five-ball run, but a scratch and cautious play ruined her effort. Smokey bounced back at the end on a six-ball run-out for the win to restore his series lead at 5-1. Princess took her first steps on the comeback trail in game 7, rattling off an impressive seven-ball run-out after a slow start. Smokey's series lead now stands at 5-2. Smokey wasted no time in establishing himself in game 8 with a four-ball run, and he followed it up with a four-ball run-out for the win on the next turn. Smokey sealed the series at 6-2 over Princess. Game 9 saw Princess dictate the pace for the most part, keeping things fairly slow. At the end, both players had a burst of offense, and Smokey corralled the 8 at the top left for the win and 7-2 series lead. Smokey continued just fine in game 10, as Princess had an early run but couldn't sink the 8 on her one chance. Smokey made a four-ball run-out for this win, pushing his advantage to 8-2. Princess tried to be cool with a shot in game 11, but she collected the 8 prematurely to the bottom left to gift Smokey one more win. Smokey took a 9-2 series win to claim the title as TYAT 8-ball Champion.
Nightfur v. Shadow. The highlight series today comes in 9-ball with the blue cue. Web City's Shadow appeared good with a four-ball run early in game 1, but Royal's Nightfur replied with a five-ball run-out for the win. Nightfur leads the series 1-0. The Crowns' Nightfur muddied the start of game 2 a bit, but the Spiders' Shadow found clarity on a five-ball run-out for the win. This tied the series at 1. There was a choppy cadence to the play in game 3, but it didn't bother Shadow, who sank the 9 at the top left after Nightfur failed to convert. Shadow pulled ahead 2-1 in the series. Shadow plucked a three-ball run-out at the end of game 4 after a sloppy sequence where he and Nightfur both scratched. Shadow's win pushed him ahead 3-1. Nightfur lost control in game 5, missing the 5 painfully wide of the top right after Shadow took a risky gamble of a shot. Shadow then followed up with a three-ball run-out to gain the win and 4-1 series lead. Nightfur had a good burst in the middle of game 6, but she missed on the 6. Shadow stepped in with another three-ball run-out for the win to push his advantage to 5-1. Nightfur won game 7 without taking a shot, as Shadow made the 9 to the bottom left on the break but scratched in the top right. Shadow remains ahead 5-2. Nightfur had good plays early in game 8, but missed contact on the 5 was all it took for her to fall apart. Shadow used the ball-in-hand to ignite a five-ball run-out for the win to clinch the series at 6-2. Nightfur made a three-ball run early in game 9, but had to settle for contact on the 3. That lined up a 3-9 combination for Shadow at the bottom left, and his conversion stretched his series lead to 7-2. Shadow had another surge of offense to end game 10, making a four-ball run-out with precision to beat Nightfur and take an 8-2 lead. Shadow had plenty of offense in game 11, but Nightfur picked off the 9 at the bottom right to salvage one more result. Shadow turned his silver medal from 2014 into a TYAT 9-ball Championship by an 8-3 margin.
Goldy v. Shiny. We end with a battle of mother and daughter in 15-ball using the silver cue. Everton's Goldy had more offense early in game 1 and managed to bring it home on a 9-15 combination to the top left after Lighton's Shiny stalled out on offense. Goldy leads the series 1-0. Both players made mistakes after four-ball runs in game 2, but it was a late scratch that doomed the Eagles' Goldy. The Prestige's Shiny used the ball-in-hand to make the last pair for the win to tie the series at 1. Goldy and Shiny combined for a messy start to game 3, featuring multiple fouls on both sides. Goldy eventually shook loose and won on a five-ball run-out to regain the series lead at 2-1. Shiny looked unstoppable at the end of game 4, finishing with a massive seven-ball run-out for the win over Goldy to retie the series at 2. Shiny found the early finish in game 5, slamming a shot into the 4 that picked up the 15 at the bottom left for the win. Shiny leads Goldy for the first time by a 3-2 margin. Goldy fired back in game 6 with an even better finish. Goldy sent the 1-15 combination to the top left and collected the 8 at the bottom left on the double-pot that allowed her to retie the series at 3 versus Shiny. Fouls sucked the life out of the offense in game 7, until Goldy worked a late four-ball run. Goldy missed a bank on the 15, and Shiny tapped it down at the bottom right to go ahead 4-3 in the series. Goldy found a five-ball run in the middle of game 8, but couldn't add a supporting run after it. Shiny eventually made the final pair for the win to go up 5-3 in the series. Shiny couldn't stop her good play in game 9, making three balls on the break. She added a five-ball run, and while Goldy had a chance to get the win, she couldn't line up a trick play. Shiny instead deflected off the 10 to make the 15 in the top left to secure the series at 6-3. Much like the series, game 10 started off fairly even on offense. Shiny then took over with a couple of runs around the midpoint before sinking the final pair for the win and 7-3 series lead over Goldy. Shiny didn't have her best in game 11, but she was able to cut the 15 into the top side for the 8-3 series win. Shiny, the 2010 silver medalist, now has the TYAT 15-ball Championship to her name.
There's just two more days of action in TYAT Finals, which will continue tomorrow.
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