The MLP Website That Provides Full Onsight Coverage Of Daily Happenings & Events

Over the past few weeks I've been reminded by many of you about things I posted on this site in the past. I think it's only fitting that I actually present this on this site - not only because this is the site that made me even remotely important in the ypool community almost a decade ago, but also because this was attached to Major League Pool, which is still regarded as one of the best interleagues ever. This list is only going to address problems interleagues have caused - not other game sites, the economy, people just moving on, etc. We can't fix those problems. And while it may be too late to fix THESE problems, somebody needs to actually step up and take people to task for contributing towards them. Without further ado, let's look at why this game isn't fun anymore:

#1: Instant Messenger Bans

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Obviously, the cause of this is... Well... A lot of people. This goes way back to the days of Pool Pals where they were widely suspected of using Skype during matches (even in MLP) - and more recently with a number of people. So someone decided it'd be a good idea to just cut out any instant messenger programs, period. Anything that could be used for voice chat without being detected in a recording is now prohibited. To be fair, it's a real concern. I sat in some Skype calls with Ant, Craig, Dante, Danielle, Nish, Brice etc. where coaching happened. Not in interleagues, mind you, just league games (New Era, to be specific. So... Not even real league games) but one can reasonably assume it happened. The problem with having zero tolerance and disqualifying people, is that people are being DQed for... Nothing. One can have Yahoo! Messenger open, have their buddy list as the lone window open, and even though that could be verified on the tape that player would still be disqualified. Take it from me, perhaps the king of taking people to Dairy Queen back in the day: That's taking it too far. The purpose of recording games is to prove that they were played legitimately. Unless there's a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise, players should be assumed to be playing fairly... Not the other way around.

In addition to the rule just making interleague admins out to be Gestapo-esque, it's not very intuitive. YM, Skype, Ventrillo, these are hardly the only forms of communication. This is 2013. Mobile phones have been around for literally decades. iPods, phones, other computers, it's so easy for somebody to get around this rule that it actually punishes more innocent players than it does cheaters. Do you know how we responded to those Pool Pals allegations in MLP? We investigated, told them they'd never play again in MLP if we caught them (back when being banned from an inter was actually a relevant penalty), and did not punish them because we didn't have proof. We knew there was a good chance that it happened, but we didn't act on it. We couldn't reasonably defend our position if we did, and punishing them may well have brought these types of rules around a lot sooner. I asked one interleague head admin why he has chosen to implement this rule. His answer was "i only ask not to have ym and skype open" ...That doesn't actually answer my question, but it follows along nicely to my next point.

#2: Copycat Rules

This is something that went on even when MLP was around. The difference is that people were copying MLP's rules, which actually made sense. Now they're copying... WPC's, or WPA's, or PRO's... And over time those rules have become more and more senseless. Back when ypool was actually fun, rules existed for specific reasons. They existed because without them, there was a problem that needed to be addressed and people needed guidelines for how to handle certain situations. People understood the spirit of the rule and, while that wasn't always the way it was enforced, it was enforced consistently. If an Admin made a ruling, or interpreted a rule a certain way, other Admins knew about it and we discussed it. If it turns out that ruling was wrong, we took steps to correct things if possible. It was a 7v7 interleague, not carry. The fixes were usually simple. If the ruling was reasonable, it became the precedent and was added into the rules for clarification or announced somewhere players and captains would see it. Today, Admins barely understand their own rules. You can see, constantly, when issues arise at a match there's a long pause while the Admin on duty goes to check the rules to see if that situation is covered. We understood our rules in MLP because WE wrote them and discussed them before every season. Sophie had each of us go through the rules and pick out errors, contradictions, concerns, things we wanted to see added, removed, clarified, etc.  and we discussed them. We also had an all-star admin staff. Even the people who didn't get along very well were able to cooperate and have civil discussions. The end result was Major League Pool. I'd say it worked. I don't know what takes place during Admin meetings now. Based on the current products out there, I can safely assume: Not much of the above.

#3: Complete Lack of Decorum (Basically, WPC)

Okay. Granted, these are not businesses. Interleagues are supposed to be fun for both players, captains, spectators, and those who volunteer (key word) to run them for the aforementioned parties. I want to direct your attention to the WPC rules page. There's an old, outdated announcement on the main page from December... 2011! It says "NO ALL STARS TELL PLAYOFFS ARE OVER" ...Go into the actual rules. See how they look like they were typed by an adult? That's because they were. They were easy on the eyes, and it was very clear that the person writing them was someone whose intelligence we could respect. And I don't want to turn this into me just bashing Steven and insulting his intelligence, because he's not an idiot. But what are we supposed to think when we go from "normal" rules text to: 


ADMINS AND TEAM CAPTAINS AND CO CAPTAINS ONLY WHEN TEAM CAPTAIN ISNT THERE USING YIM WHILE PLAYING....BUT NO OTHER PROGRAMS RUNNING
THE REST OF THE PLAYERS YIMS AND TALKING PROGRAMS ARE BANNED.....IF NE TALKING PROGRAMS ARE UP WHILE PLAYING AUTO DQ

Read that. Then go read anything else, literally anywhere. Is the point made clearly? Sure. But it looks like a five year old wrote it. At some point, an Admin has to step up and say "hey, let me re-write this so it actually looks good and not just you ranting in all-caps and talking down to the players."

That isn't the only problem in this category. There's also the matter of how matches themselves are handled. This was highlighted during a recent PRO Playoff match between For The Win and Break And Run. During one of the games, a FTW player said "i hope this hits green", and Ant jokingly said "what 1 -_-" referring to the fact there were both the six and 14 balls on the table. BNR's Captain, Jordan, alleged that was coaching because he believed the player then changed his spin and made the correct shot. I didn't see the whole exchange, so I don't have all of the details. But Nish was the Admin/ref in charge. He ruled that it was not coaching. Obviously, there will be a protest (and the following will make me look like a hypocrite, because this is how I was "back in the day") but when the ref makes a ruling, you eventually accept it. It's reasonable to protest a little bit, but at least have the good sense to do it privately and not show him or her up at the table. If you have to, appeal to an Admin or, if the ref is an Admin, appeal to the Head Admin (if available) - if not, here's a novel idea... Try accepting it. Discuss it later, if it makes you feel better, but throwing a hissy fit and causing a scene in the open does not do anything positive for you, anybody else involved, and certainly not the game itself. Casual players from leagues that aren't nearly as competitive get turned off from interleagues when they see behavior like that. 

Yes, I know breaking all of the above rules basically led to PFN winning a certain World Series match many years ago. And I was the one who specifically went against all of this in the process. But times change and contrary to popular belief, people do as well. For too long people have been allowed to walk all over refs and admins and the expectation is that they will just take it and let the drama flow. I remember the last PRO match I ever reffed. I told a player who had already won their game that I was going to handle the argument at the table. I told everybody that the discussion at the table was over, and if anybody wanted to continue they could send me messages on YM. Anybody who continued at the table would be booted and they would not be coming back, whether they were scheduled to play in the first five games or had carry games coming up (basically, they'd be DQed) - I did end up giving that punishment to a player who had already won despite specifically warning him multiple times. Nish came in and overturned that, but at least the guy shut up and played rather than adding to the drama. Disqualifying a player is not fun. But sometimes it has to be done to make a point. In that particular situation, I created an expectation that my rulings were to be respected. I had the trust of the PRO Admin Team to supervise that match and make sure it was played fairly and respectfully. While I did ultimately get overruled in that instance, the match continued without incident. It should also be noted, the disqualified player privately appealed to an Admin (Nish) without being an idiot in the lobby, like most people would today.

#4: Tap Games, Slow Play

I won't go on a long-winded rant like I did for #3. I will simply point out that these long tap games send casual players who have better things to do with their time away from interleagues with a negative perception of them. These long, half-hour games are basically strategic decisions to give people who have no other obligations a competitive advantage over others. In a carry format, that advantage is even greater. People have lives, and expecting them to stay at a match for three hours is ridiculous. At least in an interleague like UIC or WPC, a player can play and leave. But when you have to sit there and watch other games while you wait to play again, it's just dumb. While "elite" players may have a negative opinion of casuals and think they don't matter, they DO matter. Magic: the Gathering, for example, is popular not just because of the pro players at the top, but because Wizards of the Coast actually cares about the casual players who may never actually pay $40 to enter a Grand Prix tournament or may not do anything more than open a few booster packs and play at Friday Night Magic in the middle of nowhere, Iowa with some friends and a deck that could never win at a high level of competitive play. Casual ypoolers used to be excited to play for their league in interleagues. Now, the two largest leagues (Extreme Cues and X8B) don't even play in them. There are fewer and fewer casual players as well, because ultimately who cares about playing in a league if that's the only worthwhile competition there is? When the only prize is a few ladderbux playing the same people over and over again, it's just not worth it. At least with interleagues, you could play different people and be part of a team. A team chosen by (ideally) somebody very important in that league to help get a win. When you lose those players, leagued quickly decay and you see situations like we have now where you have to be part of multiple leagues if you want to play any kind of organized pool and not deal with random lobby trolls or wait for your friends to be online.

The other half of this is slow play. Andy, basically. I understand some shots are important. Whole multi-month-long seasons could hinge on certain shots. That does not justify taking 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes or even longer on that shot... Or worse, multiple shots. Joe is the only Admin I know of who has ever given a warning and a game loss for slow play. It was in an irrelevant interleague that I don't even remember the name of. I think he gave those penalties to Ant. I remember that he was chastised for it by numerous people. Currently, a search for "slow" or "stall" yields no results on any interleague rules page I have looked at. It existed in MLP, despite never being enforced (though it should have been.) It's actually one of the reasons I stopped volunteering to ref matches for interleagues. They wouldn't let me give timers because "he's moving the stick", or warn players that they need to shoot or they will be penalized for slow play. It's my firm belief that as an Interleague Admin, you have a responsibility to all of the players to ensure the matches move at a reasonable pace. And allowing players to sit there and take forever on a shot is doing a disservice to a lot of people who just want to play. The common joke with shots like that is that they're getting advice or "two-screening" ... That's a very real concern, isn't it? I worry more about that than I do somebody possibly being on voice chat on YM with a buddy getting coached. Not only does "two-screening" give you an unfair advantage, it slows the match down significantly.

So How Do We Fix This?

Maybe it's too late to fix these problems. Maybe they only exist in my head and aren't actually real problems to many of you playing and running interleagues. But I've seen this game thrive and die, I've taken feedback from many different people and seen others express their displeasure with interleagues and pool in general. The first problem I listed is very easy to fix. Penalize players who cheat or negatively impact the game, and not those who are playing fairly. This notion of being presumed guilty until proved otherwise is not healthy for the game at all. Stopping people from "fishing" for DQs is another thing. Nish did this in the HH-DS match earlier this week. HH waited until a DS player was shooting the eightball to bring up the fact his playing ID was not the same as his name on the DS ladder. First of all, that shouldn't be a DQ anyways. It has no effect on the game. There's no negative impact whatsoever. I HATED giving out that penalty, but yes I absolutely did fish for it as a Captain. It was wrong then, it still is now. And I take responsibility for my part in this. Nish ruled that while yes, it was technically mentioned before the game finished, he wasn't going to allow HH to exploit that rule. HH protested for the whole match, Pete later found out and upheld Nish's ruling. Maybe they're smarter than I give them credit for... ;) If a player is missing half their game on the recording, obviously DQ them. If they are ineligible by way of not being active enough, DQ them. But if it's an ID discrepancy, they're on YM, irrelevant things like that... Come on. Be reasonable.

Communication is absolutely critical. Anytime a change is made, it needs to be communicated to ALL Admins and Captains, and players also need to be directed to those changes somehow. Just posting on the shoutbox "THIS RULE HAS CHANGED MAKE SURE U READ IT" is not enough. Each Captain needs to be told, specifically, "rule 7.1 has changed, and this is what it means" and if you post that explanation in your page's announcement section for players to see, even better. The reason you need to communicate with Captains is because they are responsible for their team. If you tell me a rule has changed, and explain it to me, I will absolutely let each and every one of my players know about it and make sure they all understand it. Will all Captains do that? Probably not. But at least you explained it to them, and you announced it in a respectable way on your main page. If they complain about it, explain to them that you posted a notice about the change, and even went to each Captain so they could explain it to their team. It would also help to take a moment before a match (especially in UIC and WPC, where they're all played simultaneously) to remind players that the rules have changed and give a brief explanation of what the changes mean.

Another thing: If you are an Admin at a match, make the match report yourself. If I recall, PRO has the refs fill out match reports and get results to the Admins. A lot of interleagues do this. UIC and WPC (and others, I'm sure) have Captains fill out a match report and post them in a forum. And if a team forgets to, they get called out in the interleague shoutbox by the admin(s) in charge of stats because it's somehow too hard to just message the captains and ask "hey, who played?" Do you know how much effort that is? I will lay out the steps:

1: Contact the Captains
2: Get a list of matches
3: Verify with profiles/interleague page reports
4: Update stats

If that is too much work for someone who is an interleague Admin, that person needs to consider stepping aside so somebody better suited for the role can take over. If a team routinely forgets to post results, sure. Give them a private talking-to about it, and perhaps penalize them by not having their games counted in the future if they continue to forget... But don't complain about it in the open. That's just poor form. You are volunteering your time for this, sure. But people are also committing their time to your interleague. This is basic customer service. It's not that hard.

There are numerous other problems, I'm sure. This may or may not be a popular post. I get that. But these are things that I feel needed to be said. It needs to be mentioned that these things are not good for interleagues, even though many interleague admins today believe they are. There is an announcement I read before every basketball game at the local high school where I'm the Public Address Announcer. It refers to sportsmanship. Part of that announcement reads: "Mutual respect, fair play, and good sportsmanship will provide the foundation for a great game this evening." That's true in sports, and any competition. And even beginning to implement those ideals in ypool could go a long way in taking this game off life support and at least making it a little more viable than it currently is in the long run.

If you have any thoughts on this long rant, first of all thanks for actually reading it. Second, let me know. I'll try to fix the comments section on here. And the font... I made the mistake of pasting something directly from a page and it screwed everything up for the rest of the post. But I'll work on fixing those. In the meantime... Stay classy.

What were expected to be tightly contested matches turned into a pair of matches with a combined 13-1 score.

Break and Run rolled right through a struggling Straightshots team to start the night off. Kazi provided the only win for Straightshots when he beat Kalpz from Break and Run. Big League Tour runner-up Stu picked up his tenth win of the season by taking down MVP candidate tonzmaniac. king_hustler2004 of MadSkillz fame made his return to Major League Pool after a two year hiatus and was greeted rudely by CK in his debut.

A 6-1 victory for BNR means an 11-3 record and a six match win streak. At 64/34 they move to within a half-game of Xtreme 8 Ball for the top spot. X8B held off Break and Run for a 4-3 victory on March 29. On May 31 the two teams will go at it again in the second to last week of the season. The regular season championship could be on the line. In the immediate future, BNR will have a week off.

The loss for Straightshots means a drop to 9-5 on the season with a 55/43 record. Straightshots holds an important head to head advantage over Pool Fiction with a 4-3 win in the first half of the season. Oh by the way, if PFN wins against True Champs this week the matchup between SS and Pool Fiction would break a tie in the standings.

Sexy Poolerz got wins from, well... Everyone while sweeping Ultimate Outlaws right out of Major League Pool. It got ugly quick when astro61200 was called to play after saying he was not ready to play at the time. Scott lost his game to freak.ofpool and withdrew from MLP following his report. Aaron and SP Captain Pete finished the Outlaws off in games five and six and the seventh game was a forfeit.

"can't get them to play or they get pissed," Ultimate Outlaws Captain bud6745 said after the match. "So we'll just wait until next season. I will get some that will play by then."

Ultimate Outlaws finishes the season with the worst record in MLP. Two wins against 12 losses and a 31/67 record. Next up would have been a match with Break and Run. Bud insists next season will be completely different with players who want to compete for the full season.

Sexy Poolerz jumps back into the playoff hunt at 4-10. SP is still a game and a half back of Extreme Cues for the sixth seed and will not get to face them again this season. After a 5-2 victory in week two, SP was swept by Extreme Cues in the rematch giving EC the head to head advantage. Up next for Sexy Poolerz is Latino Pool Legends.

There really, truly, honestly is not a single match this week that looks like a must-see. The match between Pool Fiction and Extreme Cues has some moderate interest because of some boneheaded admin who wants to hold a grudge against a former co-captain and we're still waiting for Sexy Poolerz to rally the troops together and make a massive lunge for the #6 seed but aside from that it's a very... Meh week.

But because I can't blow off predictions for the second week in a row here's a bit about Sexy Poolerz and Straightshots. Last week Straightshots got re-acquainted with top-ranked Xtreme 8Ball and got squashed 6-1. Really uncharacteristic of SS with the way they've played this season to only take one game against any league, even X8B. But they aren't the first and certainly won't be the last of X8B's victims. Straightshots is in a tie with pool Fiction for the fourth seed while Sexy Poolerz sits one game out of a tie for sixth place. ANYONE in the bottom five who wins this week gives themself a significant push towards contention. At full strength SP can absolutely compete with Straightshots. Given Sexy Poolerz hasn't had that more than (maybe) once all season, I can only assume Straightshots will be all set. SS wins 5-2.

Break and Run is good, True Champs is tied with three other leagues for the worst win/loss record in Major League Pool (30/54). Think about that. If it comes down to win/loss records (remember Head to Head is the first tiebreaker used in most scenarios) then these four teams would need to make up NINE games on Extreme Cues to have a chance. Break and Run and Latino Pool Legends each have identical match and win/loss records, and both are certainly still in contention for the top seed. Considering X8B plays Ultimate Outlaws this week it's a safe bet anyone in the top five who loses this week can just about kiss their shot at the #1 seed goodbye. As for a prediction on this match, True Champs can hang with Break and Run. They have some unique players who have really jumped into the spotlight over the past few months in interleagues. If there's going to be a big upset this week it would happen here. With that said BNR is still one of the top dogs and one of the most talented teams MLP has seen in recent seasons. True Champs give them a scare, but BNR survives with a 4-3 win.

Xtreme 8Ball a lot, Ultimate Outlaws not a lot.

Extreme Cues put a little extra preparation in before their first match with Pool Fiction. A cue control tournament right before the match helped EC grab an early lead but PFN found a little 4-3 magic yet again and escaped with a 4-0 record. Now Pool Fiction sits in fifth while Extreme Cues leads the race for the #6 seed. Of the top five leagues PFN holds the worst record (8-4, 47/37). Extreme Cues as mentioned before is nine games clear of the pack below with 39 wins. But True Champs holds that all-important head-to-head tiebreaker with a 4-3 win back on March 18th. This will be the first time AJ faces Extreme Cues since he and noob.ology left following a dispute with Admin Victoria_7K. I don't necessarily think EC has gotten too much worse following the disagreements though I certainly can't imagine they've improved. Pool Fiction should be all set but "should" is a dangerous word with this team. Most likely another 4-3 win for PFN, accounting for Murphy's Law.

If anybody is actually able to play after cinco de mayo the so-called Latino Pool Legends will take on Major League Pool newcomers t8breturns. What t8b is and what they're returning from is anybody's guess but they basically took over the defunct Pool Legends room and have replaced Money in the Bank. You may recall MIB quit following make-believe psycopath Richard's claim that MLP Admins were ignoring him and not available to send invites to players. This was a move destined to happen when Pommy and company left the league and Rich was left to prove he was more capable of running a team without drama than Pool Fiction's Kerryanne. Obviously that worked out quite well. I'm really stretching for info here because the only relevant details for this match are as follows: LPL is tied with Break and Run for second place right now. t8breturns lost 5-2 to Pool Fiction last week partly due to early Cam DQs and partly due to... Well they were facing Pool Fiction in their first MLP match. They'll get that squared away and rest assured they will compete this season and give Extreme Cues and True Champs a fight for that 6th seed. Remember it was Pool Legends which made its MLP debut taking over a hideous record and riding it all the way to the World Series. There are at least some similarities but the talrnt disparity may prove to be the decisive difference. Either way, LPL's better they'll win 5-2.

Next week TWO top-five matchups and a chance for t8breturns to really make Extreme Cues sweat as they square off on Thursday night. Week 14 is Major League Pool's version of moving day and you can catch nightly updates right here on MLP Sports Center :D But until then try to keep your mind on the matches this week because one slip-up could make about four ranks of difference in the Standings. Stay Classy MLP.

I had mentioned the Break and Run-Pool Fiction matchup would likely be Match of the Week. I lied. Over the past week another match has won my attention.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Latino Pool Legends (7-3, 42/28) @ Straightshots (8-2, 46/24) - Wednesday, 7:00

This is the match which told everyone Straightshots is a serious competitor for the title. Since Straightshots beat LPL 4-3 in week two both teams have gained a lot more talent. They've also lost some, but not a whole lot. On one side you have an MVP candidate in tonzmaniac accompanied by Pita and Pascal. On the other side you have a team which falls behind quite often but fires back with los tres dirigieron el gigante of Ant-MJ-Simon. Nicki gets to decide who will take those three on, not forgetting of course the likes of Daru and Todd.

Again the big factor in this match will be LPL's start. If LPL falls behind early Straightshots has the kind of depth not many other teams have. You won't see Straightshots collapse as Xtreme 8 Ball and Pool Fiction did with near-decisive leads over Latino Pool Legends. But on the other hand LPL has players that are due to break out. Tino comes to mind. I like Straightshots top to bottom, but I think this time around the real Latinos set the table to the big guns to seal the deal. LPL wins this showdown 4-3.

Now you may be wondering why the BNR-PFN match isn't getting all the love this week. Going into last weekend Pool Fiction had won its last four overall interleague matches in mostly dominating fashion. That was against Extreme Pool Competitors, Sexy Poolerz, Xtreme 8 Ball, and The Cue Controls. Now PFN looks at a -3 streak, with losses over the weekend to Magic Pool, Addicted Pool, and International Cue Addiction. It's tough to go 0-for-the-weekend and then face Break and Run on a Monday.

And remember Monday is BNR's best day. All but a few matches are scheduled for Monday and you can bet on a star-studded lineup from BNR. Stu ran a line right through pro.jeremy in Sunday's Big League Tour after Jeremy had taken down Ross. In fact there were five BNR-PFN matchups in the tournament. BNR took 3 of the 5, with one being the best of 3 finals. Neither team is really in jeopardy of falling out of the top five but I do think Break and Run will play this one tougher to send a message and, like LPL, get revenge. BNR starts the week off with a result that will shock more people than it should - a 5-2 win.

Sexy Poolerz finds itself in the awkward position of falling out of playoff contention. While only a game out of 6th place at 2-8 SP has been swept and has also taken some nasty beatings this season. A woeful 25/45 record for the reigning MLP Fives Champions is surprisingly not deadly... Yet. This week they take on Extreme Cues. This is a golden opportunity for SP to get right back into the chase. Extreme Cues is the best team in the lower half of MLP and will, in all likelihood, be the #6 seed. But they still have to earn that. A win here would likely spell the end for Sexy Poolerz and I think EC will put the final nail in SP's coffin. EC to win it 5-2.

The other two matches are just... Well... Xtreme 8 Ball can almost take the week off against True Champs. Pommy makes a difference but he doesn't have much help around him. And unlike in MLP Fives, he can't do all the work himself. So X8B likely wins something like 5-2 or 6-1.

Ultimate Outlaws can be competitive with Money in the Bank I suppose. Astro61200 has returned and may help UO a little bit. Wins from Sexy Poolerz and Xtreme 8 Ball would give UO a glimmer of hope if they can start stringing W's together. MIB isn't exactly a scary team but they do have the competitive edge Ultimate Outlaws lacks. I think the Outlaws will run into a few good strokes of fortune and take this one. This is a team that's due for something good. A 4-3 win for UO is a nice start.

So due to power failures and other things like... Life, no spotlight on the lower half of MLP. But hey when they start springing upsets maybe they'll get more attention!

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Xtreme 8 Ball (8-1, 46/17) @ Extreme Cues (3-6, 27/36) - Thursday, 7:00

If there was ever any doubt that X8B was the best team in Major League Pool this season it was erased last week when they finished the first half of the season in style. A 6-1 beatdown of Pool Fiction to improve to a ridiculous 46/17. Only Latino Pool Legends has beaten Xtreme 8 Ball this season, when X8B blew a 3-1 lead. The usual suspects are still sporting obscene records. Corey, Adam, Conor, Ross, 18 weeks is a marathon. They're halfway through and threatening to run away from the rest of the field. It looks like the only thing that can come close to stopping them is burnout.

Extreme Cues knocked off that LPL team last week, adding to a very strange week at the halfway mark. In that match Croz lost, Si lost, MJ lost. At least Croz fell to Daru. Extreme Cues have gone through a rough transition with a new Admin essentially running out a top player and at the same time, two former Co-Captains. But they've recovered and proved it's not a big deal at all. EC has a Sexy Poolerz feel to them. Sporadic, unpredictable, up and down, they're capable of winning 5-2 and capable of losing 7-0 this week.

So I'll find the middle ground somewhere. I think X8B's best is better than EC's best. I'm not exactly convinced EC is as good as last week's result shows, but they are the best team competing for the #6 seed. X8B has proved to be too much thus far however. The first time around it was 6-1 and X8B used their weak squad. This time around they'll actually put effort into it and win 5-2 or 6-1 again.

The only other match this week that really grabs my attention is the one I'm attached to. Pool Fiction gets Sexy Poolerz again and this time they'll have to do it without Miz. Miz, as you may recall, threw a fit following his loss in the match last week against Xtreme 8 Ball and was boxed for 7 days. Miz's ego has taken a real bashing over the past few weeks. Pool Fiction as a team has struggled mightily with SP. And this one could be real trouble for PFN.

SP swept Xtreme Poolerz, with many of PFN's current players 6-0 in the World Pool Championship, and most recently tallied a 5-0 decision in the Global Interleague Trophy competition. With only two wins this season it's tough to call SP a threat but whenever they play Pool Fiction they come prepared. Round 1 went to Pool Fiction 4-3 with Miz being the difference in game 7. I don't think either team has gotten better or worse, but I still believe PFN is the better team. And should win 4-3 again.

The other matches are just dull and uninteresting.

Straightshots handled Ultimate Outlaws the first time around. With Brandon and Jordan on-board for a while it looked like this would be a real exciting match. But now UO is all alone at 1-8 and in desperate need of a win. But they don't have anyone available that Straightshots Captain Nicki would say "oh boy, I gotta watch out for this one!" I'm not exactly saying Pita can take the night off, but there isn't much to talk about in this match. SS is flat-out better and should win at least 5-2.

The first time around between Money in the Bank and Break and Run it was an exciting 4-3 finish with a bizarre 7th game. Well nobody who played in that match for MIB is around anymore and although the record has improved the quality of play has not. Since the breakup MIB has beaten True Champs and Sexy Poolerz. The other win was a 4-3 comeback win against Ultimate Outlaws. They were capable of beating those 3 and more before Head Admin/Captain Rich accused Pommy of throwing the match. In fact they proved they were capable of beating Break and Run as well. Not anymore. BNR still has all the big guns except Jordan but as you recall he was ran off the break and wasn't a factor anyways. MIB has added some players since the split but the only good one to transfer in was NiceBoyyy (a different Rich.) Dina can cycle a couple of the top guns out if she chooses. BNR takes it 5-2.

That leaves Latino Pool Legends and True Champs. I won't waste any more time than I need to on this. Jack is playing decent lately and Pommy is still Pommy. And if those two win, LPL will have to settle for a 5-2 win. It wasn't close last time, LPL only got a hundred times better since then while TC added Pommy. The so-called Latinos win huge.

This is more of a personal commentary on the first eight weeks of the Major League Pool season rather than a traditional prediction post.

As we come up on the halfway point in the season it's only proper we look at the top team Xtreme 8 Ball. With three of the strongest performers so far this season (Corey, Adam, Ross) the 7-1 record shouldn't be a surprise. But X8B has done it while everyone below has been jockeying for position. This week they play Pool Fiction. It's entirely possible that the top five leagues could all be tied at 7-2 by the end of that match. The lone loss came from Latino Pool Legends when LPL pulled off the first of two impressive comebacks already. The most impressive part of this season so far for X8B is the 40/16 overall record. That's six games clear of both LPL and Straightshots. There are plenty of 6-1s and 7-0s on the schedule so far, and as we head into the second half I don't think there's any reason to believe the results will be too different except for the Sexy Poolerz rematch.

Latino Pool Legends, Straightshots, and Pool Fiction all sit at 6-2. Of those three only LPL has lost to a team that is not in the top six. Sexy Poolerz jumped out to a 3-0 lead over LPL and held on for a 4-3 win. Latino Pool Legends has been the comeback team so far. If not for an uncharacteristic scratch from Si in game six LPL may well have pulled off four in a row to come back and steal that match. LPL fell behind Xtreme 8 Ball 3-1 before handing X8B their only loss of the season. And last week Pool Fiction fell victim to a sweep of games 4-7 and watched LPL erase a 0-3 deficit. With Ant, MJ, Si and Daru all on the same team Latino Pool Legends is automatically a contender. Just by playing the numbers alone you could realistically assume LPL will win as long as two of those four win. And when you know for certain three of the games you have break, things get really easy.

But Straightshots is actually the second place team in Major League Pool. With 4-3 wins over Latino Pool Legends and Pool Fiction SS has exceeded expectations. One might look at all the transfers as a sign of Straightshots' success. But the truth is this team beat Latino Pool Legends without any of that help. The first transfer came with Pita switched from Pool Fiction on February 23rd. Six days earlier SS took down Latino Pool Legends. Then came MMike and Matt from Money in the Bank. Pita and Mike have certainly made a difference but all they've done is make an outstanding team a great team. Straightshots is here to stay and they have the feel of a team that could give this league the most successful season in a while.

Pool Fiction rounds out the three-way tie at 6-2. PFN has contributed greatly to the stat which defines MLP's most exciting season so far: There have been 22 matches ending with a 4-3 result and 17 of those matches were decided in the seventh game. Pool Fiction has had three deciders in their six 4-3 decisions so far. Miz has been the workhorse for Pool Fiction thus far. Brian and Brent have also performed well for Pool Fiction, each coming up with important wins in the early weeks where PFN went through a long stretch of 4-3 results. Some of those teams will be weaker the second time through the lineup. But the elites such as Break and Run will be just as tough. 12 or 13 wins may be the most realistic outlook for many teams. Especially those caught up in this cluster near the top of the standings.

The last team highlighted in this particular article is Break and Run. While it might be a surprise Break and Run already has three losses it isn't a huge deal when you look at who beat BNR. Pool Fiction, Latino Pool Legends and Xtreme 8 Ball are responsible for the three BNR losses. At the start of the season it looked like BNR would hold the top seed from start to finish. The losses are all 4-3 decisions and BNR still has a core of Stu, Luis, and Tanmay. Like LPL, you have to assume a win is coming when at least two of those players are on their game. In all the years I've been around, I'm pretty sure I can count on my hands the number of big mistakes those three players have made - COMBINED - in interleague matches. I think it's a fair assumption BNR's second half will be much better than the first. Especially when you consider Money in the Bank is only two matches behind them right now. Of course the top six make it into the Playoffs so BNR is probably more worried about the teams tied at 2-6.

Speaking of those teams, later in the week those leagues will have their five paragraphs of fame. The reasons for their struggles aren't all necessarily in the open, or on the tables. What needs to change for these leagues to take that number six seed? You'll just have to wait to find out ;)

Stay classy, MLP.

In a month with twelve matches scheduled on Monday nights it's actually the lone match on Wednesday night which takes center stage in week eight. With apologies to Xtreme 8 Ball and Break and Run which will likely be a very entertaining match in its own right, Pool Fiction and Latino Pool Legends have a slightly more interesting matchup. Whether or not it's conscious or unconscious bias, you decide.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Latino Pool Legends (5-2, 30/19) @ Pool Fiction (6-1, 30/19) - Wednesday, 7:00

The last time Pool Fiction played a Pro Players Association match on the same night as a Major League Pool match they won the 5v5 match which put them into the Playoffs. Unfortunately due to the more complex nature of a carry match PFN had to shuffle things around against Straightshots in MLP. Through seven weeks that's the only loss of the season for Pool Fiction. Latino Pool Legends has a pair of 4-3 losses but an equal overall record. LPL took down Break and Run last week following their worst match in a long time, falling to Sexy Poolerz.

Pool Fiction will play Freedom on the same night in the second of two interleague matches between the two leagues. Last time things got tricky for PFN and, thanks also to the strong play of Straightshots, the previously unbeaten team had finally fallen. Pool Fiction followed that up by pounding on an Ultimate Outlaws team rocked by drama as both Jordan and Brandon left over disputes with upper staff. This week Pool Fiction will face a much greater test in two interleagues. And there's some concern Miz will not be available for the match. On a positive note for PFN, they gain former Extreme Cues Co-Captain ___imaj___ and his 5-2 record.

Latino Pool Legends typically doesn't like playing on Monday nights while Break and Run has all but a few matches scheduled for the start of each week. But LPL knocked off BNR last week thanks to the foursome of Ant, MJ, Todd, and Si. Tino continues to struggle as he falls back towards the .500 mark but that just means he's due to snap out of his slump very soon. MJ on the other hand continues his stretch of strong play. He's 4-0 and earned a place in the Big League Tour Tournament of Champions at the end of the season with his runner-up performance Sunday night.

I think Pool Fiction has too much going against them to take on a team as tough as Latino Pool Legends. Mostly everyone on the LPL team is on fire while PFN will have to change things around from what the ideal plan may be based on what happens in the Pro Players Association. Ant in particular will be looking for revenge after failing in both the eighth and ninth games against PFN in the final week of the 5v5 (a DQ kept him alive for game nine.) This has potential to get ugly, but LPL hands PFN a 2nd 4-3 loss in 3 weeks.

True Champs (2-5, 15/34) @ Straightshots (5-2, 29/20) - Monday, 6:00

The week begins with a match which can pretty much be described by looking at the standings so I won't go too far into this. Straightshots has exceeded everyone's expectations in the first half of season 14 and the boost provided by Mike and Matt from Money in the Bank will eventually make itself visible. Matt finally won his first game of the season last week with the match in-hand against Extreme Cues, part of a 5-2 SS win. True Champs is part of a 3-way race which is starting to separate itself from the bottom two teams Ultimate Outlaws and Extreme Cues for the #6 seed. True Champs absolutely needs a win against one of the top contenders but it won't come this week. Pita and company are just too strong from top to bottom. Straightshots wins 5-2.

Sexy Poolerz (2-5, 19/30) @ Money in the Bank (2-5, 21/28) - Monday, 7:00

This match is actually more interesting than the other two bigtime matches on the schedule this week. MIB has the highest win/loss record of the teams tied at 2-5 but Sexy Poolerz is arguably playing the best right now. A 5-0 win for SP in the Global Interleague Trophy over Pool Fiction Sunday afternoon gives SP a nice confidence boost heading into a match which could have huge Playoff implications over the next three months. Money in the Bank will have to yet again deal with drama coming in. lxl_l3anker_lxl was removed from the league over the weekend. He had been MIB's Co-Captain in the International Pool Association and took over in a match earlier that day against Pool Fiction. The new MIB is decent, but Sexy Poolerz has things working pretty well for them and I think they're pissed off following an 0-7 sweep against Xtreme 8 Ball last week. SP wins this match either 4-3 or 5-2.

Xtreme 8 Ball (6-1, 36/13) @ Break and Run (5-2, 29/20) - Monday, 7:00

Xtreme 8 Ball absolutely destroyed Sexy Poolerz last week and took an enormous lead in the overall standings. But now X8B enters a particularly difficult pair of matches. This week, Break and Run. Next week, Pool Fiction. And naturally the season finishes the same way for X8B. These next two weeks are when we'll see how X8B truly stacks up against the top dogs in MLP. Following last week's sweep it's nearly impossible to find any criticisms for Xtreme 8 Ball. Go_Deep__, A_D_A_M__ and kingvaughan picked up wins and those three are the biggest reasons X8B is where it is so far. Oh by the way Ben and James do still exist. It isn't just Corey, Adam, and Ross.

Break and Run lost last week at the hands of Latino Pool Legends. But they still hold a strong win/loss record and with a win could really put a dent in Xtreme 8 Ball's lead in overall wins. Also remember the primary tiebreaker in a two-way tie is head to head. This match could go a long way in determining who holds the #1 seed in June. In the loss to LPL, Jase and Stu still improved their records as did Palp.

With a total of five players in the MLP top ten it's no secret why this is also a matchup to watch this week. Both teams have numerous players who are capable of going off at any time and finishing with a grand run. Luis reminded us all how good he is during yet another dominant Big League Tour performance Sunday night. I like Break and Run in this battle of potential #1 seeds. But ultimately this match will turn on the smallest mistake from either side. BNR to win, 4-3.

Extreme Cues (1-6, 18/31) @ Ultimate Outlaws (1-6, 18/31) - Tuesday, 7:00

This match might get an audience simply by virtue of being the only match on Tuesday night. Both teams have been awful. Both teams have lost key components (UO: Jordan and Brandon. EC: AJ.) Between the two leagues in the past week they have lost players with a combined 10-6 record. Granted Jordan and Brandon didn't make a huge difference in their limited time in Ultimate Outlaws but when you're 18-31 and lose any significant talent the light at the end of the tunnel starts to fade. EC still has talented players but those players need to show up on a regular basis and prove they can carry the load. Having potential just means you don't have anything worthwhile right now. It's simple math: When Croz goes 1-4, and he's your best player, and nobody else is there to pick up the slack... You don't do very well. Both teams got pounded last week and thank god for both of them they play each other. 3-3 draw with a double-DQ I can't bring myself to pick a winner my brain doesn't process basement brawls at 11PM.

Stay Classy MLP.

Players in Monday night's matchup between Break and Run and Latino Pool Legends have lists of awards which stretch longer than some people's resumes. Nine 8brcam championships over the past two years and a finalist in this season's Division A Championship provides the foundation for what could be the best match of the entire season.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Break and Run (5-1, 26/16) @ Latino Pool Legends (4-2, 26/16) - Monday, 7:00

Both leagues have identical overall records with the only match losses between the two being 4-3 results. Latino Pool Legends has the worst of the three losses. Last week a quick early 8 started LPL down a slippery slope which led to a 3-0 deficit to Sexy Poolerz. LPL managed to get it back to 3-2 but xxl_machine_lxx scratched uncharacteristically and hornyscots finished the job in game six. The other loss came to Straightshots in week two. Break and Run also lost in week two but hasn't lost since.

Break and Run is home to three Big League Tour winners. luisj_barreto won two weeks in a row and luckyslam4 won this week's tournament. BNR's interleague competition is limited compared to the rest of the top leagues in Major League Pool. The only other interleague BNR competes in is the Pro Players Association where it holds an 8-1 record and the number one seed in the upcoming playoffs.

Latino Pool Legends also has a BLT Champion this season. xxl_machine_lxx won last week's tournament. After last week's loss to Sexy Poolerz it's a safe bet LPL will play with significant improvement. Simon's loss in game six last week was his first in five matches. Simon is virtually a lock to win at least 75% of his games this season and in important matches it's no secret how reliable mvp_sicc and LegendaryAsshole are. TlNO_NlCA has slipped lately so his performance early on against BNR could also prove to be a key wildcard in the upcoming match.

Overall it's difficult to get a read on LPL. There's almost no doubt they'll be a playoff team at the end of this 18 week odyssey so pointing out some key members may not be at the top of their game isn't necessarily a concern. LPL's players will bring their best performance against teams like Break and Run and Pool Fiction but not against teams they believe are far below their level. So for this week I think it'll be an outstanding match with enough talent to fill out an all-star team between these two teams alone. I think BNR is more consistent and individually playing better right now. So in a match that will hinge on every miscue and most of the shots I'll take BNR to win 4-3.

Money in the Bank (1-5, 17/25) @ True Champs (2-4, 12/30) - Monday, 7:00

It will not take long for aka_pomking to take on the Captain and Head Admin who accused him of telling his team to lose intentionally the night Money in the Bank imploded. True Champs has a pair of wins despite having by far the worst overall games record. Naturally there are plenty of zeros in the wins column for the players. True Champs beat Extreme Cues last week despite yet another disqualification over a recording to pick up its second win of the season. That win came two weeks after being the first and only team to be swept this season. With the addition of Pommy TC has the opportunity to make a lightning quick turnaround.

Money in the Bank has also played slightly better despite not having the results to show for it. vmirosavic@ymail.com picked up a win in a recent Big League Tour and MIB is off to a 2-0 start in Sunday's Global Interleague Trophy competition. The question becomes: can Money in the Bank translate recent weekend success to weekday interleague success? A new-look team will take on its former Captain Pommy and that gives SMOOTHTHUNDER even more reason to grab a win this week. But I think True Champs, with Pommy added, is the better team overall and you'll start to see that win/loss record even out a little. TC wins this one 4-3 or 5-2.

Straightshots (4-2, 24/18) @ Extreme Cues (1-5, 16/26) - Monday, 7:00

A scheduling conflict was resolved last week which set this matchup at the current time. Extreme Cues is coming off a severe low following a loss to True Champs last week. EC has played the top dogs fairly well but against the mid-level teams in MLP it has been a different story. Coming up on the halfway point having just one win is not a good formula for success and some of the big players in Extreme Cues have to understand this. Otherwise they look like Money in the Bank when they had a loaded roster - extreme underachievers.

Straightshots gave Pool Fiction its first loss of the season last week in the sixth game when xsoubanhx downed his former team. This is a match where SS can't bring a second unit and sleep on Extreme Cues. They'll still need Pita and tonzmaniac to do their thing and leafed_leafs could be called on after reaching the final round of Sunday's tournament. A weaker team means an opportunity to tell AssholeDude to take the week off without giving the impression he's being benched. Matt is 0-5 this season when expectations for a player such as him are much greater. In two of those games he didn't get to shoot after the break. But in the three other games it just hasn't worked. Whatever SS does I think it'll be hard for them to lose. Straightshots should be able to win 5-2.

Sexy Poolerz (2-4, 19/23) @ Xtreme 8 Ball (5-1, 29/13) - Tuesday, 6:00

Statistically the best team in Major League Pool, Xtreme 8 Ball also has the number one ranked player. Go_Deep__ is the only 5-0 player this season and will look to continue his streak Tuesday night. Last week X8B took care of business and xll_chokeaholic_llx made his season 14 debut with the clinching win. X8B is also led by 4-1 performances from kingvaughan and A_D_A_M__. Like straightshots, X8B can't afford to take it easy against a team which is better than its record shows.

Sexy Poolerz rocketed ahead to a 3-0 lead over Latino Pool Legends and held off a comeback effort to win 4-3. hornyscots got the clincher in game six. Sexy Poolerz has done this every season except MLP Fives - play every match close and play well enough to hang around in playoff contention. This season they're 2-4 but only four games below .500. Sexy Poolerz is always hit or miss which makes the team impossible to read. So I'll have to take the safe pick and take X8B 4-3.

Ultimate Outlaws (1-5, 17/25) @ Pool Fiction (5-1, 24/18) - Tuesday, 7:00

Last week Ultimate Outlaws took Break and Run to game seven before falling for the fifth time. But the common theme at the bottom of the standings in March is improvement. True Champs has improved with the addition of Pommy. Money in the Bank has played stronger as a whole team lately despite the breakup. Ultimate Outlaws been improving since xlx_skill_xlx became Captain. Jordan and his Magic Pool teammate sir.attitude, from MIB, have added depth to a team which badly needed it. Now UO is competitive and with a signature win this week could really turn things around.

Pool Fiction lost for the first time last week against Straightshots. It was the end of a particularly ugly stretch of matches for PFN. Pool Fiction again plays two matches on the same night but this week it's a World Pool Championship match and not a match with a carry format. Pool Fiction lost three times to Jordan in WPC's Sunday Cam Cup and will face him for the second time this season. PFN has struggled against Jordan whether he has been with Lucky Shots or Magic Pool. I think Pool Fiction has a lot more depth than Ultimate Outlaws in terms of reliable players. But those players will need to take this game a real test rather than just another game. I think UO does keep it close, but PFN wins 4-3.

jmunoz3rd will umpire Tuesday night's match between Ultimate Outlaws and Pool Fiction. Jesse returns to the Major League Pool Admin Team yet again and will give MLP a more diverse Admin team. Before Jesse's return three of MLP's seven admins represented Pool Fiction which made for difficult scheduling and replacement when someone could not umpire a PFN match.

It's a week full of teams trying to prove they've made significant improvements and personal rivalries galore. Looks like a lot of fun.

Stay classy MLP.

The two leagues that have played the longest in Major League Pool will headline an otherwise uneventful week.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Pool Fiction (5-0, 21/14) @ Straightshots (3-2, 20/15) - Monday, 7:00

Both leagues are very familiar with 4-3 decisions and decisive seventh games. Pool Fiction won its first four matches by a 4-3 margin and picked up game seven victories from msc_masta in three of them. Straightshots has a pair of 4-3 losses both decided in the seventh game.

Last week Pool Fiction had its 4-3 victory streak ended with a 5-2 win over True Champs. But in that win Miz took his first loss of the season. Miz got over that fairly quickly and nearly carried PFN single-handedly into the Pro Players Association Playoffs later that week. BLUE_STUNNER was originally scheduled to play last week but was a late scratch. Tim has since withdrawn from both Pool Fiction and Major League Pool. Because Tim already switched from Extreme Cues to PFN after the opening week he cannot rejoin and play for anyone other than PFN.

Straightshots knows what it's like to have people come and go. Recently Nigel left Straightshots to join International Cue Addiction competing in Global Interleague Trophy. Last week SS welcomed in ta.lent and ReallyBigAssNegro from Money in the Bank while losing co-Captain nullified to Extreme Cues. xsoubanhx has stepped in to replace Shannon. For the time being Mike is still an active part of the Straightshots team. He had indicated last week he was even willing to go to any other team except SS because he didn't feel he could stand to stay the rest of the season. Because of the league switch Mike is stuck there and seems to have smoothed out whatever issues existed.

Straightshots and Pool Fiction have traded off results in the World Pool Championship. PFN won a couple weeks ago 4-2 in the main 6v6 division while Straightshots picked up a 3-2 win in the 3v3 best of 5 sub-division. Pool Fiction is the favorite but has lost its last four interleague matches coming in and plays both the final week of the Pro Players Association's regular season and this match at the same time. Straightshots will rely heavily on ReallyBigAssNegro who carried the team in Sunday's win over PFN. With help from Pita and the rest of SS's strong supporting cast this should be a very close affair. I think the losing skid ends just in time for MLP and Pool Fiction improves to 6-0 with another 4-3 win.

Ultimate Outlaws (1-4, 14/21) @ Break and Run (4-1, 22/13) - Monday, 6:00

Break and Run hasn't lost yet in three matches at home this season. This is the first chance BNR gets to see xlx_skill_xlx after he left the team to become the Captain for Ultimate Outlaws. After a thriller last week with Straightshots zl_stu_lz and company figure to have a significantly easier night taking on a team that has only won one match so far.

But you can't necessarily sleep on Ultimate Outlaws. This is the same team that without Jordan took Money in the Bank to the seventh game before the team imploded. Last week the Outlaws picked up their first win by breezing past Sexy Poolerz 5-2. If Jordan and his new acquisition sir.attitude can keep things going UO could very well contend for the sixth seed in this season's Playoffs. But this week it's too tall an order for them. Break and Run should win this one at least 5-2.

Xtreme 8 Ball (4-1, 24/11) @ Money in the Bank (1-4, 15/20) - Tuesday, 7:00

The records say it all. While this might've been a much better match before MIB split up I still thought Xtreme 8 Ball was the better team. After picking up a major victory in the Pro Players Association over Latino Pool Legends X8B will look to rebound after blowing a 3-1 lead to that same LPL squad. Money in the Bank did knock off Pool Fiction 3-2 despite a disqualification in Global Interleague Trophy and has also sent a player to the Big League Tour finals twice in consecutive weeks. But realistically in a match play setting X8B is just better and should win 5-2.

Latino Pool Legends (4-1, 23/12) @ Sexy Poolerz (1-4, 15/20) - Tuesday, 7:00

Neither match in Tuesday night's doubleheader seems to be very exciting. xxl_machine_lxx moved to Latino Pool Legends from Money in the Bank and most recently won Sunday night's Big League Tour. LPL also came back from a 3-1 deficit last week to take down Xtreme 8 Ball to move to 4-1 this season. The team is only getting better and better and as long as the usual suspects keep winning they should have no problem with a Sexy Poolerz team which was no contest for Ultimate Outlaws last week. LPL big, at least 5-2.

Extreme Cues (1-4, 13/22) @ True Champs (1-4, 8/27) - Thursday, 8:00

Despite having equal records it has been pretty clear which team is better. Extreme Cues finally got a win by beating Money in the Bank last week and should provide a fun race for the final Playoff spot with Ultimate Outlaws. Extreme Cues still has mvp_croz and ___imaj___ and company and True Champs might find some comfort in the fact Pommy may return to the league he carried to the MLP Fives Masters Series in the fall. True Champs also has a 4-2 victory in International Pool Association over Pool Fiction to its credit. But I think the nature of MLP, in comparison to IPA, puts a real damper on TC's upset bid against Extreme Cues. Champs keep it close, Extreme Cues wins 4-3 or 5-2.

Pending some cooperation with my schedule the Match of the Week streaming will resume next Thursday when Latino Pool Legends takes on Break and Run.

If you've only been following coverage of Major League Pool through this blog you may not realize Xtreme 8 Ball is undefeated. This week X8B puts that on the line against Latino Pool Legends in the Match of the Week while another pre-season contender garners a lot of attention for completely different reasons.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Xtreme 8 Ball (4-0, 21/7) @ Latino Pool Legends (3-1, 19/9) - Tuesday, 7:00

Xtreme 8 Ball has only been tested once this season. In week three it was Straightshots taking them to the seventh game. But kingvaughan was able to take down xsoubanhx in the decider for one of his two clinching wins already this season. X8B is a quietly dangerous team featuring top notch talent. Three players sit at 3-0 through the first four weeks (A_D_A_M__, kingvaughan, and Go_Deep_) and Xtreme 8 Ball has only lost one game with a chance to clinch. But there is a caveat to X8B's success. Aside from Straightshots the combined record of their opponents is a paltry 1-11 (SS improves that record to 4-12.) X8B is also coming off another shorthanded performance in the Universal Interleague Competition's Preliminary Final to Cue Masters. Perhaps the conclusion of their UIC season will come as a relief to the likes of James and Ben.

Last week Latino Pool Legends won an odd match against Money in the Bank to improve to 3-1. That 5-2 win was aided slightly by a change in captaincy during the match and led to a dismantling of the MIB team. Regardless TINO_NICA sports a 3-0 record for LPL and the combination of I_Am_Almost_God and mvp.sicc are a combined 3-0 in clinching opportunities. Latino Pool Legends is 3-0 in away matches but they have the luxury of playing as the home side Tuesday night. The only time LPL was home previously was the 4-3 loss at the hands of Straightshots. But also factor in with a 19/9 record LPL actually has the second most wins in MLP.

This is the first of two matches between these two leagues this week. After Tuesday night's match they get together again in the 5v5 best of nine Pro Players Association. That interleague is in its eighth week out of nine and X8B is trying to recover from a stunning 5-4 loss to True Champs. The advantage for LPL comes at the top of the talent gauge. LegendaryAsshole and mvp.sicc are two of the best around. Xtreme 8 Ball needs to get back on track. To do that Ross and Adam will need to continue their strong play. I think things are snowballing a bit for X8B, and LPL will add to that in a 4-3 win.

Straightshots (3-1, 17/11) @ Break and Run (3-1, 18/10) - Monday, 6:00

Two leagues with game seven losses accounting for their only loss this season start off the week in grand fashion. BNR's loss came to Pool Fiction in week two when msc_masta beat xlx_skill_xlx. Jordan has since moved to Ultimate Outlaws but BNR continues to light it up. Last week True Champs learned what BNR is capable of following the first 7-0 sweep on Season 14. Only zl_stu_lz has played all four weeks and he has a 2-2 record to show for it. BNR will need him on form and some help not just from the elite players but also players such as runmatic and p_a_l_p_7_5 who has had a strong start.

Straightshots suffered a seventh game loss to kingvaughan and Xtreme 8 Ball two weeks ago. Aside from that Straightshots has an impressive victory over Latino Pool Legends and a team that has only improved since then. Straightshots also welcomes ta.lent and ReallyBigAssNegro who have left the crumbling Money in the Bank team following last week's meltdown. These two add a significant boosts to a team which is already strong and showing off some previously well-kept secrets. john_d_singleton, for example, started off 3-0 including a win over LPL's mvp.sicc. With tonzmaniac at 3-0 and p.ooler always ready to pick up an early win, I think SS makes sure everyone knows they are contenders this season and win it 4-3.

True Champs (1-3, 6/22) @ Pool Fiction (4-0, 16/12) - Monday, 7:00

Pool Fiction fully expected its string of 4-3 victories to end with a much more decisive win last week against the winless Extreme Cues. But that turned into yet another 4-3 win and yet another seventh game victory for msc_masta. Miz is now 4-0 and has clinched all four of PFN's wins. Three of those clinching games have been game seven. This is the start of an important week for many Pool Fiction players. After this match Monday night and a late-season showdown with Break and Run in the Pro Players Association, it's on to the UIC Grand Final on Saturday night against Cue Masters. By the end of next Sunday xl_bankqueen_lx, HawkeyeStriker, and so_wolf_cub4 will have gone through nine scheduled matches.

True Champs hasn't had much to celebrate. While TC did spring a major upset beating Xtreme 8 Ball 5-4 in Pro Players Association action, the league has combined for a 4-9-3 record through the three interleagues it is actively competing in. The only question surrounding TC is whether or not dx.fanatic will be allowed to play. Jack has failed to report twice however there is a rule change being discussed that would extend the time given to report losses from 11:59 PM to 5:00 PM the next day. A decision should be announced during the day Monday. If changed, Jack will have one reporting violation taken off his record and all others who have been warned will have a clean sheet. With or without Jack I think PFN has learned its lesson and won't overlook True Champs. The string of 4-3 wins ends, as Pool Fiction wins 5-2.

Sexy Poolerz (1-3, 13/15) @ Ultimate Outlaws (0-4, 9/19) - Wednesday, 7:00

With Money in the Bank seemingly entering a freefall the race for the sixth and final Playoff spot opens up a bit. Sexy Poolerz has the advantage of having the best record sitting below the array of 4-0 and 3-1 teams. But this is not the typical Sexy Poolerz team that routinely throws ll_ketan_ll and hornyscots at you expecting wins. In fact only the Captain king.2068 and second week addition ll_plan_ll are undefeated through more than one game. mvp.cubs will be available if needed following a seven day suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct. SP will need every advantage they can get.

Ultimate Outlaws have the look of a team waiting to break through. With a legitimate chance at stringing wins together into a Playoff run you can expect to see Captain xlx_skill_xlx take this team to a whole new level. Joining him this week is sir.attitude from Money in the Bank. If you wonder why this team is 0-4 look no further than five regulars combining for an 0-12 record. There is simply no bright spot on this team record-wise. Even Jordan is simply 1-2 thus far. Sexy Poolerz isn't great, but they're not terrible. Ultimate Outlaws is until those players prove they're worth playing the majority of weeks with results. Sexy Poolerz wins either 4-3 or 5-2.

Money in the Bank (1-3, 12/16) @ Extreme Cues (0-4, 9/19) - Thursday, 7:00

At the start of the season it looked like Extreme Cues would be severely overmatched this week. After a few weeks it started to look like they'd have a chance. Now EC is a heavy favorite. mvp_croz and ___imaj___ count as standouts on a team with just nine wins. Last week both players won huge games for EC in a 4-3 loss to Pool Fiction. Much like Sexy Poolerz and Ultimate Outlaws, Extreme Cues has watched a pre-season favorite for one of the six Playoff spots completely fall apart. Now they get the chance to face that team with a golden opportunity to get the monkey off their back.

So what exactly happened with Money in the Bank? During last week's 5-2 loss to Latino Pool Legends the team was rocked by a change in Captain. pommerized stepped down and left Head Admin admln_with_attltud3 in charge with the match already decided. Rich allegedly told Chris to start playing the regulars in MIB rather than the group of players Pommy had brought with him to the league. Last season Rich and Money in the Bank failed to win a single match in the International Pool Association. That streak continues through five weeks of the current season. MIB is currently 4-3 in the Pro Players Association and 1-1 in the World Pool Championship.

Since the change many players have left to go elsewhere. overachieving was the first to leave. Sid chose to play for Pool Fiction to reunite with many of his Xtreme Poolerz teammates from MLP Fives. ta.lent and ReallyBigAssNegro both moved to Straightshots. Gamblin_Man_ returned to undefeated Xtreme 8 Ball while sir.attitude transferred to winless Ultimate Outlaws. The combined record of transfers so far is 5-9 with Matt contributing an 0-4 record to the statistic. xxl_themachine_lxx has not moved anywhere yet nor has former Captain Pommy. The initial indication is Pommy may end up with Pool Fiction for the remainder of the season.

As for the match that is still scheduled to take place, Extreme Cues has a decisive advantage and should look forward to at least a 5-2 win.

Stay classy MLP.

After three consecutive 4-3 decisions resulting in a 1-2 record Money in the Bank finds itself sitting in seventh place. Latino Pool Legends on the other hand have had 6-1 and 5-2 wins, along with a 4-3 loss to Straightshots.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Latino Pool Legends (2-1, 14/7) @ Money in the Bank (1-2, 10/11) - Tuesday, 7:00

When the season started Money in the Bank had the look of a powerful team. Don't let the first few weeks of the season fool you. A lot of teams would be 1-2 after playing reigning Champion Break and Run, newcomers Ultimate Outlaws, and undefeated Pool Fiction. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the season so far for MIB has been the number of shots ta.lent has taken this season. Matt broke against BNR's zl_stu_lz in the first week and got ran. Then last week against Pool Fiction, the exact same thing happened against xlx_ogges_xlx. Matt's now 0-3. But on a far more positive note xxl_themachine_lxx has been unstoppable. A 3-0 record for Simon with a clinch and two saves, most recently the game four victory over Pool Fiction's xlx_bpk_xlx which gave his team a chance to come back. There are a lot of donuts in the win column for MIB's players. In order to win, the top players need to prove they actually can be reliable.

Latino Pool Legends has one loss and it came against a very tough Straightshots team. LPL also saw a Universal Interleague Competition season end in the Semi-Final round after just four players showed up to play. Don't be alarmed. These guys put an added emphasis on performing well in Major League Pool. Ant has stepped down to the role of Co-Captain and promoted LegendaryAsshole to the Captain spot. MJ has plenty of experience as a Captain all over the place. The question is whether or not he's as familiar with this specific group of players as Ant is though. Perhaps it won't matter.

MIB is overdue for a very strong performance. They'll need one Tuesday night. LPL's top dogs have compiled their share of wins so far. I think MIB comes up with the best match they've played so far, and a very good opportunity to jump back into the top six. Something has to give. MIB's lone win was over Ultimate Outlaws in their only home match so far. LPL is 2-0 as the visiting team. Going with the gut instinct, MIB is simply primed to go off this week and win 4-3.

Straightshots (2-1, 12/9) @ Sexy Poolerz (1-2, 11/10) - Monday, 6:00

Straightshots contributed to a long string of 4-3 decisions spanning eight days over the past two weeks. In fact it was SS which started that run back on February 17 by beating LPL 4-3 and then suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Xtreme 8Ball last week. Despite that Straightshots is coming off a dominant Big League Tour performance after both xsoubanhx and youngen_kikinazz reached the Finals Sunday night. It was Jamie's (not to be confused with xlx_bpk_xlx) first action of the season while Pita bounced back from a game seven loss and won the event. Along the way, Pita defeated Sexy Poolerz's mvp.cubs which led to an outburst on the MLP Shoutbox which had to be partially removed. More on that below.

Sexy Poolerz suffered a second 4-3 loss last week at the end of then-cellar dweller True Champs. In fact it was the aforementioned mvp.cubs who lost the seventh game to TC's killah_jason. SP will find out during the day or before the match tonight how long Adam will be in the Penalty Box, and details surrounding Sunday night's Big League Tour controversy can be found further below. As for who is left for Sexy Poolerz they can be sure to play with an edge after a World Pool Championship match with Pool Fiction was cut short due to SP leaving the interleague after a disqualification in game three. Straightshots has looked much sharper than SP so far in MLP but there's still the question of who plays and who sits. Sexy Poolerz has a far more stable lineup and if Ketan and Pete continue to play as they have so far they have a legitimate chance. SP hangs around, but Straightshots should pull away and take a 4-3 or 5-2 victory.

Break and Run (2-1, 11/10) @ True Champs (1-2, 6/15) - Monday, 7:00

True Champs' overall record is still tied with Extreme Cues for the worst in Major League Pool but TC did pick up a win last week over Sexy Poolerz. dx.fanatic and n00b_playa turned in solid wins and killah_jason sealed the deal in the decisive seventh game. Unfortunately this week TC goes against one of the powerhouses of Season 14. No team-specific paragraphs necessary for this one. Break and Run is a handful of steps up from True Champs and while TC does have the ability to steal a couple of wins, I think BNR can take a comfortable 5-2 or 6-1 win here.

Ultimate Outlaws (0-3, 7/14) @ Xtreme 8 Ball (3-0, 16/5) - Wednesday, 6:00

Normally when an undefeated team plays a winless team it's so cut and dry the expected result is fairly close to a sweep. Ultimate Outlaws as a whole is overmatched this week against a solid X8B team. The problem is UO can be a little streaky so while it really shows when they're bad... It's a visible difference when a few players have it going before the match. The Outlaws followed up a near-upset 3-4 decision to Money in the Bank with a 2-5 loss at the hands of Latino Pool Legends. Now the gauntlet run continues for Captain xlx_skill_xlx and the 2-0 xxx_seal_team_warrior_xxx.

Xtreme 8 Ball brought merely two eligible players to a UIC Semi-Final match with Xtreme Poolerz Saturday. At a glance this could raise reliability concerns within the team but it's important to note this match was moved to this particular time. X8B will come prepared and won't play down to UO's level. Look for these guys to keep rolling after outlasting Straightshots 4-3 last week. My guess is X8B does take it a little easier than usual leaving themselves open for an upset bid, but statistically the best team in MLP still takes the match 5-2.

Pool Fiction (3-0, 12/9) @ Extreme Cues (0-3, 6/15) - Thursday, 8:00

This is a trap game for Pool Fiction. After a tough stretch of matches against Sexy Poolerz, Break and Run, and Money in the Bank PFN has to take on an Extreme Cues team which is better than its 6/15 record. It's no secret what Pool Fiction will do. Jamie returned last week but fell in a clinching opportunity to MIB's Simon. msc_masta has clinched all three of PFN's wins including a pair of those wins coming in the seventh game against SP and BNR. One problem Pool Fiction has is a tendancy to play down to an opponent's level, or perceived level. There is a clear talent disparity between the top and bottom of EC's lineup, but that has never stopped teams from springing the upset on PFN in the past.

Extreme Cues so far has been a story of "so close, yet so far." Disqualifications have severely damaged the team to the point where it has cost EC a major upset. Last week ___imaj___ suffered a DQ after Extreme Cues misinterpreted the weekly eligibility rule. Extreme Cues lost 4-3 to luisj_barreto and Break and Run. AJ, UN_NATURAL, and mvp_croz are very formidable foes and very capable of pulling off a major upset Thursday night. One thing that helps PFN is a 6:00 match against a solid Straightshots team in WPC on the same night. I like Pool Fiction with a 5-2 victory but don't be surprised by anything.

There's no need to worry about a possible rematch between Straightshot xsoubanhx and Sexy Pooler mvp.cubs. Adam earned himself time in the penalty box as a result of the public complaints aired out after losing to Pita Sunday night. At issue was the fact Adam had asked Pita to record their tournament game. Soubanh did not respond to the request and played it as a normal game. Adam argued because Pita did not decline the request, he gave an implied agreement.

"The guy never said yes or no to cam," Adam said. "If he didn't want it to be then he woulda said no."

No penalty has been formally announced yet but Major League Pool Admin kingvaughan indicated a punishment of at least one week in the Penalty Box. A typical penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct which warrants the use of the Penalty Box is ten days. A ten day box from the night of the incident would carry into not only this week's match with Straightshots but also the March 10 match against Ultimate Outlaws. Because the match is scheduled within that ten-day frame at the time of the offence Adam would miss it even if the SP-UO match were to be moved to Thursday night.

In a heated conversation following the Big League Tour Adam still contended he was correct. Adam also claimed because instant messages to two Admins went unanswered he was justified in going to the shoutbox and sarcastically encouraging Major League Pool to "keep letting aimers in."

In addition to rule 1 regarding "Sportsmanship, Behavior, and Consequences" there is a notice in MLP's rules addressing appeals. It states: "If you disagree with a decision made you may appeal to the Head Admin. The Head Admin will, if the appeal is deemed valid consult the ENTIRE Admin Team. They will vote on whether or not to change/overturn the decision. REMEMBER the Head Admin's decision is final. Appeals will only be taken if they are presented in a mature manner."

mvp.cubs has played one game this season for Sexy Poolerz. He is 0-1 with a loss in last week's deciding game to killah_jason of True Champs. Adam's punishment is expected to be announced well before Monday night's SS-SP match.

...Stay classy MLP.

Major League Pool has seen nothing but 4-3 results in the past eight days. Pool Fiction extended that streak while continuing its own streak of 4-3 victories to start Season 14.

JohnnyMonsterRodVonHugenstein (Joey) played a tap break in the opener against Pool Fiction's loverboy_aireagle22003 (Mina). Nearly ten minutes into the game, Mina took a chance and bashed everything around while making his red three-ball. That set up a fairly difficult run with a couple of shots naturally not giving him the kind of control he'd like to have with the cueball. But after making the seven in the top right, it was pretty much smooth sailings on the way to Mina's first win of the season, and PFN's 1st of the night.

Money in the Bank Captain sir.pommington called on indiana_elite to try and tie it up. Pool Fiction's response was so_wolf_cub4. Both players have a mixed history with each other dating back to Fall 2009 in both Xtreme Poolerz and Pool Fiction. Cubby would give up ball in hand to Indy concluding a brief safety game. After some lengthy deliberation, Indy decided to run. A shot on the five-ball proved fatal in the run attempt. While the orange solid snuck its way into the top right pocket, the cueball managed to nudge the 8ball upwards near the top rail. When Indy got to his final solid, he took nearly three minutes to try and determine what spin he would need to leave a shot on the eight. All of that time resulted in merely making the six-ball and not leaving any feasible shots. In contrast, Cubby took roughly the same amount of time to clean up the remaining five stripes and the eight to give PFN a 2-0 lead.

Pool Fiction Captain xl_bankqueen_lx called up xlx_ogges_xlx to go against MIB's ta.lent (Matt) in game three. In a scene very similar to the first week of the season, Matt's break potted absolutely nothing and Ogie took advantage. The tough decision came in the middle of the run. After making the red 11 ball top middle, Ogges decided to make the safer shot while he had it available - 15 bottom middle. After making the ten, he finally addressed the nine-ball which had tempted him a moment prior. When it was finished, Matt watched an opponent run off his break for the second time in three matches, and watched Pool Fiction take a 3-0 lead.

The stage was set up perfectly in the fourth game. With the 3-game lead and break in game four, Kerry announced the return of xlx_bpk_xlx (Jamie) to MLP. His first opponent after amassing a 45-6 record in Pool Fiction would be xxl_themachine_lxx (Simon). Jamie wasn't able to finish a run off his very favorable break. Simon was able to match, and one-up Jamie in the safety portion of the game. The key shot was Simon potting the five-ball in the lower left pocket, barely catching the edge of the pocket and getting the roll. From there a set of perfectly played shots led to an emphatic pounding of the 8ball home, and a breath of life for MIB as they were finally on the board, trailing by two games.

Pommy put the match in the hands of OHMYGODTHEREARENONAMESLEFT (Conor) in the fifth game. Kerry asked Extreme Cues transfer ll_pro.shots_ll (Tim) to put the match away. The two played a safety game that actually advanced the game at a decent pace with traffic in the way of key right-hand pockets. Tim was forced to make a side-spin cuebank off the left rail to come back and make contact with his pink seven-ball. The leave was nearly perfect but Conor was just a little bit better. The first Big League Tour Champion of the young season potted the 12-ball top left, and then hit the most impressive shot of the night: He sank Tim's seven-ball as part of a 13-7 combo, and the orange striped kicked off that solid and up into the top right pocket. In comparison the rest of the run was a cakewalk and MIB was back in contention, trailing 3-2.

Pool Fiction had one more game with the break. So it was no surprise when Kerry called msc_masta (Miz) to do what he had done the previous two weeks: Clinch the victory. He'd need to get through ReallyBigAssNegro (Mike) to do it though. Miz chose solids... Sorta. A fluke cuebank rolled the red three-ball in on a nearly impossible angle top middle. From that moment on it was an uphill battle for the PFN closer. Mike hit big shot after big shot in his run attempt, but the biggest of all came literally pixels short. With his final stripe - the purple 12-ball - blocked by Miz's four ball, Mike got creative. He tried to ram the cueball into the 12 with topspin to force the stripe into the upper right pocket. The 12 came to a stop hanging over the pocket. Miz wasn't able to effectively eliminate a pair of solids stuck near each other on the bottom rail however. Instead of taking the risky shot crossing over the bottom middle pocket or a possible carom shot, Miz settled for a safety attempt. Initially he was upset the cueball didn't roll far enough. But Mike instantly told everyone he did not have any sort of line with the cue resting just in front of the bottom middle pocket. Mike's cuebank attempt never threatened with any sign of success and Miz finished with three more shots to give PFN a decisive 4-2 advantage.

l1_stephen_1 picked up a win in his first match of the season for MIB defeating Pool Fiction's Lewissss. The loss marks Lewis's first loss of the season in his third match.

Time of Match: 1h 55m

Save: MIB_xxl_themachine_lxx (2), MIB_OHMYGODTHEREARENONAMESLEFT (1)

Clinch: PFN_msc_masta (3)

Pool Fiction: 3-0 (12/9) Next: @ Extreme Cues (0-3, 6/15)

Money in the Bank: 1-2 (10/11) Next: vs. Latino Pool Legends (1-1, 9/5)

Full match available below on UStream:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4981764

Pool Fiction defeated Cue Keepers in Major League Pool's 11th, and arguably most controversial, World Series in three matches. In Pool League Championship's final two seasons, Pool Fiction and True Pool Legends each won the Grand Final against each other. In week three Pommy takes Money in the Bank back into Bad Times for another showdown with PFN. This time it's the MLP Sportscenter Match of the Week.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Money in the Bank (1-1, 7/7) @ Pool Fiction (2-0, 8/6) - Wednesday, 7:00

So far Pool Fiction has fallen behind 0-2 and 1-2 before erasing those deficits to win 4-3 via two Game Seven victories. In both cases, the losing league had to play Extreme Cues the following week. This may be a bad omen for Pool Fiction because EC is next on their schedule. Money in the Bank has also had two matches decided in the final game. A 3-4 loss to Break and Run in their season opener, and a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Ultimate Outlaws last week. This will be the third time in a seven-day span these two leagues face off. Both have split decisions in the Pro Players Association and International Pool Association.

Pool Fiction has had tremendous contribution from both Miz, Brent, and Lewis. Brent came up with the big momentum-changing shot in the opener against Sexy Poolerz, then followed it up with a win over Stu last week - continuing a stretch of strong play against the former Pool Fiction and 8Ball Runners star. Miz has had an even bigger hand in both victories. It was Miz who ran l3adassplaya from the break in week one, then took advantage of an opportunity given to him by now-former Break and Run stud Jordan. But PFN has also been rocked with controversy. Pita withdrew from the league once again and has not yet resurfaced anywhere. Ogges had withdrawn from the MLP ladder but has since rejoined.

Money in the Bank was nearly stunned last week by Ultimate Outlaws and perhaps had Jordan decided to take over as UO's Captain a week sooner, MIB might be 0-2. But a clutch performance from Simon gave his team a much-needed first win of the season. Now they shift their sights to Pool Fiction looking to prove they are far better than they have looked so far. Pommy will be at a disadvantage as the visiting Captain because he will not necessarily get who he wants matched up with Brent. Miz's placement can be predictable to an extent, but MIB will need to put a major emphasis on the middle of the match and win at least two of the 3-4-5 games.

Looking at the two teams, it's very tough to pick out favorable matchups for either side. Nobody from Money in the Bank is necessarily always going to play with the break and many are solid at both styles of play. This matchup will be won in the middle. Brent's wins have dealt a major blow to the opponents each week. There will likely be new faces showing up for Pool Fiction as well. It's an 18-week season and five games are required for Playoff eligibility down the line. With that in mind, I think MIB has a better chance than if this were a Playoff matchup. I like PFN winning 4-3, but the exact opposite would not surprise me.

Extreme Cues (0-2, 3/11) @ Break and Run (1-1, 7/7) - Monday, 7:00

Both leagues have had problems with players jumping ship. In both cases it's quite understandable. Extreme Cues lost ll_pro.shots_ll (Tim) to Pool Fiction after the opening week. After a blowout loss at the hands of Xtreme 8Ball, EC lost to Sexy Poolerz 5-2 in a match filled with tape issues. One big benefit for Extreme Cues is they have gained a very good player while their opponents have gone in the opposite direction. mvp_croz has joined the EC squad and should give them a heavy boost against a surefire Playoff team.

Break and Run has suffered the effects of being a loaded team. Jordan has moved from Break and Run to become the Captain for Ultimate Outlaws as he did in their brief stint in World Pool Championship. trumpsterized (Mikey) was expected to play for Break and Run and has decided to move to X8B. That still leaves two-time Big League Tour Champion Luis, and the usuals such as Palp, Jase, Stu and others. EC will hang around, but I'll take BNR to bounce back from a tough loss last week and get a win before the seventh game - 5-2.

True Champs (0-2, 2/12) @ Sexy Poolerz (1-1, 8/6) - Monday, 7:00

The record doesn't lie. True Champs is the worst team in Major League Pool this season. They're still capable of giving Sexy Poolerz a good match and causing a scare, but their better players need to pull through and pick up key wins. Guys like n00b_playa and dx.fanatic qualify as "better players" - they're the only two that have won this season.

Sexy Poolerz were very sloppy against Extreme Cues and need to take that as a wake-up call so they don't fall deeper into this false sense of security. This is not necessarily a Playoff team and they do need to take care of business against True Champs. Both Captain king.2068 and arusluv (Aaron) are 2-0 but that isn't exactly a lock to continue. Of course, in this match they could very well end up 3-0. I think True Champs is capable of losing 5-2 against themselves. Sexy Poolerz should be able to produce the same result.

Xtreme 8Ball (2-0, 12/2) @ Straightshots (2-0, 9/5) - Tuesday, 6:00

This could also qualify as Match of the Week. It may be just as exciting as PFN-MIB - or more. X8B has simply taken care of business so far. A pair of 6-1 victories, granted neither against any serious competition. This match will also come as the team prepares for a Playoff showdown in the Universal Interleague Competition with Xtreme Poolerz. This will also be X8B's first match without having the advantage of being the Home side. In many ways this is Xtreme 8Ball's first real test of Season 14. Ben, James, etc., you can bet they'll all be there for this one.

Straightshots knocked off Latino Pool Legends last week - a result only three people not in Straightshots predicted in the MLP Pick 'Em Contest. When you look at this SS team you see a team that could very well be in the top five in terms of talent. You have Pascal, tonzmaniac, and a surprising 2-0 start from john_d_singleton. And it has taken some very skilled players to get rid of singleton in the Big League Tour events thus far. Notice also John took down LPL's Ant last week. With that in mind, I should disclose the only reason this isn't MOTW - I simply won't be around to cover it, which is unfortunate because this has a 4-3 result written all over it. I like X8B here though. I don't think either team is going to bring their cupcakes to this one and Xtreme 8Ball is one of the most consistent leagues in inters.

Latino Pool Legends (1-1, 9/5) @ Ultimate Outlaws (0-2, 5/9) - Thursday, 7:00

Both leagues were part of rather surprising 4-3 results in week two. Ultimate Outlaws took a 3-2 lead over Money in the Bank before dropping the last two games. The biggest problem UO has was their downfall in that match: just not enough reliable weapons. Sabre Girl is perhaps better than many want to give her credit for, but that's a tough matchup against xxl_themachine_lxx (Simon). One big benefit for UO is their new Captain, Jordan. Jordy has been the Ultimate Outlaws Captain before, and after a brief stint with Break and Run, he returns to an 0-2 team charged with the task of turning their fortunes around.

Latino Pool Legends will have to rebound from a stunner at the hands of Straightshots. In fairness, SS is better than perhaps anyone anticipated. So Ant and company take on an Ultimate Outlaws team with a very deadly Player-Captain and some hidden gems of their own. With that in mind, I simply can't imagine a team with Daru, Ant, MJ and others losing to Ultimate Outlaws with or without Jordan. Not with the knowledge that it's an uphill climb to the Playoffs if you don't beat the teams you're supposed to. 5-2 LPL.

A few notes from around Major League Pool:

pro.ashley will remain on the Banned List following a vote among Admins Sunday night. It took 55 seconds for at least four of MLP's seven Admins to send in a vote against unbanning Ashley. Ash initially found his way to the Banned list following repeated controversies and behavioral problems while playing for Dream Pool. Most recently he has been caught playing on another screen name multiple times in at least one other interleague. No official tally is available but one will likely be provided by the end of the day Monday.

luisj_barreto of Break and Run has made it two Big League Tour victories in a row and 18 all-time. However, since he had already won last week, runner-up mr_shaggyman of Sexy Poolerz will join Luis and OHMYGODTHEREARENONAMESLEFT (Conor) of Money in the Bank in the $200 Tournament of Champions at the end of the season.

And MLP Sportscenter will return to being a solo operation. goodoldmrcheeseman (Jason) will no longer continue writing for this blog. Criticism had been directed at the decision to add another writer to the site and more aimed specifically at the added content. With all things taken into consideration, I felt it was in everyone's best interests to just keep MLP SC a one man band. I thank Jason for his efforts, and wish him well in the other blogs and interleagues he runs.

Stay classy MLP.

Pool Fiction Faces Off against Last Season's Champs Break and Run

Josh will kick us off for BNR and will come up against Pro.Jeremy for PFN just as Luis comes into the room and must surely be down to play for BNR tonight!

Jeremy goes for the bang break but sunk nothing, leaving the solids runnable. He got the 8 out of the tight spot and went for a weird shot that missed leaving a dodgy run for Jeremy, took the safety option and this must set him up for the victory now. All Jeremy has to do to run this properly is combo the blue to the pink then its plain sailing for someone of him ability. He put too much power on the shot and safetied so he can have another go and this looks easier now! Green, Purple, Blue, Orange and Red all down. He shoots the 8 in and shoots PFN to a perfect 1-0 start.

BNR have the Break for Match 2, and with Lulu and Stu at the Table one of them would be ideal to make it 1-1. Dina however calls Tanmay (x_therage) to play against Cubby who is reminded to record, that would be a comical DQ but he wont provide that for me.

Tan went for a Bang Break and potted nothing leavign a semi open table. Cubby takes on stripes and is obviously going for the run, Purple top right and Green bottom right takes him to the pink to same pocket, but its made him out of position. He he POTS the yellow stripe intot he top middle of his red stripe. The blue is suck into the bottom right leaving him badlt positioned for the red. He knocks his red into Tans yellow and basically says have a go if you want.he sinks two easy balls and bangs the yellow and purple apart and leaves a easy run, but he plays a poor shot on the yellow stripe and he is left out of position, and there is no obvious safety but he gets the blue into the top left and i thought it wouldnt go! The Green and Purple goes and Tanmay makes it 1-1!

This is match 3 where I would bet Dina calls Stu. Break and Run always take a age to call there players. Still after 5 minutes or maybe longer Dina hasn't called a player. She calls Palp eventually and he will come face to face with Scotty, who is a legend!

Scotty to break, and again a bang break with none dropping! 3 in a row now! palp doesnt have much tho, so for the first time in this match there ain't much to go on here. He gets the Orange Stripe in the bottom middle, but leaves pretty much nothing else. so the snook game begins. Scotty however sctaches and leaves Palp with a chance to clear and he didnt put enough power on the red into the bottom right so decides to safty but misses the blue and gives Scotty BIH! This is a clearable table now! He expertly breaks the balls up that he has to, being the Pink and the Blue stripes, but then makes a mess of one of the easier shots and didnt put enough power on it. Palp now has BIH and is 4 reletively easy shots for him. He makes them and sends BNR into a 2-1 lead, game on as Jase got here during this game too.

So 2-1 to BNR and I expect Dina to call quickly this time, there are more than enough there to play. Stu is called to play WITH the Break, I bet he is pleased about that. Are we going to have someone actually pot on the break? Pool Fiction Call on Breant to try and get a shot in!

So before these two face off we are having a table change so Sophie can become the host.
Stu bang breaks and sinks TWO stripes. He banks the purple solid and that should be game over. He just has to free the green that is being covered by the 8. But he scratches on the pink into the bottom left and Brent has a chance to take down BNR's best runner alongside Luis. He goes Red into top middle, the 8 does go too. Yellow down safely into top right and pink goes bottom Right. Two simple pots and the 8 for a big PFN win here! As Miz and Jordy come to the table. Down they go and Brent takes a BIG scalp in MLP and beats Stu just like he did in 8brcam! 2-2! He didnt give stu another chance!

Dina calls Jase against the break and PFN plays Lewis. This is a huge match up the winner of this should go on to win the match.

The bang Break goes and none are sunk. Jase taps and hits nothing which gives Lewis BIH and he sinks the stripeswhich are runnable, Orange went bottom left then he missed the yellow stripe and give Jase a chance, he went for the safety but missed. Lewis given another clearing chance but safties. Lewis is offered half a chance to run and gets to the 8 but is left with a awful bank shot. But he MAKES IT! 3-2 to PFN and just ONE game away!

3-2 and break its got to be either Jordy or Luis for BNR. And ofcourse its Luis to try what Stu could not do. Kerry calls Pita who will hope he gets a shot first!


Luis breaks and JUST makes the Orange into the bottom middle, but leaves nothing really on. He safties, and Luis combos the purple solid onto the green solid and MAKES IT! leaving a straight forward run chance for Luis. One by One they are sunk and Luis brings a Game SEVEN Decider with a PFN Break!

Break and Run call Jordy to take on game 7 and to try and clinch it for BNR, to play Miz for PFN. Miz gets the break and lets see if he can sink a ball.

Miz did not pot any and its a half chance for Jordy to run, but is very difficult. But he goes sensible and safties. Miz plays a loose safety and Jordy is able to sink the pink Solid and set up a run for himself, The yellow into the bottom left is sunk nextand th red goes up for a easy combo when he wants it and that is now, the purple is sunkand he can combo the orange onto the red for another pot, he gets it and gets lucky with the 8's positioning, The orange is dodgy but I think it might just pass. He sinks the Green top left and takes on this dodgy orange, which on second look doesnt go at all, and jordy is stuck now as Miz would have a open table. The Blue could go but Yahoo has a lot to say in that. hes going for it, this is a big shot and will either win or lose the match for BNR, Jordy went for the bottom middle on the Blue solid and it was actually a very nice try but it leaves Miz with a chance to clinch it for PFN and he don't miss these usually.. Thats the yellow into the top left,green into bottom right and he splits the Orange, Red and Pink up to make it easier, plain sailing after that and PFN storm to a 4-3 victory and take down the Reigning Champs in the process.

Score: 4-3 PFN

Main Man: PFN - Brent
Main Man: BNR - Luis

Next Fixture for PFN: MIB on Wednesay
Next Fixture for BNR: EC on Monday