Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Opinion : Game 1 Importance
Game 1; many may argue that is the center piece of irrelevance with regards to many matches. Others, call it the pinnacle of the match in which momentum is either gained or lost. Amidst all of the dust, smoke and barriers, the truth that many fail to uncover is that Game 1, barring game 7, is the most important. I say that with absolute confidence. As a captain, home or away, nothing makes me happier at the beginning of a match then getting that first win out of the way. It takes the pressure off of the next couple of players, as they won't have to worry about putting the team into a hole, which allows them to play their game. Besides this, it also provides the obvious: a surge of momentum. How does winning game 1 effect a captains strategy? How does losing game 1 effect a captains strategy? And possibly the most important: What kind of players should play game 1? All of these questions will be discussed in the first of (hopefully), a series of discussion posts, which will be put up every couple of weeks. I can hear all of those "good players" out there snickering, already.
Note: Many factors contribute to matches such as stength of opponent, home/visitor, who has break, etc.; for the purpose of this article, I will be looking at all of the following in basic context, ignoring most/all of these variables.
Alright, your team has just lost game 1, as a captain, where do you go from here? Basic math tells me that we now need to win 4/6 of the remaining games, or 67%. Not gunna lie - that kinda sucks. So what kind of player should I play now? Someone that shoots like Cubby? Fuck no. He's playing game 8. The most important thing to note here is that no one wants to fall into an 0-2 hole and be forced into winning 4/5 (80%) games down the stretch no matter who they have on their roster. Depending on your depth, you're more-than-likely going to have to move someone you wanted to play in game 4 or 5 up into this slot. Game 2 has now become an almost must-win situation, and all of this because of the loss in game 1. Lose game 2 as well (*cough* like those hacks over in TPL *cough*), and you're going to need one hell of a comeback to pull out this match. Personally, game 2 is where I like to stick my weaker players (no offense if any of you reading this play #2 for TPL at any point for the duration of the season), after a game 1 victory. Since I've now had to move a player up into the #2 spot, my weaker player is now going to have to play at a more crucial stage in the match.
Okay, now you've won game 1; what next? Winning game 1 is always the plan, so a captain shouldn't need to adjust their initial strategy. Basic math says you now only have to win 3/6 games (50%) to win the match. You gain an entire 17% just by winning the first game in comparison to losing it! As I mentioned previous, I now have the option of playing my weakest player without risking falling behind in the match. Everyone else stays exactly where I was hoping to play them later on, and who knows, maybe player #2 can give us a commanding 2-0 lead. That's just my thinking though, some captains prefer taking the torch and running with it after they get that first win, hoping to knock their opponent out early. As you can see, it is much easier to captain after getting that game 1 win under your belt, in comparsion to losing and having to switch gears.
Finally, what kind of players are suited for playing in the #1 spot? Personally, my ideal #1 player would be someone who is great at adjusting to whatever style of play is required from him/her. In game 1, you don't know who has break, so playing a pure runner with a weak snooker game is out of the question - unless, of course, that's the only type of player you have in your arsenal lol. I'd also suggest playing someone who is confident w/ their game. When a person believes that they're going to beat whoever is thrown at them, it goes a long way in determining how well they play. Of course, many of these people don't take too kindly to losing. If you have a player like this on your squad, and they're not already your game 7 player, perhaps you should step back and think about where this player is going to be most useful in your lineup.
Now, before you "godly players" snicker about how you're "too good" to play that early, take a step back and think about how much winning that first game can do for your team. Why not give your team some momentum? Why not give them better odds at winning the match? Why not give your captain a chance to stick to their gameplan? If you ask yourself all of these questions and still find a selfish response, perhaps you're one of those players a team would be better off doing without. Until next time, MLP!
Take advantage of the comment feature at the bottom. Seeing as how this is an opinion post, I'd love to hear what everyone elses views are on this topic!
Note: Many factors contribute to matches such as stength of opponent, home/visitor, who has break, etc.; for the purpose of this article, I will be looking at all of the following in basic context, ignoring most/all of these variables.
Alright, your team has just lost game 1, as a captain, where do you go from here? Basic math tells me that we now need to win 4/6 of the remaining games, or 67%. Not gunna lie - that kinda sucks. So what kind of player should I play now? Someone that shoots like Cubby? Fuck no. He's playing game 8. The most important thing to note here is that no one wants to fall into an 0-2 hole and be forced into winning 4/5 (80%) games down the stretch no matter who they have on their roster. Depending on your depth, you're more-than-likely going to have to move someone you wanted to play in game 4 or 5 up into this slot. Game 2 has now become an almost must-win situation, and all of this because of the loss in game 1. Lose game 2 as well (*cough* like those hacks over in TPL *cough*), and you're going to need one hell of a comeback to pull out this match. Personally, game 2 is where I like to stick my weaker players (no offense if any of you reading this play #2 for TPL at any point for the duration of the season), after a game 1 victory. Since I've now had to move a player up into the #2 spot, my weaker player is now going to have to play at a more crucial stage in the match.
Okay, now you've won game 1; what next? Winning game 1 is always the plan, so a captain shouldn't need to adjust their initial strategy. Basic math says you now only have to win 3/6 games (50%) to win the match. You gain an entire 17% just by winning the first game in comparison to losing it! As I mentioned previous, I now have the option of playing my weakest player without risking falling behind in the match. Everyone else stays exactly where I was hoping to play them later on, and who knows, maybe player #2 can give us a commanding 2-0 lead. That's just my thinking though, some captains prefer taking the torch and running with it after they get that first win, hoping to knock their opponent out early. As you can see, it is much easier to captain after getting that game 1 win under your belt, in comparsion to losing and having to switch gears.
Finally, what kind of players are suited for playing in the #1 spot? Personally, my ideal #1 player would be someone who is great at adjusting to whatever style of play is required from him/her. In game 1, you don't know who has break, so playing a pure runner with a weak snooker game is out of the question - unless, of course, that's the only type of player you have in your arsenal lol. I'd also suggest playing someone who is confident w/ their game. When a person believes that they're going to beat whoever is thrown at them, it goes a long way in determining how well they play. Of course, many of these people don't take too kindly to losing. If you have a player like this on your squad, and they're not already your game 7 player, perhaps you should step back and think about where this player is going to be most useful in your lineup.
Now, before you "godly players" snicker about how you're "too good" to play that early, take a step back and think about how much winning that first game can do for your team. Why not give your team some momentum? Why not give them better odds at winning the match? Why not give your captain a chance to stick to their gameplan? If you ask yourself all of these questions and still find a selfish response, perhaps you're one of those players a team would be better off doing without. Until next time, MLP!
Take advantage of the comment feature at the bottom. Seeing as how this is an opinion post, I'd love to hear what everyone elses views are on this topic!
LS Comes Out of Slump, 8bs Doesn't.
Wednesday night.
Ryan's Prediction: 4-3 EC
Pickems: 11 EC 9 LS
Pickems match Ryan's prediction to a T. 7 PM MLP Takes us to a National League match in SL7 for a team looking to keep their undefeated season, and a team looking to put themselves on the scoreboard and not in a deeper hole. Let's go to the action:
Match 1: ls_im_just_jeremy vs ec_PERRY589
Gametime: PERRY and jeremy both take turns shooting a ball a piece, when things turn and Jeremy tries to finish out the game. Jeremy gets unlucky on a leave on the last solid and safetys to give PERRY the stick. With a lot of room to maneuver PERRY makes a safety across table to take command of this game and leaves Jeremy with little to work with. Jeremy can't come up with a return safety and PERRY leaps into action, going around the table and with confidence takes EC to an early lead.
Match 2: 1-0 EC ls_snow.queen333 vs ec_xlx_english_professor_xlx
Gametime: English Professor takes snow.queen to school early by trying to put together a run. 4 Balls in, and snooks. Back to snow. Nope, Back to English.. English makes a bank into top middle but no leave for last ball. Tap to snow. We go ahead in time to a cue bank 8 ball shot by english that just missed. Snow tries to finish it off but falls short on power, missing her ball. English with BIH takes down the 8. 2-0 EC.
Match 3: 2-0 EC ls_the.bawbag vs ec_xlx_n0.0ne_xlx
Gametime: Easy break, n0.0ne sinks 4 balls, and chooses the snooker option to get out of trouble. A few shots made by each player then it turned into a snooker battle. N0_0ne trying to snooker while opening the table up, and bawbag playing defense. N0.0ne would eventually slip up and bawbag finishes the run with a few important shots to give LS the much needed start to their night.
Match 4: 2-1 EC ls_xcanuckleheadx vs ec_x_silent_assassin_x
Gametime: Canuckle goes for the run, and has a hard combo shot to make. Canuckle makes the combo but gets unlucky with the leave. Snookers. Silent runs 6 balls in a row before hitting a roadblock at the 7th. Can't come up with the shot, and canuckle out-snookers silent to win the game.
Match 5: 2-2 ls_luckyshots_tony vs ec_snooky.technician
Gametime: Snooky break, with more taps than a tapdancing competition. Original, right? Tap tap, both players wind up making their own mistakes, snooky makes his last mistake, and Tony capitalizing with 2 balls left and BIH. Tony wins to take LS into Game 6 3-2
Match 6: 3-2 LS ls_aa_for_life vs ec_ll3oto
Gametime: Boto vs AA. AA looking for the clinch, boto looking for the save. Another long snooker battle. No offense in this game, all defense. Boto winds up losing it after a 4 to 1 ball disadvantage at the end followed by a good breakup by aa. AA finishes it off and 4-2 LS clinches the much needed win.
Match 7: 4-2 LS ls_simon.kitto vs ec_marcoo_ec
Gametime: marcoo's first appearance in MLP, goes for the much unneeded tap break. Simon says enough is enough and goes for the run , but stopping short at no leave for his last stripe. Marcoo chokes up on one of his balls, leaving a shot for Simon. Simon takes the win and LS defeats EC in a much needed victory for LS and cripppling EC's hopes of stardom.
LS is now on the board at 1-2, and we are down to only 1 undefeated team in each conference. UP and PFN. both with identical win/loss records.
In other events, 8 pm saw itself in a battle between 8bs and DC. Last week 8bs didn't have a full set of 7, and this week, brought a full team, eventhough 2 got dq'ed for not having enough tourney games for the week. DC clinched in game 6, with game 7 ending in an early 8 (wasn't so early in the game, but it was before 8 ball shot!). DC joins TPL and PL at 2-1 in the AL while 8bs joins PZ at the bottom of the barrel, sinking lower to 0-3. Both 8bs and PZ see grim opponents in week 4.
Ryan's Prediction: 4-3 EC
Pickems: 11 EC 9 LS
Pickems match Ryan's prediction to a T. 7 PM MLP Takes us to a National League match in SL7 for a team looking to keep their undefeated season, and a team looking to put themselves on the scoreboard and not in a deeper hole. Let's go to the action:
Match 1: ls_im_just_jeremy vs ec_PERRY589
Gametime: PERRY and jeremy both take turns shooting a ball a piece, when things turn and Jeremy tries to finish out the game. Jeremy gets unlucky on a leave on the last solid and safetys to give PERRY the stick. With a lot of room to maneuver PERRY makes a safety across table to take command of this game and leaves Jeremy with little to work with. Jeremy can't come up with a return safety and PERRY leaps into action, going around the table and with confidence takes EC to an early lead.
Match 2: 1-0 EC ls_snow.queen333 vs ec_xlx_english_professor_xlx
Gametime: English Professor takes snow.queen to school early by trying to put together a run. 4 Balls in, and snooks. Back to snow. Nope, Back to English.. English makes a bank into top middle but no leave for last ball. Tap to snow. We go ahead in time to a cue bank 8 ball shot by english that just missed. Snow tries to finish it off but falls short on power, missing her ball. English with BIH takes down the 8. 2-0 EC.
Match 3: 2-0 EC ls_the.bawbag vs ec_xlx_n0.0ne_xlx
Gametime: Easy break, n0.0ne sinks 4 balls, and chooses the snooker option to get out of trouble. A few shots made by each player then it turned into a snooker battle. N0_0ne trying to snooker while opening the table up, and bawbag playing defense. N0.0ne would eventually slip up and bawbag finishes the run with a few important shots to give LS the much needed start to their night.
Match 4: 2-1 EC ls_xcanuckleheadx vs ec_x_silent_assassin_x
Gametime: Canuckle goes for the run, and has a hard combo shot to make. Canuckle makes the combo but gets unlucky with the leave. Snookers. Silent runs 6 balls in a row before hitting a roadblock at the 7th. Can't come up with the shot, and canuckle out-snookers silent to win the game.
Match 5: 2-2 ls_luckyshots_tony vs ec_snooky.technician
Gametime: Snooky break, with more taps than a tapdancing competition. Original, right? Tap tap, both players wind up making their own mistakes, snooky makes his last mistake, and Tony capitalizing with 2 balls left and BIH. Tony wins to take LS into Game 6 3-2
Match 6: 3-2 LS ls_aa_for_life vs ec_ll3oto
Gametime: Boto vs AA. AA looking for the clinch, boto looking for the save. Another long snooker battle. No offense in this game, all defense. Boto winds up losing it after a 4 to 1 ball disadvantage at the end followed by a good breakup by aa. AA finishes it off and 4-2 LS clinches the much needed win.
Match 7: 4-2 LS ls_simon.kitto vs ec_marcoo_ec
Gametime: marcoo's first appearance in MLP, goes for the much unneeded tap break. Simon says enough is enough and goes for the run , but stopping short at no leave for his last stripe. Marcoo chokes up on one of his balls, leaving a shot for Simon. Simon takes the win and LS defeats EC in a much needed victory for LS and cripppling EC's hopes of stardom.
LS is now on the board at 1-2, and we are down to only 1 undefeated team in each conference. UP and PFN. both with identical win/loss records.
In other events, 8 pm saw itself in a battle between 8bs and DC. Last week 8bs didn't have a full set of 7, and this week, brought a full team, eventhough 2 got dq'ed for not having enough tourney games for the week. DC clinched in game 6, with game 7 ending in an early 8 (wasn't so early in the game, but it was before 8 ball shot!). DC joins TPL and PL at 2-1 in the AL while 8bs joins PZ at the bottom of the barrel, sinking lower to 0-3. Both 8bs and PZ see grim opponents in week 4.
