Thursday, March 05, 2009
Thriller Double-header On Tap Tonight
In the first match tonight, Magic Pool looks to win 2 matches in 2 days after humiliating their opponents last night. Their foes tonight, Sexy Poolerz, also won their match but only 4-3 against a now 0-4 Pool Dragonz team.
Magic Pool was not at full strength last night. Jordan did not play, and just 3 games in, MP was relying on Tom, Jane, and Everton - all known more for their attitudes than their play (like the author of this, huh?) They will need the big guys like Jordan, and jcm to be there tonight, in addition to the usuals like Ian.
Sexy Poolerz did appear to be at full strength in their win Tuesday night. Jose, Stud, Ste, Pascal, the only player missing seemed to be Ketan. Tonight, they too will need to bring their best. Magic Pool is far better than SP's previous opponents (and MP will prove that next week too.) If Jose (DumbPro) does play tonight, he will be required to record his game, and future games. A recent Admin decision to ban MP's David Daniel also took into account Jose providing instructions for the banned XAimer user.
Magic Pool is having an outstanding season - you wouldn't know by looking at their stats but take into account the names on those stat pages. The level of competition MP has had to go up against, except last night, is very high. They've gotten away with saving Danny for the save and clinch opportunities, but let's also keep in mind he's only actually converted one - the save back in week 2 against Pool Legends. He needs to play earlier in the match, and for that to happen, Jordan needs to be there to provide added depth for the team.
Sexy Poolerz are a very aggressive team. Not reckless like their previous opponents, but definitely aggressive. That allows them to knock off the best by taking the fight to them, but it also leaves them susceptible to upsets and makes it tough to gauge how good they really are. Much like MP, you see a lot of 1-1 records coming into this week. Someone needs to stand up and take this team over - maybe Ketan already has. Their Captain, Pete, has gone up against arguably the best player of each league SP has faced - Pool Fiction's Stu, and Scott from PL. He is 1-2 though after losing earlier this week. Will be interesting to see if any adjustments are made. SP is the home team - Will Pete continue this trend and save himself for Jordan?
Ultimately this match will go to whoever is closest to full strength - I can't imagine MP's big guys missing two in a row. If Jordan and jcm show up, along with the regulars, MP wins 4-3.
In the other match tonight, an 8:00 start time gives us the Match of the Week. Undefeated NL powers Xtreme 8Ball and Pool Legends will duke it out in Afraid to Lose. With the bot issue at the end of last night's joke of a match, the table will go private immediately so anyone who wants to watch should start kissing up to the two Captains.
Xtreme 8Ball hasn't really beat anybody yet - much like Break And Run. Their Cross-Conference opponent is High Timez, they beat Pool Loverz and Pool Dragonz. Tonight is their first match against a good team. Still, you have to beat the bad teams and their 16/5 record is good for the best in MLP.
Pool Legends, far more tested - wins over the two leagues preceding them tonight (SP & MP) and a win over Pool Fiction, making them 0-3 at the time. They've won exactly 2/3 of their games, and will look to win at least 4 more tonight.
For X8B, it's tough to look at the stats and get a feel for who will be the key tonight. They have some players with outstanding records, like stephen at 3-0. But look at the specific opponents - when you play bad teams, your players don't really get tested against the best players. dan.buddy and obv.skill have played the toughest schedule of X8B's team - Dan lost a clinch attempt and was removed from the match in week 1 against the best player he's faced this season, then clinched the next two against subpar opposition. Dan is the top dog for this team - and X8B will likely continue to hold him for those late-match situations. It may be out of necessity.
Pool Legends will need to come out aggressive. Their opponents will likely bring out stephen early where he has flourished. Slower matches still favor PL, as always. g.rinch31 and wyte.folks (Matt and Scott respectively) are the two top guns in PL, and their 3-0 records are certainly valid because they've played tough opponents. They both have a clinch and a save to their credit. PL's Captain sexxxy_luckydog17 is also 2-0 and coming off an impressive 7th game win over Pool Fiction's xlx_bpk_xlx. Look for PL to save someone like Matt or Scott for Stephen, and possibly sacrifice a lesser player if Kimbo is called to play. Unless you have the break, it doesn't make any sense to play your best in a regular season match against someone caught with an aimer previously.
Pool Legends have better players overall, they've actually played leagues capable of winning in the first 3 weeks, they will win this match 5-2.
LS has a match scheduled tonight in the American League - as promised last night however, no coverage of the other league in that match will be provided. They wasted everyone's time last night, and I will only acknowledge they exist if/when they decide to stop being a waste of time. The key for LS to win that match, simply bring 7 and don't go down 4-1.
