Sunday, April 18, 2010
Latino Pool Legends Seeks Revenge
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.
