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Monday, February 22, 2010

Pommy, Pool Fiction Renew Rivalry In Week 3

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 Ogges had withdrawn from the MLP ladder but has since rejoined.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.