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In the opening round of the Playoffs, only one team, the best team record-wise, actually won in its home room. A failure to show up for the most important match of the season cost two of them, while one low seed survived a lack of a full team.

In Monday night's only match, a Straightshots team which went 7-0 in away matches had to play at home where it was 3-4. Break And Run was the opponent in the 1-4 matchup, and BNR also flourished on the road - a similar 3-4 record at home to go with a 6-1 away record. Both teams had won in their opponent's room, including Straightshots winning in week 14 to clinch the #1 seed.

In the opening game, both captains decided to get the weakest players out of the way early. pi.l2ate and mmm.dinamite played for BNR and SS respectively. A win for Romper would mean a .500 record this season. A win for Chelle meant her first win of the season (came in 0-4.) In a game which lasted around a half hour, and both players showed extreme ineptitude in the field of ball control, dinamite took advantage of one last choke and at least pretended to know how to run 3 balls, and steal the win.

In the second game, much better players. xsicc.mikex for Straightshots who went 5-1, and 6-5 xlx_rivaldo_xlx for BNR. The game moved much faster, and mike came up big for SS when they needed him most giving the team a 2-0 lead. It looked like 'shots were cruising especially with Charlie coming up in game 3.

But Charlie was ineligible. And x_therage got the DQ win. Just another problem for Straightshots in a home match. By rule, a player must have five tourney games within the past week. Charlie only had 4, ineligible despite playing in the room that night for his Captain to see. An offline message left by Nicki during the match suggests she did not understand, 16 weeks into the season, Daily Results is used to check such eligibility. Regardless, it's SS at home, and the lead is now just 2-1.

BNR would go on to tie the match up at 2, or would it be even worse? sicc.mike's tape was curiously not making its way through to any admins or teammates. With BNR's patsfan about to tie the match against former SS captain doo da, everyone received confirmation that mike had failed to send his 2 MB tape within the 60-minute timeframe. Rivaldo was then prompted to send his in, and was subsequently cleared. Bryan won that 6th game, and gave BNR a 4-2 victory, sending them to the American League Championship Match for the first time ever.

Straightshots face its most humiliating loss since the 1-6 loss to Magic Pool, also at home, when SS gathered 5 eligible players to face MP. SS interleague cheerleader Nigel reacted similarly to both losses, lashing out at MLP and its Admins (namely, yours truly.) A previous comment on the MLP Shoutbox by Nigel, praising SS's record and taunting me, referring to my remark calling Straightshots disorganized and a waste of time this season, merely proves to be egg on the face.

BNR will be without ll_eskimo_ownage_ll for the remainder of the Playoffs due to his actions at the match. Repeatedly stirring things up with SS's doo da, and continuing on in the lobby with MLP Admins (including Ross... Curious because BNR, y'know, won.) No word yet on why someone who was not considered good enough by Josh to play in a match where the majority of players looked like trash, was talking so much of it.

So who would BNR face? The winner of the 2-3 matchup, Tourney Pool & True Pool Legends. Everyone expected these 2 to meet NEXT week in the American League Championship Match, but they both collapsed in the second half of the season.

TPL has been essentially waiting for the league to die and Captain aka_pomking even admitted he'd have liked to lose that match last night. But with a 4-1 win in which TPL only had 5 players to start (wv420man showed up late), and a win by Pommy over luisj_barreto to finish the deal, Pommy says now that they've got a decent chance a winning, they'd might as well put the effort in.

Tourney Pool bows out at the #2 seed, despite winning 60 games - more than anyone else in the American League. Perhaps a relief to get this season over with and prepare for the next, and a chance at revamping the team.

TPL moves on and will host Break And Run in a 3-4 matchup. After a sub-.500 second half of the season, both teams certainly seem evenly matched especially with TPL's lack of a full team. Do not be surprised if BNR makes its first-ever World Series appearance.

In the National League, the #1 seed and Regular Season Champion Pool Legends is still alive. PL took advantage of Sexy Poolerz Captain BostonBruins1's ironically horrible play in Game 5. g.rinch31 had tried to run Pete, but failed to make a long shot on the 8ball. From there, with a fairly open table, Pete proceeded to make 0 shot attempts and just safety. The strategy comes as a surprise from someone who has said he hates long games when the players are afraid to take a shot. Finally, g.rinch was able to make an easy bank on the 8, off the top rail to bottom left, and give PL a 3-2 lead. lilsparky67 was called on in game 6, and he did what he usually does - take an opening and run with it to clinch the win for PL.

Pool Legends move on to host the winner of the Poolfiction vs. Xtreme 8Ball match. PL had split against both of them, including a 6-1 win over X8B, a 6-1 loss to PFN, and a come-from-behind 4-3 win over PFN.

Sexy Poolerz's superb.shot immediately began questioning Pete, wondering why he didn't simply try running the table. It's just another page in the long story of Pete's Captaining and playing woes in the Playoffs, dating bac to 8Ball Elite.

In the other National League match, #2 Xtreme 8Ballers took a 1-0 lead over #3 Pool Fiction after stoned_on_420 rushed and barely failed to leave a shot leading up to the 8ball. From there, PFN would win 3 straight to take a commanding 3-1 lead, which included former X8B player easy.money's game 3 win.

But in game 5, holden_vlv8 ran xlx_bpk_xlx off Jamie's break, and got X8B back into it. With Xtreme 8Ball down to their last player in Game 6, u_got_no_skillz tried stalling for a 7th. PFN's pool_warrior2002 aided in the stalling effort, even knowing what was going on. As the pair tapped back and forth, the whole rack essentially shifted to the bottom right corner. Both Andy and Stephen had a combined half-dozen or so opportunities to finish the match out, but they both continued to blow them. Finally, Andy scratched and left Stephen an easy 3-ball finish to tie the match at 3. With xchriskarenx ready to go in the 7th game... X8B decided to simply forfeit, as they could not come up with an eligible player.

So and Xtreme 8Ballers team which lost twice to Pool Fiction, falls a 3rd time but not without a strong showing. They erase a 3-1 deficit, doing basically all they could to try and stay alive this season. For X8B, it's time to look ahead to MLP Fives, and the next 7v7 season as well, where they figure to be just as good, if not better.

Pool Fiction survives without Captain kerryanne_24, who is recovering from what has been called a successful operation. Kerry is expected to be around this weekend to touch base with people, but will likely not Captain the team in Monday night's National League Championship Match. PFN moves on to play in what might as well be the World Series - with the two strongest teams remaining in MLP squaring off. It's a Monday night, 8:00 affair between PL and PFN. Cya there!

The National League's best won, and the American League's best faltered in Week 10.

MONDAY

Straightshots and Break and Run both won their respective matches 4-3. SS knocked off an underachieving Lucky Shots team, while BNR had a much easier task, Pool Loverz.

Straightshots has icreased its lead over LS in the standings to three games, and more importantly, helped set up a three-way tie for the final two Playoff spots in the AL at 6-4. Most notably for SS, snookrun improved his record to 4-0 on the season by beating aiming_skillz. The result could be considered an upset, as Straightshots came into the week with a home record of 1-4.

Lucky Shots, meanwhile, has been relegated to the role of spoiler in the American League. Three matches separate LS from Straightshots, Cue Killers and Tourney Pool (all 6-4.) With four matches remaining, it's extremely unlikely LS can make any kind of push for a spot in the top four. Lucky Shots Captain simon.kitto won his game over o_sweet_temptations_o to improve to 7-3, one of only two bright spots for LS this season. Simon is also 2-2 in clinching opportunities, though Monday's win was not one.

Break and Run avoided getting pulled into the massive tie by beating Pool Loverz. At 7-3, BNR continues enjoying its most successful season ever in Major League Pool, one that saw a 3-0 start. No single player has had a standout season for BNR. kccwc1 is 4-2 with a 2-1 clinch record after losing this week. But the team continues to make a run towards its first #1 seed in any Interleague, getting help from Tourney Pool's victory over True Pool Legends. BNR sits just a game back of 1st, and plays True Pool Legends for that #1 spot next week. Break and Run lost the first meeting 5-2, in the first loss of the season.

Pool Loverz drops to 1-9, and holds the worst record of leagues who have played all ten weeks this season. shootalready69 leads the team with five of its 23 wins. Pool Loverz is not mathematically eliminated from Playoff contention yet, trailing Sexy Poolerz and Magic Pool both by four matches with four to play, but it's only a matter of time now.

TUESDAY

Three matches featured primarily National League teams, and key matches for seeding and Playoff livelihood.

Sexy Poolerz destroyed Magic Pool 6-1 in the opener.

Magic Pool came into the week with a one-game lead over SP for the fourth seed in the National League, and a 4-3 head-to-head advantage. But this Magic Pool team has been in freefall for the past month, and has seen its #2 seed evaporate into fifth place in the National League. The lone win for MP came from lvlancunian over k.etan. Magic Pool falls to .500 with the loss, and in a tie with Sexy Poolerz. The 1-6 defeat means SP takes over the #4 spot for now. Next week, MP faces possible payback at the hands of Straightshots after the embarrassing display from SS in their first meeting.

Sexy Poolerz figures to be in control in the National League with the commanding victory. Not only does SP take over the #4 seed, but next on the schedule is the winless 8 Ball Crushers (formerly Pool Dragonz.) One note of concern for SP, though, is the team struggles to beat the bottom-feeders it's expected to handle. Time will tell if this has changed.

In the lone American League showdown, Cue Killers followed the example of Straightshots and kept True Champs (formerly High Timez) out of the win column for the season with a 4-3 win. For CK, it's a streak that began with a narrow 4-3 loss to True Pool Legends. Since then, Cue Killers has upset Tourney Pool and survived the loss of key players to stay in the hunt for a Playoff spot. Against Tourney Pool and Straightshots, Cue Killers holds a 1-1, 5/9 record.

True Champs continue to search for win #1 this season. After replacing the pathetic High Timez team, TC had its best chance for a win last week against Xtreme 8Ball. After fluking into a 3-0 lead, aided by a pair of opening early 8s, True Champs squandered a golden opportunity in the fourth game, multiple times. Xtreme 8Ball won the match 4-3. In this week's match, l3ites.l3ack won yet again to improve to 4-0 this season. l3ites.l3ack has played in every TC match so far.

But all eyes were on the nightcap between Poolfiction and Pool Legends.

In the first meeting, PL overcame a 3-2 deficit to win 4-3 and drop PFN to 0-3. This week, a much different story. Poolfiction jumped ahead 2-0 and never looked back, clinching a 5-2 victory in five games and add some breathing room ahead of the tie for fourth. In the past seven weeks, Poolfiction has gone 6-1 with the only loss coming against True Pool Legends. With the win, Poolfiction takes over the head-to-head advantage against PL by an 8/6 total. For now, it's still a one-game advantage for Pool Legends over PFN, with both teams having to take on X8B in successive weeks. Next for Poolfiction, though, is a trap game with Pool Loverz.

Pool Legends is still 7-3 and the #2 seed, but trails Xtreme 8Ball by two matches. With a win this week, PL would've been able to challenge X8B for the #1 spot when the teams meet next week. Both g.rinch31 and darkinc00, tops in the MLP Top 10 Players listing, lost their games but lilsparky67 did win after the match had been clinched. Usual PL Captain sexxxy_luckydog17 was not at the match, which will probably change for next week's showdown.

WEDNESDAY

The lone showdown between Tourney Pool and True Pool Legends wasn't as highly anticipated as their memorable World Series last season.

True Pool Legends was in the running for the top record in MLP, trailing Xtreme 8Ball by a couple games in the overall win/loss record. At 8-1, they were also fending off a surprise run from Break and Run, who had pulled to within a game and a half earlier in the week. The last time these two leagues met was a Pool League Championship match, where TPL won with a 7-0 sweep. In MLP, TPL was on an 8-game win streak. But TPL never got it going in the match this week, dropping three of the first four games and allowing Tourney Pool to clinch in just six games. The 3-4 loss drops True Pool Legends to only a game ahead of next week's opponent BNR.

Tourney Pool had gone into free-fall mode and came perilously close to falling a game clear behind the pack in the battle for any Playoff spot. But a 4-3 win this week came when TP needed it most. Cue Killers and Straightshots had already won, and Tourney Pool not only won, but won convincingly to send the message that this is in fact still a three-team race for two Playoff spots. The tiebreakers spell out the following:

Straightshots is currently in third place with a 2-1 record between the three leagues. The record includes a 6-1 win that at the time looked to cripple the Cue Killers season. That leaves a two-way tie between Tourney Pool and Cue Killers, which CK holds via head-to-head due to the 4-3 win over TP. So if the season ended this week, Straightshots would be third, Cue Killers fourth and Tourney Pool surprisingly out of the Playoffs.

THURSDAY

Not much to say about the finale to Week 10. Xtreme 8Ball took over a clear one-match lead in the overall MLP Standings with a 5-2 win over 8Ball Crushers. Xtreme 8Ball is now 9-1 with a two-match lead over Pool Legends ahead of the showdown next week. It's the toughest stretch of the season coming up for X8B, featuring Pool Legends and Poolfiction in back-to-back weeks.

8Ball Crushers remains 1-9, and in the basement in the National League. Pool Loverz is also 1-9, but beat Pool Dragonz 5-2 back in the second week of the season, matching 8BC's 5-2 win in Week nine. Pool Loverz holds a three-game lead in the overall win/loss record, while both teams enjoy a one-match lead over the tandem of True Champs and High Timez, sitting at 0-10 in the American League.

We've picked a name we like for the new 5v5 carry mini-season coming up in roughly 2 months. But, here's a chance for you guys to weigh in and give us your suggestions. In the comments, post which idea you like best, or come up with one of your own!

MLP 5v5 Classic

MLP Fives

MLP Masters

Little League Pool

Minor League Pool

Cactus League

Grapefruit League

Mini League Pool

...Trust me, those last few were just made up on the spot and not actually discussed at any meeting. But ya gotta have SOME variety :p

I'll tell ya my vote... After it's decided ;)

Major League Pool has unveiled a second competition to take place after the 7 vs. 7 season ends.

MLP will be hosting a 5 vs. 5-carry mini-season between an undecided number of leagues during the off-season. The number is expected to be around 8 or 10 leagues. MLP Admins approved the idea at a meeting Friday evening, but full details have not been finalized.

The 5 vs. 5 comes as some players begin to miss Pro Players Association, which used the same format for numerous seasons with fair success. Major Pool Interleague has tried to replace the now-defunct interleague with a similar format, but not even two weeks into the season numerous leagues have dropped out.

So as MLP tried to provide a 5v5-carry competition for leagues, Admins have also discussed using the extra mini-season as a test run for making Season 14 all-cam. With numerous players, including two Magic Pool players and a Sexy Poolerz player being caught up in aimer controversy, merely making suspicious players play on cam doesn't appaear to be worth the trouble. It's still unknown what this will do to MLP's policy of banning any player caught with an aimer anywhere, so long as the incident is reported reasonably recent, and not held over the player's head and revisited weeks or months later.

A signup application will follow soon on the MLP main page, and more details will be made available through the second half of the current 7v7 season.

MLP welcomed five new leagues into the competition this season - one was technically a returning league name while the other was primarily a group of players moving from one league to another.

Of High Timez, Cue Killers, Pool Dragonz, Xtreme 8Ball, and Sexy Poolerz, you instantly see a trend. High Timez, Pool Dragonz... They go 0-for-everything. Cue Killers has a slightly more manageable 2-4 record, and the other two have very good records, with X8B leading the pack at 5-1.

So what's the trend? Pool Dragonz has been replaced by 8Ball Crushers after going 0-5. High Timez's Head Admin has demanded that HT's Interleague Coordinator drop one of the three interleagues they are in. With a 6-4 record and being Playoff-bound in the 6v6 World Pool Championship, and only having to deal with an 0-1 record in the newly-created 5v5 carry Major Pool Interleague, HT's decision has essentially been made for them, sending the message: We aren't good enough to win in MLP, so we'll let someone else deal with what is now an 0-6 record after their forfeit to SS tonight.

Cue Killers are 2-4, and are starting to fall apart with players withdrawing and guys like l3055 jumping ship to play for a team that is competitive in TPL (as soon as he sits out his 2-match box for not reporting when he and his team got smashed by Straight Shots.)

Meanwhile, Sexy Poolerz at 4-2 and X8B's 5-1 record mean that because they're good enough to compete, they will likely stay the course. While it may look like a daunting task to participate in an interleague for 4 months, let's keep in mind... The only two things that are required, are that you have enough tournaments to keep everyone eligible, and bring seven players to a match one night per week. The HT Head Admin, who I will keep picking on because I know more about their situation than PDZ's, has said interleagues are "hurting" the league.

Really? Maybe in the sense that 7 players are unavailable to play in the league at night because some Interleagues (not MLP, by the way) have rules about not being in ANY OTHER GAMES while playing. I've always wondered about this rule. I can understand banning training tables - that has its obvious reasons. But this notion of playing multiple games at the same time being banned is stupid. What is the reason behind these rules? Is it because it slows the match down? If that's the case, set a 30-second timer on the tables like the timers utilized in REAL pool (you know, the game many players Yahoo Pool makes look good on here likely suck at?) Don't allow safetying unless the cueball or object ball hit a cushion after contact. Oh bummer, that can't happen because many refs and admins in interleagues across the board barely pay attention to their matches (guilty. I don't EVER watch snookfests. They're boring, annoying, and are ALWAYS lost, rather than won.)

Some games take 20, 25, FORTY minutes or MORE to play. Outlawing playing multiple games at the same time will not fix that. The only ban should be against bootem and rack & run games, which of course require training tables and would allow the usual suspects to take advantage of the leniency. I would love to, someday, get all of the interleague head admins together and have them explain each of their rules in their interleagues, and have them provide their reasoning for them. I think you would be surprised how many have all the answers (I frankly don't believe any would.)

But with leagues quitting comes a need for more leagues. There are enough leagues who have applied either late or been turned away at the start to replace 3-4 leagues. The obvious question comes with 8 Ball Runners. While we (Admins) haven't discussed it, I think there is definitely a feeling that when we've said "no" to a league at the start of the season, that bringing them in later when others have also applied and not been judged yet isn't fair to the leagues who are active enough. Efforts are being made in 8BR to make the league more active, which bodes well for them when Season 14 rolls around - so long as there aren't any incidents of stat faking or false reporting (or, Jose/David Daniel types) right before the season starts.

Is all the reasoning and logic used in tough decisions interleagues or leagues make sound? God no. We in MLP have made stupid decisions in the past, and we'll make some pretty airheaded decisions down the line. When really thinking about it, 8BR and PK has vastly better players than... High Timez, and Pool Dragonz. But if you always take the best, you have more issues (even without leagues like that, Admins have Magic Pool) to deal with. And the small-time leagues mentioned don't get the chance to show what they can do, and possibly attract players to their league.

I've always liked "the little guy" - it's like college athletics. Let's say MLP is the Atlantic Coast Conference. And a league like Cue Killers is Boston College. Now, they could easily not participate in interleagues, like BC could be in the America East Conference. But who's gonna come to play for BC in a rubbish conference like America East? But put them in the ACC... Players will want to come, because the exposure is greater. That's why leagues like Pool Fiction have thrived. They embrace interleagues as a way to ADD to their member count, not just CREATE a member count. Cue Killers have joined the ACC. People know about them now. That's a recruiting tool they can use with players who might randomly come through their lobby, and might be interested in joining a league.

And this all goes back to High Timez... Interleagues do not ruin leagues. The only thing that can happen is a league might look bad when they, like they've done in MLP and probably will in MPI, do poorly because players aren't good enough. And in some cases, they quit because they don't take it as a chance to get better. Or, because the reasoning ability isn't quite there with the decision-makers.

In the end, it happens every season. Maybe in Season 14, the experiment could be to accept only the best X number of leagues that apply. Forget the leagues like Pool Loverz, Pool Dragonz, etc. which are a liability to drop. Who knows? But the above, IMO, is a myriad of problems leagues and interleagues face.

Tuesday night's match between Magic Pool and Xtreme 8Ball was rather anticipated due to the records of both teams. The match was memorable, but not for the reason Magic Pool would've liked.

About midway through the match, with the score 2-1 in Xtreme 8Ball's favor, Magic Pool's newest player g0dly_l3ank3r was in the process of beating u_got_no_skillz, which would have given Stephen his first loss this season. But simon.kitto, a spectator at the match, sent a message to the author of this article (a Major League Pool Admin,) asking whether or not a disqualification could occur if a player was caught at a training table during their game. When Simon's question was answered, he also looked for clarification on post-game DQs.

A screenshot was taken the first second it was available, showing g0dly_l3ank3r at training table #15, while also playing his game at the MLP table, #8.

After a length delay which saw the match's referee, leafed_leafs abandon the match, and the Admin on duty brownie_2oo1 suffering from connection issues, the screenshot was sent in and the game was overturned. Dina cited rule #14 under MLP's Game-specific rules, which states: "You must NOT be seated at any training table whilst playing any MLP game. Any player found seated at a training table whilst playing in a game will be disqualified."

The decision was protested by MP Captain xlx_skill_xlx. Jordan argued that the means to make the DQ had been made available well after the match had concluded. The fact remains, however, that connection and technical difficulties had caused the delay. Simon, the former Interim Head Admin of Pro Players Association, Admin in UIC, and last season's Outstanding Umpire Award winner, apologized to Jordan for mentioning the infraction to anyone.

Jordan won the following game, bringing his team back within 1. During the game, he took shots at the opposing team and one of the Admins, threatening that if anything was done to him, Magic Pool would leave MLP. Jordan's next call was for everton------e.f.c@sbcglobal.net to play. However, Dina would not allow Danny to play.

Previously in the match, during the DQ controversy, everton had argued against the pending decision in all caps. After he was told to drop the caps, and let the admins settle the situation, he made multiple inappropriate comments to the admins. Dina removed him from the match, meaning that he could not return at all as per her warning to both captains before the match - any player booted from the table will not return, playing or not.

When Dina's decision not to allow Danny to play was made final, Jordan forfeited the remainder of the match, and withdrew Magic Pool from MLP. Jordan also made his choice clear on the MLP website. His quote before immediately afterward leaving the table was: "Admins, please pull MP out of MLP. We are done." Jordan also went on to wish MLP Admins luck in finding a league that would not mind taking over with a 4-2 match record, with wins over Pool Fiction and Sexy Poolerz to its credit.

Magic Pool Head Admin, and Co-Captain man.killer01 was unavailable at the time for comment or confirmation. But it is expected that her Captain's decision will stand, as now in order for Jane to overturn his choice, MLP Admins will need to make their own decision: Allow Magic Pool to rejoin MLP, or accept one of the late requests to join the interleague which came in shortly after the season started. The other option, of course, is to accept one of the few leagues which were initially turned away.

Three 6-1 matches surrounding a 4-3 thriller have made this week a rather uneventful one.

But tonight, three matches are on tap including a pair at 6:00. One of those early matches is the week 5 Cross-Conference Match between Lucky Shots and Sexy Poolerz. Lucky Shots will look to overcome the loss of canuck_justin to Xtreme 8Ball and the.bawbag to being boxed. Yet again, Ray made an ass of himself after losing in Sunday night's Big League Tour. LS currently sits at 1-3, which would be last in the American League if not for High Timez's 0-5 record. Sexy Poolerz holds a 2-2 record, ana half-game lead over Pool Fiction for the #4 spot in the National League. Last week, Sexy Poolerz split a pair of 4-3 decisions, beating Pool Dragonz in their week 4 matchup, but dropping a similar decision to Magic Pool in the week 3 make-up match.

The match is in Sweet Dreams, where LS is 0-2 so far this season. Every single Lucky Shots match has been a 4-3 result. Last week, the Shots finally won one of those matches, beating Cue Killers. nick_ownzz will have to continue the success he had in Sunday's Big League Tour, which he won with aggressive shooting. Somebody has to come up and try to replace Justin and Ray, and the team will have to trust that Captain simon.kitto is making the right decisions. The question is: is that possible?

For Sexy Poolerz, they have a chance to defend the #4 spot. With LS's missing players, it certainly doesn't seem like a tall order. Last week for SP, hornyscots, DumbPro, and p.ascal all won a pair of games against Pool Dragonz and Magic Pool. Those wins were not enough for the second match, but Ste's save against Pool Dragonz was critical. Sexy Poolerz Captain BostonBruins1 continues to struggle going up against some of the best players on the opposing teams - his record dropped to 1-3 after a loss to Magic Pool's lvlancunian last week.

I didn't think Lucky Shots was better than Sexy Poolerz WITH an 0-2 Justin, or a headcase like Ray dragging his team down along with him. And they certainly aren't better without them playing. Sexy Poolerz could realistically sweep this match, but I'll give LS the benefit of a couple SP bangs going the wrong way, and settle for a 5-2 Sexy Poolerz forecast.

Straight Shots plays host to Cue Killers in the second 6:00 start tonight. The match marks the first home match for SS since the embarrassing display last Wednesday night, being timed out against a 6-player Magic Pool team in All Mixed Up. Straightshots had only brought five players. SS avenged that loss by beating Lucky Shots 24 hours later, 4-3. Cue Killers shares a similar 2-2 record with Straightshots. Last week they fell 3-4 to Lucky Shots as mentioned in that outstanding fourth week in MLP.

Straightshots has a new Captain, in j4cks_baby (Nicki.) When discussing the change with me, Nigel said: "ive just said goodbye to a captain (american of course) for being the same as you." So with Nicki at the helm, the question them becomes how do the players that former Captain xlx_spit_xlx brought in react? Guys like snookrun, who have instant match-changing ability, have to decide: are they in it for the long haul, or will they leave with their Captain? Regardless, Charlie's 2-0 record can't do all the work. Cue Killers has some dangerous players, nothing amazing but they can be dangerous against players of similar skill. We'll see what new players, if any, SS has tonight.

Cue Killers is a team that is not going through any rough patches and is much more stable right now. x_x_lvlaster_lvlind_l3ehind_x_x continues to pick up big wins for CK, with two saves in the past two weeks and a 3-1 record this season. Killers Captain stealth_s07 holds a 2-1 record, most recently losing a costly game against Lucky Shots last week. These two players will need a supporting cast around them if they are to take this hugely important match. Still, confidence in a player with two saves in a row goes a long way for a team, but something has to give eventually.

This match may well go a long way in determining who is in, and who is out when week 14 rolls around. Both teams are 2-2, they're right in the middle of the pack in the American League, and they're both very similar - a good player or two, and then very little behind it. If Charlie shows up to play for SS, they become an instant favorite. But if not, I like Cue Killers in a 4-3 result.

And in the finale tonight, Magic Pool and winless Pool Dragonz get underway at 7:00. Magic Pool enjoyed a 5-2 win in bizarre fashion over Straightshots, and a 4-3 win over Sexy Poolerz last week. Pool Dragonz... Well, as mentioned, they're 0-4 and any chances of Playoff contention are fading fast. Magic Pool has a chance to create a 3-way tie for first place between themselves, Pool Legends and Xtreme 8Ball should they win tonight.

Magic Pool will have the usual suspects - lvlancunian, xlx_skill_xlx, and legend.skillz who played and won a pair of games last week. Magic Pool has gone through a rough patch back in PLC, while they were winning those matches in MLP. They lost two matches to 8Ball Runners and Pool Fiction by a combined 1-13. But PLC is an entirely different interleague. The question will be for Magic Pool: which team will show up? The struggling .500 version, or the standout season type?

Pool Dragonz... They're gonna have a tough time matching up with MP. Their only hope really seems to be, MP taking it easy on them and letting some of the big guns sit so the bad players can get some games in and add some possible Playoff depth. In four matches, PDZ has not even managed to reach double-digits. sicc_ace_with_extreme_bass is not to blame - he holds a 3-1 record while rebs.angel is 2-0. But when you look at the stats, you see a lot of 0-2, 0-3, 1-3, etc. If Pool Fiction catches fire, and Sexy Poolerz stays with them, it could take 8 or 9 wins to make the Playoffs in the National League. PDZ needs to start stringing upsets together otherwise they'll be around merely to play spoiler by week 9.

No mystery here - MP is better, look for subtle differences in how they do things against a weaker team as opposed to Pool Legends, Pool Fiction, etc. And look for a big win, 5-2 or possibly 6-1.

Tuesday night's lone match featured 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3 ties. But there could be no 4-4 tie so whoever won the next game took it all.

Pool Fiction grabbed the early 1-0 advantage, as ta.lent won his season debut over Xtreme 8Ball's king.ronnie. Ronnie had run the table down to the 7ball, his last, before the game was stopped to confirm his eligibility. After it had been established that Yahoo!'s game profiles were yet again omitting games, Ronnie was free to try his bank shot, from the right rail to the top left pocket. Ronnie missed the shot high, however, allowing Matt to run out all his stripes, and the 8, and put his team on top.

In the second game, PFN's xlx_ogges_xlx had a golden opportunity to double the lead. Despite leaving appealing openings for 4-0 u_got_no_skillz to run, Stephen only pounced when he was left a cut on the 9ball to the bottom right pocket. Stephen was able to make that shot, and leave one of his remaining two stripes for a relatively easy shot. That ball was the 10-ball, which he needed to make and then spin the cueball back in an attempt to free up the 11 near the upper left corner. Stephen missed the shot entirely, leaving Ogges with a chance to finish. George's run was a rather adventurous one, never leaving more than one possible shot to continue. Ogges was able to convert on a 5-1 combo to the bottom left pocket to keep shooting. After the cueball rattled in the top middle pocket and kicked out just enough to leave a shot on his last solid later on, ogges made the three and left the 8 fairly close to the lower left pocket. His shot would miss off the bottom rail however, and Stephen would clean up to steal the game, and improve to 5-0 on the season. More importantly though perhaps, the match was squared at one apiece.

In the third game, so_wolf_cub4 had the break against Xtreme 8Baller obv.skill. Cubby got a ball to fall off the break, and while intending to run solids after the next shot, he also got bailed out as a stripe fell. Had that stripe not fallen, there were no reasonable shots on any solids that could've been made. With the bailout, Cubby cashed in, running the remaining stripes and knocking down the 8ball. Pool Fiction enjoyed a 2-1 lead.

Onward to the fourth game, where Pool Fiction Captain kerryanne_24 looked to try and put things away. xlx_bpk_xlx got the call for PFN, while X8B's canuck_justin sat in for his new team. Jamie tried to recreate the feat of his teammate in the previous game, with less luck involved, trying to run out his solids and give PFN another win. But with a cluster of balls, 8ball included, at the lower right side of the table, Jamie opted to try and safety by potting one of the stripes. That ball stayed out of the pocket, allowing Justin to use it as a safety tool. After a pair of fouls by Jamie, the Canadian was off to the rehces. With one stripe left, Justin had a moderately difficult shot with the cueball perilously close to being directly under the final stripe. The former Lucky Shot made the runner, though, and kept the 8ball on the table and next made it, to level the match at two.

In game five, Big League Tour Runner-up and X8B Captain the_lvlag1cian called on himself to take on devilstature. After Roger fouled trying to thread the needle between a pair of solids, Ben picked up where he left off Sunday night - running tables. This time, unlike Sunday night, Ben took his time and picked off all 7 of his balls, along with the 8, making it all look so easy... And Xtreme 8Ball's Captain gave his team their first lead of the night.

So in the sixth game it was X8B's usual clinch specialist dan.buddy against Pool Fiction's Ihatejustin. Dan, 2-2 on the season all in clinching games, opted to play a snooker game with Perry. After tapping around a bit, Dan decided to have a go at the table to win the match. After taking the time to line up a bank on the 15, Dan suddenly realized he had a better shot available on the top middle pocket, and took that instead. This led to a much better running opportunity for Dan, but that became a moot point when he safetied himself with 2 stripes remaining. A desperation cuebank led to one of those stripes being kicked home, but still left nothing but desperation on the last ball. After an unsuccessful bang, Perry went to work playing janitor, cleaning up all his solids with minimal trouble, and sending the match to a decisive seventh game.

In the decider, Pool Fiction's pool_warrior2002 looked to continue the trend of Canadians enjoying solid success this week. He would be matched up against formerly caught aimer user de.ported (Kimbo.) This one was another long safety battle, much to Andy's liking. Late in the game, Andy spent an extreme amount of time lining up a shot with 3 stripes remaining. After examining numerous possibilities during the long delay, he opted to safety and push the 14-ball towards the left side of the table. Kimbo came back with a safety with seemed to put the game solely in his hands, separating a group of solids and leaving little short of a miracle shot for Andy. Andrew fanned on his english-cuebank off the bottom rail aiming for the 12-ball and top middle pocket, but avoided a foul by connecting with one of the two stripes on the left side. Then it was on Kimbo to run out and keep X8B's perfect season alive. While breaking out those solids mentioned before once and for all, the 8ball was pushed over to the left side near Andy's stripes. Kimbo was only able to leave a cuebank off the bottom rail to make the 8ball top left. Perhaps a season ago it would've been a no-doubter, but Kimbo erased any speculation that he was using in the night's uncammed finale, missing the shot well to the left. PFN's game 7 rep. was able to finish up, pot the 8, and give Pool Fiction its second consecutive win, and first against a quality opponent, 4-3.

Pool Fiction is now 2-3 with the win, and holds a 18/17 overall record. That's a welcome sight to a league that had started the season 0-3 with losses to Magic Pool, Sexy Poolerz, and Pool Legends before finally putting down Pool Loverz last week. The game 7 win for pool_warrior2002 increases his record to 3-1, and he has now split on a pair of clinching opportunities. Pool Fiction's next goal is certainly within reach: a win over Pool Dragonz next Wednesday would make PFN .500 on the season.

Xtreme 8Ball, the last undefeated league in MLP has fallen. But X8B still holds a 4-1 record and is 24/11 overall. As mentioned before, u_got_no_skillz improved to 5-0 on the season with his win in game two over xlx_ogges_xlx. de.ported's game 7 loss was his first of the season, while dan.buddy, lamenting a fair bit at the table over his self-proclaimed subpar season, is now 2-3 all in clinching games. X8B now holds a half-game lead over Pool Legends for the top spot in the National League, with head-to-head advantage in hand. Pool Legends will play Pool Loverz in Wednesday night's only match, a 9PM start almost certainly not worth the wait. Xtreme 8Ball takes on Magic Pool next Tuesday night.

Tonight, the National League takes center stage.

Undefeated Xtreme 8Ball, after finally knocking off a respectable opponent (very, in fact) in Pool Legends last week, will look to keep it going against Pool Fiction. X8B is in its first season in Major League Pool, but enjoyed a successful debut in Pro Players Association last season. Their opponents, Pool Fiction, have been around to say the least. Lately they've been mired in a nasty slump losing matches left and right. Though it seems the light at the end of the tunnel is coming closer and closer. Is it daylight, or an oncoming train?

The key for Pool Fiction will be to attack. They're the visiting league, and can't afford to go weak anywhere. X8B is too deep for that. Pool Fiction did win for the first time this season last week, but it was Pool Loverz. Still, beggars can't be choosers. PFN will be be led by perennial All-Star xlx_bpk_xlx, and former X8B player easy.money who is 4-0 this season. If Pool Fiction is going to make any kind of play at the #1 seed they've held seemingly every season in recent memory, they need to show they can win these types of matches.

For Xtreme 8Ball, it's a 3-headed monster. dan.buddy and king.ronnie are generally reserved for the mid-to-late games, with Dan in the role of clincher. Dan is 2-2 in such opportunities. X8B also has a player who is finding it increasingly difficult to stay under the radar - u_got_no_skill is 4-0 for this team which has an outstanding 21/7 record. Stephen also picked up a solid win over Pool Legends' ooo_franchise_ooo. The X8B Captain, the_lvlagician, made it to this week's Big League Tour Finals before falling in 3 games to Lucky Shots' nick_ownzz. Speaking of Lucky Shots, X8B has gotten canuck_stoner from LS. No reason has been made clear for the switch yet, but a check of team records, a headcase in LS who can't stay out of the box, and pre-season issues between Captain simon.kitto and a few members of his team might point one in the right direction. canuck_stoner is 0-2 with two failed clinch attempts this season for LS.

I'm not convinced PFN is out of the woods, yet. A win over Pool Loverz is something anybody can accomplish, for the most part. X8B is having an outstanding season, they probably won't go undefeated, but I can't reasonably say it'll end tonight. X8B to win 4-3, clinching before game 7.

The American League tonight features the top 3 leagues in the Conference, and... Well, High Timez with the 2nd-worst record in all of Major League Pool.

Tourney Pool and Break And Run lead off the night. While the records indicate this should be a good match, BNR's run of playing soft opponents has come to and end and now you're gonna see their record come back down to Earth.

The match is at Tourney Pool's homeroom Crossed Cues, meaning TP's superior players will also be matched up however Captain kingvaughan sees fit. Tourney Pool will be led by Ross, just mentioned, and pool.instinct (MJ for the uninformed.) Both players are undefeated and have earned spots in the Top 10 Players list in MLP this season. If the match is somehow 3-3, they also have mvp_sicc saved for the 7th game as usual. Ant is 2-2 this season, and 2-1 with the match on the line. However, he has also last the last two weeks.

Break And Run's record is just 1 win worse than their opponent's, at 16/12. They lost their first match of the season last week playing their first worthwhile opponent of the season in True Pool Legends. The result was 5-2. Tonight, redhot_2oo3 will likely be matched up with one of TP's better players, possibly Lewissss, in the leadoff spot. David is 3-1 so far this season, with his only loss again coming against the only good competition he's had. So it's tough to gauge how good of a season he'll continue to have. BNR does have some players at 1-0, 2-0, etc... Those players need to show up against the good teams on the schedule, otherwise they're just unreliable and Break And Run will never have the chance to keep competing this season.

It comes down to consistency. Tourney Pool's best players show up every week, BNR's don't. I like TP to win this one, 5-2 or possibly 6-1 depending who does or doesn't show for BNR.

The night will conclude with a mudhole stomping. 3-1 True Pool Legends visits High Timez.

High Timez has the 2nd worst record in all of MLP, just a couple wins ahead of Pool Dragonz in the National League. While c.marcoo and BooMann 2-1 and 3-1 respectively, that's not enough to get four wins. Boo will likely have to play early, to try and stop TPL from gaining a 3-1 or even 3-0 lead, as will Marco. Everyone else has put forth a terrible record. When two players amount for half of your wins, the blame for losses goes on the shoulders of others. The players bogging down the team will need to get better, and if they're still playing tap games like they did painfully in week 1, it needs to change. Because they obviously aren't good at it.

For True Pool Legends, the only way they can lose is if they beat themselves. They're one of the most aggressive, and smartest teams in MLP. They've won their last 3 since dropping their first match of the season, and the saves & clinches have been spread around to various players. Only one player, their anchor instant.classic, has multiple save/clinch opportunities - he has converted two clinchers. That depth will help them against HT because even if their opponents fluke an early win or 2, almost everyone on the team, with the exception of a couple, are capable of picking up wins in any spot.

Look for a quick match, maybe ending before the BNR-TP match, as the True Pool Legends win 5-2, even if they have an off night.

The next two nights feature only one match each as the best teams in the National League (Xtreme 8Ball and Pool Legends) are in action, while Thursday yields another triple-header.

The National League features a pair of sure to be outstanding matches 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.

Major League Pool has just seen one of the sorriest sights in its 13-season history.

Wednesday night's only match, a Cross-Conference showdown between 1-1 teams Magic Pool and Straightshots, turned into an utter joke. MP jumped ahead 3-0 with wins from lvlancunian (Ian), legend_skillz (Cameron) and an impressive runout from mike_oneill43.

Straightshots was hampered in games 2 and 3 by poor shot selection from sakic_returns and john_d_singleton. After Cameron wisely played a safety with two solids left, rather than forcing the issue... Sakic foolishly tried to run up the right rail and get behind his stripe. That led to a no-doubt scratch. Cameron was able to finish out, and bank the 8ball into the top middle to secure the win.

In the 3rd game, mike_oneill was left with an open table from John and immediately went to work, making the full runout look effortless. Magic Pool appeared to be on a roll.

MP ran out of quality players, though. They had to turn to tibetanfightingchipmonk, who had leafed_leafs beat surprisingly, but potted the 8ball early. Then it was the Captain and Head Admin, Jane. Straightshots got a solid win from xlx_w_i_n_xlx who potted 8 in a row... To keep the match alive. It seemed like the 'shots were coming back.

And then, Straightshots Captain xlx_spit_xlx was disconnected from the room. With cue_vision and snookrun trying to get eligible for SS, Jane requested a timer. The home team had 10 minutes to call an eligible player. Co-Captain j4cks_baby called Mike, the SS Captain per his request. The time kept ticking off the clock... and at 7:11 PM, Mike and Straightshots had timed out.

By rule, Magic Pool received a forfeit win for the 7th game, despite not having a 7th eligible player available. The win will be credited to the team, but no player will receive the individual forfeit credit towards Playoff eligibility. The final score is 5-2 Magic Pool.

According to UIC Head Admin Roy's research, Straightshots is the largest league currently participating in interleagues. www.MyLeague.com lists SS with 436 active members. The forfeit continues SS's trend which started last season, of not bringing a full team of eligible players to matches. It also drops SS to 1-2 on the season, with another match coming up in less than 24 hours. No coverage of that match will be provided here.

Magic Pool also has a match tomorrow night, and improve to 2-1. This looks to be MP's most successful season ever in MLP, with a 2-1 record, an impressive showing against perennial frontrunner Pool Fiction, and what has proven to be a cakewalk of a cross-conference matchup. Magic Pool with a win tomorrow night would move into a tie for 2nd place in the National League. They have Sexy Poolerz tomorrow night, and a winless Pool Dragonz team next Thursday night.

The lone matchup on the schedule in MLP tonight is the first of two this week for both leagues.

Straight Shots and Magic Pool, which each had matches postponed due to Yahoo! server issues last week, will square off at 6:00 tonight. The matchup is week 4's Cross-Conference showdown, and both leagues have held true to their pre-season XC pairings - they're each 1-1 on the campaign with only 1 win the difference in their overall records.

Magic Pool's 1 win came in the season opener over Pool Fiction - a 5-2 beatdown. In the 2nd week, they fell to undefeated Pool Legends by the same score. MP's week 3 match is scheduled for tomorrow night, visiting Sexy Poolerz who beat still-winless Pool Dragonz 4-3 Tuesday night. MP's week has not been a pleasant one. David Daniel was recently banned after being caught with XAimer in PLC over the weekend, and then they suffered a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of the same PFN league they beat up on a few weeks ago.

Straight Shots were also opening week winners, stunning True Pool Legends by winning in 6 games, with a DQ loss in the 7th. Following that was a 5-2 loss to Tourney Pool, leaving a 6/8 record and uncertainty as to how improved the team really was. Their 2nd match this week also comes tomorrow night, a 6PM start against Lucky Shots who won their first match of the season earlier this week. The SS season does figure to be a roller-coaster, with a new Captain in great_white_mike and a host of new & improved players joining the team. This match tonight will be their first against a mid-level opponent and a chance over these next two nights to get a sense of where they fit. They've already had mixed results with the top tier opponents on their schedule, so how consistent are they?

Magic Pool routinely does poorly when things are a mess. Monday night in PLC, lvlancunian who's NEVER ineligible, was DQed for a lack of tourney games. This can be a very dangerous week, and especially 48-hour period for MP. Things could really implode for them, but probably won't.

Straightshots at a glance don't SEEM that much better. Magic Pool has Jordan, and a solid runner in jcm, and the aforementioned Ian can make some outstanding position shots. They are not a unit to be taken lightly. I put a little bit of weight though on the mental factor, and think that Straightshots edge one out thanks in large part to Charlie, winning 4-3.

In Monday night's MLP triple-header, one league in each Conference picked up their first W of the season while another team got rid of a different zero.

It began with a 6:00 match which lasted roughly an hour and 15 minutes. In the American League, Lucky Shots Captain simon.kitto beat Cue Killers Captain stealth_s07 in the decisive game to propel LS to their first win of the season. With the.bawbag serving a suspension, and aiming_skillz dropping his game to the returning Moe (YOUNGFAME) for Cue Killers, someone needed to stand in and pick up the slack. Former LS Captain l3ig_t did, and tonzmaniac was able to do his thing for Lucky Shots as they won 4-3.

With the victory, LS is now 1-2 on the season. They have a make-up match from week 3 Thursday night against Straightshots. Then it's a showdown in week 5 with Sexy Poolerz. It's the 3rd 4-3 result this season for LS in as many matches.

Cue Killers are now exactly .500 on the campaign, with a 2-2 match record and 14 wins to match 14 losses. Cue Killers will also cross paths with Straight Shots, playing next Thursday night against the new-look SS team. Standout pocket.rodcket (formerly x_x_lvlaster_lvlind_l3ehind_x_x) won his game against im_just_jeremy, to push his record to 3-1.

In the next match to start, True Pool Legends raced ahead to a 4-1 advantage over previously-unbeaten Break And Run to hand BNR their first loss of season 13. TPL's win also erases the only remaining perfect record in the American League. TPL's msc_masta continued his rebound from an 0-2 start to the season and broke even by winning his game over x_therage.

For BNR, co-captain and reigning Big League Tour Champion runmatic won a post-clinch game over adambuddy, pushing his record back to 2-2 on the season and extending his MLP win streak to 7 games. Another 6-win performance this Sunday will tie him for 25th in all-time MLP ladder win streaks.

BNR's record drops to 3-1, leaving 3-0 Pool Legends and Xtreme 8Ball in the National League as MLP's lone unbeaten teams. Those two leagues will square off on Thursday night in the lone week 4 match of that night's triple-header. Up next for BNR is another tough test in Tourney Pool.

True Pool Legends take the lead in the American League via head-to-head tiebreaker, with a 3-1 record and a 16-12 overall games record on the season. Next week they have a sure squash match against currently winless High-Timez.

In tonight's finale, Pool Fiction vacated the ranks of MLP's winless leagues with 6 straight wins to erase an early 1-0 deficit. PFN had previously lost to Magic Pool, Sexy Poolerz and undefeated Pool Legends. The match featured an approximately 45-minute tapfest in game 4 between PZ's spincue, and PFN's pool_warrior2002, which Andy (PFN) finished off with a spectacular bank.

Pool Loverz's only win came in game one thanks to giddyup.again beating devilstature. The record for PZ now sits at 1-3, and 10/18 overall. Both leagues will be listed above 1-1 Magic Pool and Sexy Poolerz, but both of those leagues have games in hand upcoming. PZ's next matchup comes against the aforemention Pool Legends, who will either be 4-0 or looking to avenge its only loss of the season.

Pool Fiction's only win of the season also brings the first wins for xlx_ogges_xlx, and so_wolf_cub4. PFN ups its overall record to 14/14, an oddity for its 1-3 record. Next week it's right back at it for Pool Fiction as they take on Xtreme 8Ball, providing prospect of a face-off between easy.money and the league he left earlier this season.

Tomorrow night, the only remaining winless leagues are in action. Pool Dragonz in the National League battles Sexy Poolerz, while in the American League Tourney Pool entertains High Timez.

Sure, in the past MLP had been forced to go with EIGHT matches, but due to Yahoo's downtime last week, we have NINE this week, and what a week it figures to be.

It began with last night's Big League Tour - a nearly 3-hour affair thanks in large part to a 55-minute 3rd round contest between Pool Legend sexxxy_luckydog17 and Tourney Pool's emmitt22_da_man. The tourney featured first-time represenation in the finals for Break And Run, and Sexy Poolerz. runmatic swept SP's p.ascal in the Finals, capping an outstand night for BNR where, if not for Byes, they'd have cleared 20 points. Pool Legends also, unofficially, extended their lead in the tour over Pool Fiction by a few points, without cammed wins counted.

Now onto the real reason you're reading this... Who's gonna win the MATCHES this week?

Tonight showcases 3 matches. We'll start naturally with the first - The 2-1 Cue Killers take on Lucky Shots, one of the four teams playing twice this week. LS is looking for their first win, and they have to go this match without one of their best players in the.bawbag. Ray was suspended for a match back in week 2 for harrassing a player about not playing on cam. LS has lost both their matches 3-4, and have had FIVE failed clinch attempts in those matches. Killers will be led by their Captain, Blazin357. He's 2-0 with a clinch, while x_x_lvlaster_lvlind_l3ehind_x_x has taken on some tough assignments for the team and has a 2-1 record to show for it. Simon will have two options for his guys tonzmaniac and aiming_skillz. Either save them for CK's big guys, or go weak against them and match his best against CK's weaker players. But CK's not a very well-known league, and not much is known about their players. I think LS's best have to take on CK's best. I think LS pulls off the upset, and gets their first win on the season with a 4-3 win.

THREE and 0 Break and Run fresh off an outstanding BLT performance takes on 2-1 TPL. This has been BNR's best start, and they do have some momentum from last night going into this match. But let's not get too carried away... They've only beaten High Timez, Cue Killers and Pool Loverz. This is the first good team they've faced, and I expect TPL will take a 5-2 win out of it. But keep in mind True Pool Legends haven't been stellar this season. They got shocked in week 1 losing in 6 games to a new-look Straightshots team. Pommy has clinched both their wins, including the game 7 win in last week's thriller against Tourney Pool. This a team that needs to have one of those squash wins and they have a cakewalk coming up these next couple of weeks, HT next week, then Cue Killers and Pool Fiction. Again, 5-2 TPL in a convincing W.

In the finale tonight, Pool Fiction visits Pool Loverz. This one's intriguing because as the records have it, PFN is the underdog at 0-3 for the first time EVER. Pool Loverz are only 1-2, but nobody has 2 wins in the NL yet. So they're 3rd behind undefeated Xtreme 8Ball and Pool Legends. Nothing really stands out against PZ - they had a Murphy's Law week against BNR last week... If it could go wrong, it did. Two early 8s in a row to help BNR clinch it, and now they have to take on a team that is desperate for a first win. Pool Fiction will be a little hectic tonight, playing THREE interleague matches on the night - PLC and WPC starting an hour before this match. All hands will be on deck though for the nightcap, and while I hate picking my own team's matches... I like Pool Fiction in what would constitute an explosion of sorts the way their season has been, to win 5-2.
Recaps and Tuesday picks to come tonight and tomorrow!

Live on WHSN Friday night, 6 & 8 PM with the Semis, and then the Final will be Saturday at 2:00...

http://whsn-fm.com/index.php?area=STREAMING

You need quicktime to listen online.

http://nacathletics.com/landing/index for the NAC's website.

Green Mountain College will take on Husson University at 6:00, and then Castleton State battles UMaine-Farmington at 8. If the seeds hold, it sets up yet another matchup between the NAC's premier rivals - Host school Husson, and UMF.

Interesting note on Husson... On Feb. 13, Shelby Bradford scored her 1,000th point. Less than 24 hours later on the 14th, her husband Brock hit his 1,000th. Both are only juniors.

And, Brock's younger brother Brett dropped 53 points earlier this month in a high-school game, and 30 more against an undefeated #1 seed in the quarter-finals of the state tourney.

They're uh... pretty good at basketball.

Hope ya listen :D

Video of the Finals for Week 3's BLT on Youtube. The playlist with this week's Finals series can be viewed here.

http://cgi8.igl.net/tourney/mlp/157614/

There's the link for this week's 2v2. Keep in mind that if you joined earlier in the week you aren't signed up, as Sophie had to create a new tournament because teams were being dropped by the system.

Break And Run wins with the benefit of a pair of early 8s, while Pool Dragonz and High-Timez are yet to do anything at all in MLP.

BNR's season usually begins with a couple losses and ends with a record under .500 and questions about when they'll actually compete. Now they're off to their best start ever at 3-0 after blasting Pool Loverz in Tuesday night's Cross-Conference matchup, 5-2. redhot_2oo3 got his team started the same way he did in the first two weeks - with a win. He survived a desperation bang attempt from PZ's giddyup.again when he left the cueball touching his solid 5-ball. David would run all the way out for the win.

After leizerr tied the match up for PZ, BNR went on a 3-0 run with a narrow win from championship.trump, and then early 8ball victories for wubuddah and bnr_teacher which clinched it. Teacher's win came against spincue, who previously pondered: "may'be somebody will beat me in a match someday."

BNR also got a win from ll_eskimo_ownage_ll, while co-captain runmatic fell to shootalready69.

Doesn't appear to get any easier for either league - BNR's perfect record will be tested next week against True Pool Legends, while Pool Loverz gets a still-winless Pool Fiction team which looks to correct that tonight. PZ's record sits at 1-2.

Among the two 8:00 starts, Xtreme 8 Ball put on the more impressive performance. Defending their perfect record, X8B unsurprisingly demolished the winless Pool Dragonz 6-1. Pool Dragonz had some fortunate breaks in the first four games which allowed them to hang around in some games, but didn't allow for any wins in the opening four games.

xlo_stephen_olx, king.ronnie, l2eal.0wnage after surviving one such break from his opponent, and dan.buddy all won their games, with Dan picking up the clincher. Dan is now 2-1 on the season in clinching attempts, but converted his last two against High-Timez last week and last night against PDZ.

Next week, the Dragonz will host Sexy Poolerz while X8B could be looking at a battle between undefeated leagues if Pool Legends win tonight over Pool Fiction.

In the last match to finish last night, Cue Killers erased a 3-1 deficit to High-Timez to hold the MLP newcomers winless on the season and win 4-3. Game seven was decided in old-school fashion, with Captains CK_Blazin357 and HT_Chris094 going head to head.

x_x_lvlaster_lvlind_l3ehind_x_x won a reracked game with BooMann after being disconnected and forfeited via Yahoo! glitch. BooMann had the option to take the win, but opted for the replay on the condition that he would have the break back. Then, fission_babe picked up another Save to set up her Captain's heroic W in the finale.

High Timez is staring down an 0-4 record next week as they face perennial powerhouse Tourney Pool next week. The 2-1 Cue Killers will lead off next week against Lucky Shots.

Tonight, two games on the docket. A sure classic as TPL and TP go head-to-head in a rematch of last season's exciting World Series, and winless Pool Fiction hosts undefeated Pool Legends.

First of all, I would just like to mention how outstanding both leagues behaviour was, the table was so quiet for most of the match in fact at one point i think the most extreme thing that was being talked about was tacos.

As for the question Cubby asked on his audio, who is Brent, well the question this week was where was Brent?

Game 1 – PDZ_d3m0n1c_d3m0n5_l3l0od v PZ_giddyup.again

Well the first game pretty much set the way for the whole match. Demonic banged open the table with the break. However he failed to pot any balls and Larry then decided to try and run like a champion jockey at the grand national but failed at the final hurdle where he tried to bank his last stripe into the bottom middle pocket opting not to try the difficult cut to the top middle pocket, he misses and leaves the table open for demonic to clear. However after both players choke a couple more times, giddy gets it done 3rd time lucky.

PZ 1-0

PDZ_First_Lady1999 v PZ_amanda_suzie

Game 2 also starts with a bang break, a couple of shots in First lady gets ball in hand and decides to try and go for the run, she pots her pink in the bottom left pocket, her green is next to go in the top left pocket. However the run ended there as her blue rolled safe behind Amanda’s blue. After a few safety attempts, First_Lady had two pots available to her the yellow to the bottom left hand pocket and the red to the top left hand pocket. She proceeds to pot the yellow to the bottom right pocket and the red to top middle, when the best option would have been to pot the red with backspin to attempt to free her blue which remained in a cluster of stripes. The next shot saw Amanda make a bank with ease to the top middle pocket, after a couple more of her stripes her potted she has a problem as she narrowly fails to connect with her last stripes which are position in an awkward combo and therefore reverts back to safetying, however it is a poor safety and leaves First with an easy snooker opportunity but instead she goes for a difficult cut to the bottom middle pocket and just clips the inside of pocket. Advantage Amanda again, NO Advantage First Amanda misses an easy combo to the top middle pocket. After a couple more shots Amanda runs out her last few balls but misses an easy 8 to the top right hand pocket. First Lady has a difficult cut available to her to the top left hand pocket but the angle is nearly straight, if she makes this she will win the match, MISSSSSED nowhere near, Amanda then proceeds to pot the easy 8.

Score 2-0 PZ

PDZ_dragon_baby02 v PZ_youknowyouwantthis_2004_4

Shock Horror, someone actually safety breaks! However youknowyouwantthis certainly knows she doesn’t want a safety game and proceeds to pot 3 of her solids in less than 10 seconds. Only reverting to safetying when she leaves herself no pot. After a while of both players safetying about youknowyouwantthis ends up with ball in hand and decides to try and pot her red, she hangs it over the top right hand pocket where it remains for practically the whole match. A few shots later Dragon reverted to trick shots potting two of his stripes at once, one in the top middle pocket and one in the bottom right pocket. However he proceeded to miss his red to the bottom middle pocket by hitting the jaw. Youknowyouwantto then decided not to bother potting her red which was hung over the pocket, however she decided to knock a stripe safe instead. Fast forward a bit and youknowyouwantto combos her red top right by hitting her blue off it, then proceeding to pot her blue there too however the full left spin which she put on left her with only a bank, which i presume she made as i was lagging at that point.

Score 3-0 PZ

Poolloverz are on the hill on a match that could all so easily of been completely the different way around score wise.



PDZ_bud6745 v PZ_sporadic_impulse

Another game which started with safety play, until bud banks the first solid to the top left and snooks to the peak of the triangle which is majorly unbroken, a few shots later brock pots his first stripe and knocks a couple of his others out into play, the safety play continues from bud but brock proceeds to pot another stripe to top right then safeties again. Then a few shots later brock makes a combo to top right and tries to bang some balls out into play however he leaves more solids out than stripes but after a potting a couple of balls bud leaves himself no leave and is foced to cuebank safety off the bottom rail, a couple of shots later brock decides to pot another stripe then so safe, brock now has 2 stripes to buds 4 solids. Bud then proceeded to pot a couple of balls but seemed oblivious to the fact of the easy cuebank snooker which Brock then proceeded to do with his next shot behind the yellow. Looks like Game set and match to PZ as bud tries some wierd cue spin to hit his ball but fails miserably and gives brock bih who then proceeds to knock his yellow a little further out from buds red but remaining behind his yellow. Bud then bangs and nearly pots the 8 but fortunately doesnt. Brock then proceeded to clear his 2 remamining balls with the bih and pot the black.

Score 4-0 PZ Goodnight Dragonz, your flame never lighted.





PDZ_stoned.dragon55 v PZ_unbullevable

Basically just a lot of banging where the 8 sat precariously over the bot right pocket for pratically the whole match which basically made the match last longer than it should of as stoneds last two solids were trapped beside the 8 where as bull was on the black and in the end when stoned tried to free his solid he left the black on for bull which he proceeded to pot.

5-0 PZ is there a wipe out on the cards ?







PDZ_sicc_ace_with_extreme_bass v PZ_shootalready69

Basically all i saw of this match was shootalready potting the 8 but because of his spin he also put the cueball in at the same time, saving PDZ the embarrassment of a whitewash.

Score 5-1 PZ

PDZ_MYSTICAL13 wins v timer

PZ never had a 7th player but truth be told, they never looked like they needed one tonight either.

Final Score 5-2 Pool Loverz

Special Thanks to Ross for E-Mailing this in where I can't be around for any matches this week. BNR gets free cookies to go with their 2-0 record.

Sometimes, the numbers just don't work out well for a high-scoring tourney.

In the 2nd Big League Tour event of Major League Pool Season 13, 34 of the 94 players were given a first round Bye. Of those 34 Byes, Tour-leading Pool Fiction led the way with seven Byes, while Tourney Pool and True Pool Legends got hit with five apiece. Pool Legends and Lucky Shots had four Byes, as did Straightshots whom the tournament's winner represents.

That Straightshots team did lead the way with 19 points without cam bonus points counted. SS brought 14 players, one shy of the maximum which would've yielded another bonus point for having 15 players in, and given the league 20 on the night. Tourney Pool, which was represented twice in the Semi-Final round by tam_s0 and infamous_rake, and in the Final round by tam, finished with 16 points, and Pool Fiction, which led the tournament in wins with 20, earned 15 points. Pool Legends, which was in second place coming into the week, had only nine points.

Week 1 Finalist oooo_franchise_oooo and Winner zl_stu_lz were both knocked out midway through the tournament. Rufferman, by Pool Fiction's IHateJustin, and Stu by Break and Run's runmatic.

Once again, all 14 leagues were represented in the tourney, but many had poor nights. Pool Dragonz, which brought four players, netted zero points as did Pool Loverz, only represented by dj.legere. Lucky Shots, hindered by those four Byes, only earned one point because _Deathtouch_ won an opening round game. Magic Pool also landed just one point on the night.

Straightshots was represented in the tournament Final by snookrun, also known as p00l_charlie. After a first round Bye, Charlie took down his opponents in pairs on the way to his victory. He defeated two of his Straightshots teammates, two True Pool Legends running his record to 3-0 against his former team this season, a pair of Pool Fiction players, and then in the final two rounds, two from Tourney Pool.

Tourney Pool's tam_s0 had to negotiate the upper half of the bracket, beginning with a Bye. Along the way, tam saw six different leagues in his six games - Cue Killers, TPL, High-Timez, PL, BNR, and of course SS in the Final.

In the Final, Charlie gained the upper hand in a safety battle with tam by erasing some of the Tourney Pooler's balls from the table. Tam did have a chance to stay alive a bit longer in the game had he taken his last shot off the right rail instead of going over the top to reach the left side of the table, but it may have only delayed the inevitable. Tam's final shot left the five-ball, which Charlie potted and also freed up his final two solids. From there it was easy pickings for the hotshot from Straightshots, en route to a 1-0 lead in the best of three.

With break in the second game, Charlie sunk the 14-ball and after what was basically a second break, he chose to take stripes. With only five stripes left on the table, and fairly good spacing, it looked as though the tournament was all but over. His next shot found the cueball splitting the 12 and 15 balls on the right rail, potting the 12 and bringing the cueball down the table in perfect position for a nearly completely hidden ten-ball. But when he made the ten fall, his reverse english did not kick in and instead he was left with no shot. Charlie was able to hang around in the game with no run available to tam, and get one of his other stripes in a good position in the center of the table, but when left with a cuebank that required reverse english, he missed by a small bit. Tam's six-ball run wasn't the cleanest bit of shooting the night saw, but it got the job done and evened up the series at one.

In the decider, tam broke, and Charlie ran. It was that simple. The run was highlighted by a spectacular carom shot, with the six ball being deflected off the 13, and into the bottom middle pocket. At that point, there was simply no doubt as to who would win the tournament. As for the Gold Membership to be awarded to Charlie, it's still unclear whether or not he'll take it. After his opening week victory in the BLT, Stu declined the Gold.

POINTS: LEAGUE: WINS + BONUS - BYES = TOTAL

BNR: 12 + 1 - 1 = 12
CK: 3 + 1 - 0 = 4
HT: 10 + 1 - 0 = 11
LS: 5 + 0 - 4 = 1
MP: 2 + 0 - 1 = 1
PDZ: 0 + 0 - 0 = 0
PFN: 20 + 2 - 7 = 15
PL: 11 + 2 - 4 = 9
PZ: 0 + 0 - 0 = 0
SP: 4 + 0 - 2 = 2
SS: 18 + 5 - 4 = 19
TP: 19 + 2 - 5 = 16
TPL: 18 + 1 - 5 = 14
X8B: 5 + 0 - 1 = 4

Video of the Finals available on Youtube again. The playlist with this week's Finals series can be viewed here.

Week 1 of Major League Pool's 13th season saw some interesting twists and of course, the first cross-conference match of the season.

We begin with that crossover match, the first since MLP's 2nd season. Cue Killers made their return to MLP hoping to start off 1-0 while Pool Dragonz looked to bat 1.000 for the career in the interleague. The match provided the first biit of drama in season 13 as Cue Killer ur.crap used the new reporting requirements as an opportunity to call his opponent, sicc_ace_with_extreme_bass, a "lucky twat." Head Admin Sophie has warned both ur.crap and Cue Killers that if it happens again, well, ur.crap may likely be ur.banned. Of course there's always the irony of a guy named ur.crap losing...

Later in the match the Dragonz did take a 2-1 lead, but from then on CK stepped it up, and won the remaining 4 games to win 5-2. So for a fleeting moment, Cue Killers is the best league in MLP while Pool Dragonz is the worst!

And in fact those totals held through the night as well. Break and Run met up with High Timez in a match that certainly lived up to the hype - of course, that's because there wasn't any and with good reason. From the opening game between HT's greasy.gringo and BNR's redhot_2oo3, the match just sucked. I mean sure, we've all seen the pair of 3-win teams face off in week 12 and just cringed, but this was not the way either team wanted to start their season. David won that game by the way, and actually BNR went up 2-0 and looked to be in cruise control when jasonlippi01 predictably lost to yet another former teammate, this time l2o_bot_l3_alls. But HT would come storming backk to win the next three games, StoneCold9780 winning game 5. Stone would be boxed for 2 weeks after being booted from the table for nearly costing his team the match by coaching, and then for acting like a dumbass in the lobby.

The final two games... Well they lasted 80 minutes to allow me to summarize: patsfan4322 and kccwc1 both won flukey games to save and clinch the match respectively, as BNR wins 4-3.

The AL had the day off Tuesday, but was back at it Wednesday with possible trainwreck Lucky Shots taking on Tourney Pool. TP, heavy favorites in the match but found themselves in a war. the.bawbag was able to knock off one of TP's best in superstaaaar in game 3, against the break to put LS up 2-1. But then Lewis tied the match at 2 apiece by beating _Deathtouch_. In the end, it took a save from kingvaughan and then mvp.sicc winning game 7 over simon.kitto to save TP from the upset.

What I think you'll notice in that match is who won and who lost, and then you will really only be surprised by game 3. Tam, Lewis, Ross, and Ant won the 4 games for TP, Netty, Matt and Craig lost. But when you look at who played who, with Craig having to play Tonzmaniac and Matt going against arguably LS's best player if he plays every week in Ray... The match just about went as you'd expect with those matchups.

And to end the week, the reigning champs, True Pool Legends fell to... Straightshots? Don't start pressing the panic button... SS has been loading up ever since pro_game returned to take over the captaincy for the largest league in Interleagues. It didn't look like it'd be much of a problem for TPL, getting two early wins. But then Miz lost game 3, then DK, then Pool Charlie played and won game 5 against his former league and to cap off the 4-in-a-row comeback... cue_vision won game 6. And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it was 4-2 SS, they didn't have a 7th eligible player so SHARON is now 1-0 in Season 13 with a game 7 win for TPL. But the result still holds - 4-3 SS to end week 1.

So that's week 1 in a very small nutshell. Obviously not the full recaps you'd expect but it's week 1. Let the basketball tourneys end this week (and let this sicky stuff pass...) and when March rolls around, I'll be back to being me ;)

BLT report coming up.

Over one hundred players turned out for the opening tournament to Major League Pool's 13th season, but only two leagues survived into the fifth round.

Pool Legends led the way in terms of participation with a maximum of 15 players for the tournament. Under new tournament rules this season, leagues are awarded three points for bringing the maximum, two points for bringing ten players, and one point for a team of five. As usual, there is also the bonus point for every cammed win, and three points for winning the tournament. An unofficial count without cammed wins tallied has PL with a total of 23 points.

While all 14 MLP leagues participated, a Magic Pool player was the rarest sight, with only three players in the tournament. MP's five points was not the low mark of the tournament, however. High Timez, which brought six players, holds the distinction of picking up the lowest point output. Only one of those six players (greasy.gringo aka Trey) produced any individual points. Trey's win along with the one bonus point for having five or more players join, leaves just two points for the newcoming league.

Tourney Pool, which led the way in Byes with four, was represented in grand fashion by the man who last season recorded the greatest run of Big League Tour dominance in MLP history. luisj_barreto (aka Luis, naturally) defended his #1 tournament seed into the fourth round, surviving a scare from Pool Legend red_sniper_1982. But in a sloppy fourth round game with Pool Fiction's so_wolf_cub4 (aka ... me, Cubby) Luis was eliminated, with initially two of TP's eleven points.

Pool Legends' most aggressive shooter, ooo_franchise_ooo (aka Rufferman) began his run to the Finals with a Bye. He then eliminated one of Xtreme 8Ball's four players (xlo_stephen_olx) and another Tourney Pool standout, superstaaaar. Ruff's run to the finals didn't get any easier - next came a showdown with True Pool Legends anchor aka_pomking. After dispatching Pommy, Ruff had to face his own Captain, sexxxy_luckydog17. As only the second Pool Legend against six Pool Fiction players in the fifth round, Ruff's goal became increasingly clear: Prevent an all-PFN Final. Ruff's aggressive play led him past his conservative captain, and on the way to the Semi-Finals against his former teammate, new.bies, and then the Finals to take on zl_stu_lz, who had been waiting for the better part of half an hour.

Stu began his tournament the same way Ruff did - with a Bye. Stu then took out the first of three Pool Legends players he would face in the tournament, beating pool.n0ob in the second round, and later wyte.folks in the fourth. Sandwiched in the middle was multiple Interleague Admin and Break And Run player, XxXx_MARIJUANA_GOD_xXxX. While initially it looked as if Stu and Luis were on a collision course for each other, fortune intervened for Pool Fiction and he took down his teammate, yours truly. Waiting for Stu on the other side, was yet another teammate, xchriskarenx. Stu and Chris's reunion yielded another win for the winner of the last BLT event of Season 12. Then, the wait began.

Finally, at about ten minutes until 9:00, Stu and Rufferman faced off. The first game had a hint of slowness to it, but quickly picked up when Stu's bank attempt on the six ball, bottom rail to top right, missed the mark. Stu's problems were compounded when the cueball freed up his opponent's 14-ball which Stu had previously placed next to the eightball. Rufferman further freed up his green stripe, and the purple 12-ball along with it, and cruised on to an opening win in the best of three Final series.

In the second game, however, Stu had the break. That break spread out the balls in a perfect position, and the levelling of the series was inevitable. After an opening shot squeezing the 15-ball by a pair of solids, his second shot fortunately pushed a solid far enough to leave a shot on the eleven. From there, it was just a formality. A series of tap-ins after potting the eleven left only minimal english necessary, and led to a level series.

In the decisive game, Stu again tried to give an intentional foul to leave a stripe and 8 connected and make Rufferman's ensuing run that much more difficult. This time, however, the black ball failed to do its job and left Rufferman with a very inviting runout opportunity. Ruffer's main problem was the ten, which sat near the bottom of the table but slightly blocked by Stu's six-ball. Ruff's effort to free up that stripe with three stripes remaining yielded little success, as his backspin left an unfortunate position behind the ten. With still a cuebank available, Ruff tried to play the cueball off the top rail, and tap home the 15-ball sitting just off the right rail above the bottom right pocket. Instead, all the cue found was the blackball. Stu used the ensuing ball-in-hand to make the five-ball in the top middle pocket, and spin off the right rail to free up the eight. Stu continued to shoot in order, making the six, seven, and eight balls in succession, to capture the first Big League Tour event of Season 13, and take in the first Gold Membership courtest of Head Admin Sophie. Pool Fiction also unofficially claims the top spot in BLT Standings through the first week with 23 wins, and five bonus points for a total of 28 points. The Legends claim the second spot with 23 points. No other league has twenty points without cam bonuses added.
Unofficial Point Totals without Cam bonus points tallied (deadline 11:59 PM ET)
Formatting Note: LEAGUE: Wins + Bonus - Byes = Total

BNR: 10 + 2 - 2 = 10
CK: 6 + 1 - 0 = 7
HT: 1 + 1 - 0 = 2
LS: 6 + 1 - 2 = 5
MP: 5 + 0 - 0 = 5
PDZ: 3 + 1 - 0 = 4
PFN: 26 + 5 - 3 = 28
PL: 23 + 3 - 3 = 23
PZ: 4 + 0 - 0 = 4
SP: 7 + 1 - 3 = 5
SS: 11 + 2 - 1 = 12
TP: 14 + 1 - 4 = 11
TPL: 8 + 1 - 1 = 8
X8B: 3 + 0 - 0 = 3

Video of the Finals available on Youtube with commentary done by moi. The playlist with this week's Finals series can be viewed here.

As the February 8th deadline draws closer, it's a good time to start looking at some of the leagues making their Major League Pool debut in Season 13, and the league returning after about a 10-season absence.

In the National League, looking at a glance like the weaker of the two, you have Sexy Poolerz technically making a debut, though the team is primarily made up of former United Pool players. As such, they'll be captained by Pete (king.2068) and Pete and his team will look to make a return trip to the World Series after stunning 8 Ball Runners in the American League Championship Match in Season 10. Their room, Bicycle Race, may sound familiar - it was once home to Lucky Pool (LKP.)

Pool Dragonz joins MLP for the first time, after dashing into the interleague scene in the Universal Interleague Competition (UIC) and World Pool Championship (WPC.) They've drawn comparisons to an upgraded version of Breakers Alley - aboard for the ride, never demanding to be center of attention by causing trouble, and with the bonus that they have a few good shooters in their midst. Pool Dragonz will play in the first regular season inter-conference match since Season 2 - an idea that had been in the works since the middle of Season 12 - against the American League's Cue Killers. More on them later. Pool Dragonz, coincidentally, holds their league in the place where I first played an interleague match - Straight Into Darkness, formerly home to the Wolfpack league.

Finally in the NL, Xtreme 8Ball. One of the most active, and busiest leagues in Yahoo! Pool has made its way into MLP. After a successful campaign in the Pro Players Association this past season, X8B figures to have instant success here and could legitimately threaten to make a deep post-season run in the National League. They'll play in the room Alive and open up their season with Pool Loverz - a chance for PZ to show what signs of improvement there may be, pr a chance for Xtreme 8Ball to make a statement right out of the gate.

In the American League, one new league jumps on-board with perhaps some familiar faces, while another league returns at long last.

High Timez, formerly Booze-n-Spliffs (BZNS) comes into MLP for the first time, but they certainly won't be newbies to this sort of thing. Former Cheap Shotz Captain Mickey (IMHIGHER) calls this place home, though he will not be captain of HT this season. More importantly perhaps, former National League MVP BooMann (yes, that guy, Robbie) is expected to make his return to MLP. They'll certainly need him, ranked #1 on the High Timez ladder, to be their #1 guy on the team if they expect to compete in a very tough-looking American League. HT makes Aneurysm their home room, and plays the nightcap on opening night against Break And Run - sure to be a quality match.

Finally, there's Cue Killers finally returning to Major League Pool after an absence of about ten seasons. They now call the room Mama Kin their home, after a failed attempt at resurrecting the Pool Fighters league in that room. Cue Killers were last seen in MLP back in Season 2, by my recollection anyways. Their Head Admin, sapphireskyuk, at one point a long time ago had run World Interleague Pool (WIP) - a tourney-based interleague rather than the match play interleague format that dominates interleagues today. They return to MLP just in time to play an inter-conference matchup as mentioned before with Pool Dragonz, just as they had played across conferences in Season 2 (the last season of inter-conference matches in MLP.)

As for some of the changes in MLP this season, in addition to the inter-conference matchups:

BIG LEAGUE TOUR:

The Big League Tour has expanded to allow a maximum of 15 players (which surely Pool Legends and Straightshots will reach a majority of the weeks.) The monthly 2 vs. 2 tourney will allow for 8 teams now, improving on the previous total as well.

There have been a handful of rule changes and clarifications - most notably the requirement that players report their own losses. This has been changed primarily to help keep track of player IPs, rather than always seeing admin IPs in the log. While there are still ways of getting around that, it also serves another purpose - leaving the admins with one less task every night. And it should be noted that this will be a requirement - and there will be penalties for not following along. The first offense will only result in a warning, but after that match suspensions will occur and eventually, on the 4th instance... The player is done for the season.

The last major change in the rules, comes with aimer accusations. No, they're still boxable offenses. But one thing players have constantly done is say "I did not specifically say aimer." - Well, now you don't have to. Any harrassment of a player or mention of their play as a result of not playing on cam, is going to be treated as an accusation. It will carry the same penalties - 2 matches for the first offense, season ban for the second. The Admins want to stress that this isn't a cam competition, and the usual asshattery that goes on within them won't be tolerated. Frankly, there are other interleagues that allow for that, and MLP won't be one of them.

Lastly on the rules front, a slight tweak to the solid and stripe + ball in hand rule. Normally, if an ill-informed player takes the ball in hand as a result of making a solid and a stripe either on the break or with open table, they have to tap the cueball back to the opponent to give them ball in hand. Now, the opposing player has two options: They can take the ball in hand, or they can force a rerack. With the break sometimes playing a bigger role than usual in a captain's strategy, this gives a captain, rare as the situation may be, a chance to change up who has the break and when, if they so choose.

And the final change to mention here, is the Playoff format. With 2 fewer leagues and now seven teams to a Conference, MLP will go to a Bye-free 4-team format. It's your typical 4-team bracket - 1 hosts 4, 2 hosts 3, winners play off and then the World Series comes.

So that's what's new in Major League Pool's 13th season. Now all that's left to do is wait for Feb. 8th, and get this season kickstarted.

The World Series is set.

Representing the National League will be the #2 Seed Tourney Pool who knocked off the #1 seed Poolfiction 4 - 1 on Wednesday Night. Tourney Pool defeated Luckyshots the round previous, 4 games to 2.

On the other side, True Pool Legends cruised through the American League bracket defeating Cheapshotz in round 2, 4-2, and then Pool Legends by an identical tally. Pommy has yet to play a game yet this post season, as neither matches went to a decisive game 7.

This is going to be one hell of a match-up and a memorable way to end Sophie's tenure as MLP Head Admin. With players like Luis and MJ on one side and Pommy and Champ Chris on the other, how could it not be?

But, once again, I want to hear your opinions. For those that really screwed up their predictions last post, consider it a shot at redemption; for those that predicted it, congrats.

You've got two choices people. That's what we've come down to. I want to hear opinions!

-Which player match-up are you foaming at the mouth thinking about?

-What/Who is TP's "X-Factor" for the World Series ?

-What/Who is TPL's "X-Factor" for the World Series?

-How big of a factor will TPL's home-table advantage be?

-Most under-appreciated TP player?

-Most under-appreciated TPL player?

- MVP if TP wins?

- MVP if TPL wins?

-Who's taking it down?

Lastly, just wanted to take the time to thank the admins for another incredibly well-organized season. While many of the things you do go on behind the scenes, the end of the season is a great time to sit back and appreciate everything you've went through in the last 4 months or so! Thank you for all you do!

by YOU...the Reader(s)

-Which two leagues are going to make it through their respective conference playoffs and reach the World Series?

-Which of these two leagues is going to win the World Series?

-Who's going to take home the Playoff MVP Hardware when all is said and done?

-And...most importantly - Why do you think everything you just answered is going to happen?

Let's here it, folks =)

With the latest incident of Dream Pool cheating, MLP Admins now have a very difficult decision to make: Whether or not to allow Dream Pool to compete any further.

The decision, set to come sometime before the end of the weekend, stems from Dream Pool's do_ur_best1 being caught using an aimer. It had been said that s_u_k_i_o_o was previously sal_bianca, but sal was actually do_ur_best1. That's a mistake on this end, and apologies go where due.

Ben, also known as Harvey who he'll be called from here on, and do_ur_best1, isn't the only problem. Admins must decide whether or not to allow Dream Pool to compete any further because of a conversation between Harvey and Dream Pool's Head Admins, Tom and Anna. In the chat, Tom specifically tells Harvey that he cannot play any tournaments in Dream Pool, with one exception. He can only play enough to qualify for Interleague play. As the discussion continues, Tom adds he sees no problem with Harvey using an aimer in Interleagues, so long as he keeps it out of Dream Pool.

Major League Pool's Admins do have a problem. One Admin said a decision could come as early as tonight. What has to be considered, though, is how this shakes up all of MLP.

Dream Pool finished the regular season 11-3, with 66 wins. While tiebreaker rules within the National League have Pool Fiction as the #1 seed with Dream Pool behind them, Dream Pool does hold the best overall record, making them Regular Season Champions. That could all go away if, in fact, Dream Pool is not acknowledged any further. As a result, Pool Ficton and American League Champion True Pool Legends would share the Regular Season Championship. The change would also mean Tourney Pool, which finished behind Dream Pool by five wins, would jump up to #2. TP would then host Lucky Shots in the second round, rather than playing at Dream Pool. The move would also bring Elite Pool Legendz via tiebreaker to #4, hosting what would be former outcast, Magic Pool as the fifth seed. The winner would then play #1 Pool Fiction.

There's also the matter of the All-Star Match. Dream Pool has two All-Star hopefuls on the team, in SolidSpeed and s_u_k_i_o_o. Both players sit at 9-1 on the season, SolidSpeed the slightly better resume with a clinch and a save, never losing in either scenario. If Dream Pool is to be banished, MLP would need to replace any Dream Pool All-Stars. This primarily opens the doors for Tourney Pool players not chosen as All-Stars, whether it be the ones not chosen between kingvaughan, deep_cerebro, and tam_s0, or possibly pool.instinct with his 6-0 record and two clinches.

At any rate, when the dust settles Dream Pool will make Major League Pool history. DP will be either the first league to win the Regular Season Championship but not its own Conference, or the first league to be banned from play in an MLP season which it qualified for the Playoffs. The only other instance of a Playoff-bound league being bumped out, was this current season of Pool League Championship. Omega Conference #4 seeded Pool Pals quit, and Devine Cuez moved up as a replacement.

Here we are, with just two weeks remaining in the MLP regular season. Major shake-up in one league could be a major gift to one of its biggest rivals. More on that after...

MATCHES OF THE WEEK:

Devine Cuez @ True Pool Legends leads it off. I think DC, much like United Pool and Cheap Shotz, are a product of teams playing each other. In order to get a fair assessment of these teams, you need to take 6 wins away (SS, PZ, 8BS/WS) to account for the fact that they played joke leagues. Same with the NL, taking 2 wins off from matches with PP (and just 1 for LS, since they actually lost to Pool Pals.) So now, you have a team in DC, take 5 wins away before they play Straight Shots next week, 4-3 team vs. a 4-2 team. Now they look even. When you have two even teams, I usually give the advantage to the team with the talent. That, in this case, is True Pool Legends. This is a team that really needs to win the World Series, or any Championship, because of how close they've been in the past. Declan, Pommy, Travis, Charlie... Zach, Lewis, Jeanna, Neale. Or something like that. TPL's better, TPL wins 4-3.

The other bigtime match, and co-Match of the Week, Cheap Shotz @ Pool Legends. Here's a case, in Cheap Shotz, where they don't care about the regular season once they know they're Playoff-bound. They just run a swiss or some suspicious suicides, get eligible, and maybe show up and half-ass it. They still win a lot, which makes me believe if anybody knocks off TPL, it will be Cheap Shotz (like they did week 7.) So which CZ team will show up here? I think the serious team will for the next 2 weeks. They have PL this week, TPL the next. With the prospect of a first round Bye, you can beat CZ will care about this. For Pool Legends, a win and DC win would put them in position to possibly steal #1 from their superior counterparts. The big guys will show up, and can win their games. But the mid-pack guys also need to win for PL. Jason, Kalpz, and Matt can go 14-0 but if nobody else ever wins, the team is the best 0-14 team in MLP history. I like Cheap Shotz on paper in this one, winning 4-3 as well.

Lucky Shots takes on Break And Run. Very interesting matchup here. BNR, glaringly mediocre, but not on the level of the three stooges in the AL. With a Bye coming up in Week 14, this is the last chance for BNR to play spoiler. Lucky Shots CAN still miss the Playoffs, if EPL & MP win out and Lucky Shots loses out. A win guarantees them a spot, as does a Magic Pool loss. Lucky Shots is better, and if Justin is to cement his ownership of the MVP award in the NL, he needs to win a relevant game in this one. The expectations are there, and this is basically the last test. I think he comes through, and Lucky Shots does clinch a Playoff spot, and LS wins 5-2.

Elite Pool Legends... Dan is out as the Captain. Easily their team MVP in MLP & PLC, now they have to try and hang on for dear life and hope Magic Pool falters. Again, a Magic Pool loss also gives EPL a Playoff spot but they can't sit back and wait for someone else to change their diapers. They have to beat either Tourney Pool or Dream Pool, both of which are fighting for the #2 seed amongst themselves. So with issues at the top, the question more or less becomes... How badly does EPL get beat? I don't think they get all of this sorted in time for this week's match. Tourney Pool rolls to a 5-2 win.

That leaves Magic Pool and Dream Pool. MP is an absolute mess, but they're looking at this shakeup in EPL thinking... "We have a chance to pull this off, and if we win we can battle against a Pool Fiction team with nothing to gain by winning." That has to be the mentality here. This is MP's last stand. They need to beat two teams that are vastly superior to them, and they're also a man down with Mike boxed. I think Magic Pool at least helps out Tourney Pool, puts up a desperate fight, but falls short 4-3 to Dream Pool this week.

For some leagues, 3 matches still remain. For a fortunate few, only a couple. Two of the less fortunate teams play a fitting Monday night...

MATCH OF THE WEEK:

Magic Pool @ Elite Pool Legendz - EPL came out very strong against Pool Fiction, got a 2-0 lead, and surrendered 4 straight as Pool Fiction possibly saved its season behind Derek & Jamie starting that comeback. Magic Pool on the other hand is coming off a Bye last week, and comes in tied with EPL. Remember, however, that Magic Pool holds the Head to Head advantage by virtue of the 4-3 win back in Week 5, one of EPL's first matches in MLP.

Keep in mind the win-loss records, too. A 4-win advantage to Magic Pool, aided greatly by the previous week. Someone will be 5th, someone 6th. It will likely remain that way down the stretch, too. EPL needs, if they don't win any other matches, a 5-2 win or better. 4-3 still gives MP the edge in win/loss record.

For a prediction: Going purely on what is visible: MP is a mess, EPL is better, EPL rolls to a 5-2 win, and they eventually take #5 in the National League.

Rest of the week's relevant matches later

If anyone looks over the stats and see's someone who looks like they should be on my honourable mention list and isn't, feel free to YIM me at 'Daz_ed' or just leave the name in the comments section!
A special shout-out to Ross for getting me the game 7 stats! Thanks, Buddy!

According to Wikipedia, the "Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests." While many people may be aware of it's general definition, with regards to MLP, there is not a set of criteria that has been made publicly available which defines a MVP. Is it the best individual record? Is it just how "chummy" you are with the admins? In my opinion, while both of these have no doubt influenced the recipients of the award in past seasons (hopefully the latter more subconsciously *glares*), these two things don't go quite far enough in ensuring the award goes to the most deserving player. That's why I'm here. That's the point of this article. This is my take on what things should be taken into consideration when picking Major League Pool's, Regular Season MVP's.

First off, let's set a few conditions on the award:
1. You have to of played in a minimum of 8, 7 v 7 matches (i.e. +50% of matches)
2. You have to of played on a PLAYOFF* team. Let's be honest - if Joe Smoe goes 11-0 on an 0-14, 8th place New Happy Pool team does he/she really deserve the MVP award?

***Remember: the MVP award should be given to the player that was most vital in ensuring the success of their team; if it's only going to the player with the best overall record in MLP season-after-season, that isn't supporting the idea of an MVP. We have a 14 game regular season in MLP; 5 out of 8 teams make the playoffs; condition number 2 is more than reasonable.

Anyways, now that that's out of the way, on to the things that I think should be taken into consideration when naming the AL and NL Most Valuable Players:

***Note: for the sake of this article, and to minimize me spreading false facts, I will be referencing the True Pool Legends MLP team in my scenario's since their matches are the ones I am most aware of. The number in brackets represents my opinion on the importance of each criteria, percentage wise, when considering a teams MVP.

#1. Meaningful Game 7's Record (45%)
Match tied 3-3 - Who's the stud you want out there to bring the match home? In game 7 there is usually two guarantees: The first is that you're going to be playing a fairly skilled opponent; more often than not your opponent's best. The second is that you are going to be under maximum pressure to perform well - there is no second chances if you lose. Why is this more important than a "Save" game? Because, in a meaninful game 7 you not only have the pressure that if you lose your done, but also of knowing that a win gives your side the victory! With respect to YPool, a win in this case is the highest of highs, and a loss is the lowest of lows as you feel like you've let the others on your team down. For TPL, Pommy is the only player to play a game 7. In 3 of them, he sports a record of 1 win and 2 losses. Not exactly fantastic, but throw in that he got run-broke by Ant versus CZ, and that he nipped a bank off the bottom middle pocket versus UP on his last colour, and there's no doubt 1-2 could easily be 3-0.

#2. Save/Clinch Stats Outside of Game 7 (35%)
These are a close 2nd to the most important types of games played in a 7 v 7 match, and therefore, are games played with another high degree of pressure. The only reason these games are #2 on my list, is that they only carry "one type" of pressure (see above explanation), with saves obviously being more crucial than clinches (there isn't as much pressure on a player to clinch a match outside of game 7, but the important thing to note here is the captains confidence in a player to play in these situations and the ability of the player to close). A healthy record in these types of games goes a long way in my books to determining that players importance on a team. For example, this season for TPL, Charlie (4-2 overall with 1 loss coming as a member of SS) would be the most qualified for this particular statistic, as he is 1 for 1 in saves and 2 for 2 in clinches.

#3. Overall Record (20%)
This is the stat that I take into consideration, but put the least emphasis on. While I think it is indeed an accomplishment to have a very strong season in MLP, if you are a slightly above average player playing in non-pressure situations, this is made much easier. It's significantly more impressive to go 8-2 playing in games 5-7 each week then it is to go 9-1 playing in games 1 and 2. In TPL's case, I'm more accustomed to playing in games 1-3, and because of this I have a 6-1 record on the season. Am I a ypool all-star? No. Would I consider myself an above average player? No doubt. To support the case I'm trying to make here, I give much more credit to Charlie for going 4-2 this season (Note: he won the one game he lost for SS, but was disqualified for being an asshole...shocker...lol), then I do to myself for being 6-1, since I know he is playing in tougher matches on a week-to-week basis. Mind you, playing in the top-heavy American League usually guarantees you a decent opponent most weeks, no matter which spot you play in - this is something the National League doesn't have as much of a case for.

#4. YPool Reputation (0%)
This should mean nothing. Zip. Nil. Nada. Zilch. I don't care how well you know the admins and the look of their genetalia - GET OFF YOUR KNEES - this crap should have no bearing on who wins MVP each season! Have a reputation of being a solid player with a history of fantastic MLP 7 v 7 records? Who cares - what'd ya do this season worth noting? What you've done this season as a player is all that matters.

The point of this article was to open peoples eyes and to look passed a persons overall record and into the circumstances surrounding the games that they've been playing in. Hopefully, at the end of the season, the proper people will be rewarded for fantastic seasons.

MY TOP 3
1. Justin (LS) Win/Loss = 8/1 -- Saves = 2/2 -- Clinches = 1/1 -- Total = 15.5
2. Lewis (DC) Win/Loss = 8/1 -- Saves = 1/1 -- Clinches = 2/2 -- Total = 14.0
3. Pascal (UP) Win/Loss = 6/1 -- Saves = 1/1 -- Clinches = 3/4 -- Total = 12.5

HONOURABLE MENTION
T4. Mikey (CZ) Win/Loss = 7-0 -- Saves = 0/0 -- Clinches = 3/3 -- Total = 11.5
T4. Jamie (PFN) Win/Loss = 7/1 -- Saves = 1/1 -- Clinches = 1/1 -- Total = 11.5
T4. Ketan (UP) Win/Loss = 4/3 -- Saves = 1/1 -- Clinches = 3/4 -- Total = 11.5


***Note: For the above Stats, Wins = 1 point, Saves = 3 points and Clinches = 1.5 points
As of right now, there is no "Meaningful Game 7 Statstracker," or perhaps these standings would look a little different since that would reward the most points

Oh man how bad is this week gonna be in terms of boring matches... MP, PL, TPL all have wins against joke leagues, no relevant action until Wednesday. So the only relevant match on Wednesday...

MATCH OF THE WEEK:

Cheap Shotz @ Devine Cuez. Last time, 6-1 DC, they made Cheap Shotz look like Cheap Hookers. Much closer this time around. Both teams have played very well in the past few weeks, Devine Cuez only slipping up against a lucky and overlooked PZ team, and they still won even though they shouldn't have. Cuez have been tested more lately, and they're in the midst of a very difficult stretch to finish out the MLP season. I've hinted that Cheap Shotz, on paper, is better. The problem I have in picking them is that Devine Cuez has the American League MVP as of now on their side. That could change. I think if you're DC, as home team, you have to set this up so your best plays their best - Lewis has to play Trumpsterized. Talent-wise, he isn't their best. Statistically, however, he hasn't lost. He has won the big games for CZ numerous times this season. If it's not a clinch, it's still a big game, usually. If Lewis has to be wasted against somebody else, Cheap Shotz wins easily, most likely. This match should determine the American League MVP, slight edge to trump & Cheap Shotz, 4-3.

Only other remotely close match in the American League, UP is pretty good, SS is terrible, but they still have a shot at upsetting United Pool. However, Pascal showed on Sunday night that he is just simply good. As long as they protect him from a runbreak by playing him with break, UP will be fine. They win 5-2, maybe 6-1. 3-way tie for 2nd in the AL with either CZ or DC dropping to 5th.

BIG Thursday night in the National League. Start with a struggling Pool Fiction team against Elite Pool Legendz. EPL wins this, they're the #5 seed in the NL because Magic Pool is just an absolute mess right now. They could actually lose to PP who isn't even in MLP anymore, they're that messed up. Back to PFN, something desperately has to change, not the least of which being the absence of Stu & James. Very odd that two of the best players in PFN, and pool in general would just vanish telling anyone anything. Kerry has tried to fill the void with JJ, who has performed well in Interleagues across the board. Suffice it to say, PFN can't be missing anyone Thursday night if they want to hold onto #1. On EPL's side, you have a team that's just as big a nuisance as Magic Pool, but not quite as big a mess. The biggest knock on EPL is they beat one good team - Tourney Pool. Since then, they haven't beat anybody good and got murdered by Lucky Shots 6-1. EPL can win this match, but not based on their track record. As rough as Pool Fiction has it right now, PFN still wins 5-2.

Break and Run plays Tourney Pool, Luis... IN BNR's room, dominates the BLT again Sunday night. Granted, he DOES play in BNR for UIC. But that won't help Break And Run here. Tourney Pool has their sights set on the #1 seed, it's within reach if Pool Fiction and Dream Pool slip up, Tourney Pool rolls to a 5-2 W.

If I could have 2 Matches of the Week I would. Lucky Shots and Dream Pool finish out the week, starting just after the other 2 Thursday night matches. Lucky Shots is a team that is simply rolling right now. Dream Pool without Ash, had a Bye last week, now we see what that does for them. As I've said, he could still coach, or play some way or another. Prosecute me for saying it, but Dream Pool has been caught coaching and such on Cam, so it doesn't take rocket science to come to the conclusion they coach off it as well, and that's just the shallow end of the possibilities. Lucky Shots led by the usual suspects, they're playing the full season this time and actually some are optimistic that they can get all the way up to #3 if Dream Pool falters. Justin has come almost out of nowhere to emerge as a National League MVP candidate, and if LS can get up to #3, he keeps winning big games for them, that's a definite reality. I don't buy into Ray's hype, I buy into the fact he's a solid player having an oustanding season. Kinda like trump with Cheap Shotz. I also buy into Lucky Shots riding this wave of success, winning 4-3.

Some big, big, big matches coming up this week so let's jump right into the important ones.

MATCH OF THE WEEK:

True Pool Legends @ Pool Legends - From the last match of week 9, to the first match of week 10, Match of the Week. I said in my review of week 9, I don't think Pool Legends can beat TPL. It's just not a team I've seen PL show they've been able to beat. On paper, True Pool Legends have much more talent to showcase than their opponents this week. The key for the "other" Pool Legends Monday night will be simply changing it up. Everyone knows Sova will wait until Game 7 to play. PL is the home team this week. Luckydog can afford to take the chance and if TPL plays a weak player, or someone he thinks he can beat, I would not be surprised to see Sova come out early and try to throw a curve. Regardless, TPL wins this, 4-3, maybe 5-2. Oh by the way, first place in the AL is on the line.

Very fortunate Dream Pool has an automatic win thanks to Pool Pals quitting after not being able to win. They pick up a win to keep in line with Pool Fiction as PFN battles Tourney Pool. This is similar to TPL-PL, in that of late, Pool Fiction has had Tourney Pool's number. PFN a good comeback last Thursday, didn't look great, more a product of Dream Pool choking time after time. They're still vulnerable. You still won't likely see Pool Fiction's lineup at its absolute best, but I do think PFN can beat TP this week. There's always Jamie, and that's a big confidence booster for everyone on the team knowing the big guy is there. Tourney Pool makes a good run at 'em, but PFN wins 4-3.

United Pool plays Pool Loverz... While UP HAS lost 3 straight, big sigh of relief this week. As always, saying PZ will lose because they're terrible will give them a chip on their shoulder yada yada yada... United Pool wins 5-2. Match is close for a short while, but UP ends it quick to keep up in the AL race.

Elite Pool Legendz and Lucky Shots, very intriguing matchup a little further down the National League ladder. Lucky Shots has been on fire as of late, back-to-back 5-2 wins, more impressively a couple weeks ago against Pool Fiction and against a fading Magic Pool squad last week. It's a first-time meeting between these two as well, as Lucky Shots handed Extreme Cues loss #1 on the season back in week 3, soon after EC was replaced by this EPL team. Not to be outdone, EPL has also won the previous 2 matches, both 5-2. But remember I said nobody cares about Pool Pals & BNR anymore? That's who EPL beat. So by that thinking, the logic basically mandates my prediction here - Lucky Shots should win this one 4-3, and scratch and claw back to .500.

Devine Cuez about in the same boat as United Pool as far as who they play this week. It's a matchup with Wasted Shotz. They took Pool Loverz lightly, looked past them, but came ready to play and beat Pool Legends. Lewis and co. won't make that mistake again. Devine Cuez DO roll this time, 5-2, and that's about all there is to say about this matchup.

Magic Pool falling fast but perhaps a little grace at just the right time, they play Break And Run. BNR, despite being irrelevant and out of the Playoff picture, can still play spoiler. Regardless of the result of LS-EPL, Magic Pool will not be more than 1 game out of the Playoff hunt. HOWEVER, why bother right? Magic Pool needs this win simply to assure themselves that they're not dead money. It would be a huge momentum boost, with a Bye against the vacant Pool Pals slot coming up next week. All the pieces are in place for Magic Pool to make the Playoffs. They're getting all the breaks as far as the schedule goes - playing in the weaker Conference, the Bye, having 2 easy weeks in a row, sandwiched in between a match with #5 LS and #4 EPL (2 weeks from now.) If Magic Pool does not make the Playoffs this season, they'd might as well not waste their time playing future seasons. They SHOULD be there at #5 when it's all said and done, and it starts with a 4-3 win against BNR, despite their in-house issues.

Cheap Shotz and Straight Shots cap off the week. At this point SS is all but eliminated and just trying to play spoiler, like BNR over in the NL. I should be picking CZ to just roll over these guys and keep pace in the AL, but Straightshots is one of those teams that no matter how bad they are or how bad they look, still comes up big in one way or another when you least expect it. So, weary as I am here, I'm taking a Cheap Shotz team that's better than its record (much better,) to win 5-2.

Alright, now to save time and space I'm only going to focus on the matches that are relevant in any way shape or form (that means Wasted Shotz-Straight Shots... Not listed. Nobody cares.)

Kicking off the week, Lucky Shots look to follow up on a major upset last week knocking off Pool Fiction, as they play Magic Pool. Magic Pool sits steady at 4-4 alongside Elite Pool Legendz, Lucky Shots comes in at 3-5 and only needs a win to tie for at least 5th, possibly 4th. I think LS has a good thing going right now, and so long as MP tries to rely on guys like K202 to get the job done, he'll continue to damage them long-term, and Magic Pool is flirting, very dangerously if they lose this match, with avoiding a first round exit in the Playoffs - they won't have to worry about playing at all. Look for Lucky Shots to win this one, 5-2 as well.

Elsewhere on Monday night, United Pool takes on True Pool Legends in the battle for 2nd place in the American League. Both teams sit at 6-2, only one game ahead of 4th and 5th in the AL, one game behind Pool Legends at #1. TPL's Ryan has constantly said: United Pool is not that good. How are they [X record?] Well, they force the issue. As a whole, United Pool is not a typical snooker-first team, and they come right at you and make you decide earlier than you'd like to, what to do with the table. They've lost a couple in a row now, and that was after getting forced into a decisive 7th game against Wasted Shotz before Pascal bailed them out. I'll give Dazed the benefit of the doubt, and side with him. United Pool is dangerous, but overall I think TPL is better on average, I'll take TPL to win it this time, 4-3.

On Tuesday night, Break And Run's absolute last hurrah. They sit at 1-7, they're 2 games behind 6th place Lucky Shots. They're 3 games behind 5th place Elite Pool Legendz. If they can win this match, their season still has a tiny glimmer of hope. Pull within potentially one game of 6th if MP upsets LS, 2 games of EPL if they can pull off the upset... Their guys need to actually believe their season is still alive. They need to show up in full force and even then, I don't like their chances all too much. Could come down to a mental battle if it gets close, EPL will run their mouths if it does, might get flustered. It won't get all that close though. BNR gives them a scare, but Elite Pool Legendz comes out with a 5-2 win, and Break And Run is officially laid to rest.

Devine Cuez are tied for 4th place at 5-3. Yes, 4th and 5th places in the American League are FIVE WINS, THREE LOSSES. Best top 5 in one Conference MLP has seen in a while. You actually have to be, y'know, good to make the Playoffs up there. DC deals with #1 Pool Legends, and last time these two met... PL was much, much sharper mentally. They played their game, DC's players got antsy, it affected their games, they played terrible and were lucky not to get swept. I think it'll be more of the same. Pool Legends, simply better. Jason has a few guys that he can use against Lewis, they'll slow things down, they'll annoy DC again, and win 5-2 or 6-1.

Thursday night, Pool Loverz and Cheap Shotz. PZ has at least a hint of momentum and the ability to potentially play spoiler, but don't get fooled. It's still Pool Loverz, this is Cheap Shotz, and yes DC beat CZ 6-1 the first time around... But Cheap Shotz is better than Devine Cuez, and won't need a game 7 forfeit to bail them out. Cheap Shotz win big Thursday night, and yes I'll call it 6-1 again, outside chance of a sweep.

MATCH OF THE WEEK

I'm always hesitant to write a lot about a PFN match, because of the whole conflict of interest crap. However, this is a match for #1 in the National League, and it should be close. Easily the MOTW here in Week 9. I actually think Pool Fiction is vulnerable against Dream Pool this week. You saw last week what happens when they don't have the big guns in a 7v7 format. 5v5 you can get away with it, add 2 games and it gets really tough. Depth is everything in MLP. It's how things work. Dream Pool actually won 5 games out of 7 against PFN in PLC. Of course there were 2 Cam DQs and there could've been 2 more, as DP was caught coaching on YM (borderline, but it was still coaching.) So if they're stupid enough to do all that on Cam, in an all-Cam Interleague... You know that and more goes on, and I think I'm with everyone else just waiting for someone to spill the beans. But as long as this is the regular season, the team is still dangerous. Ash has slipped up a lot lately in interleagues. Lately it has been all on guys like sal bianca, cooldaddy, etc. to carry the load. Pool Fiction, straight up, is better. They jumped ahead 4-0 last time, DP won 3 junk games. This time, I think it'll be a lot closer. In fact, I'll go bold and actually take Dream Pool to take over #1 in the National League. They win the nightcap on Thursday night, 4-3.

Things got VERY interesting in the 8th week of Season 12, here are some of the major storylines:

ONE LESS ZERO

Lucky Shots knocked off Pool Fiction on Wednesday night, 5-2. LS's the.bawbag got the clinch for last season's National League Semi-Finalists, as they look to make yet another Wildcard run and perhaps gear up for another trip to the NL Semis & beyond. With the upset, Lucky Shots now sits at 3-5, one game behind Elite Pool Legendz & Magic Pool for not only 5th, but also FOURTH. For Lucky Shots next week, it's a showdown with that Magic Pool team, with EPL the following week. Pool Fiction battles Dream Pool next week for #1 in the NL, thanks not only to LS's win, but also Dream Pool's ass-whooping of Break And Run, effectively ending BNR's season. Only one zero remains (and no we won't be counting 10s,) and that's Wasted Shotz, 0-8 now after taking over 8 Ball Joke's 0-for-everything record midway into the season.

HAPPY TRAILS... AGAIN

I don't know who has quit more times over the history of MLP; Me, Moe, or Pool Pals. Regardless, Pool Pals have once again left MLP, supposedly, after EPL beat them 5-2 Monday night. The first to reap the benefits of their departure? Tourney Pool, unless somebody replaces PP. So pencil Tourney Pool in at 6-3 for now, just a game out of 2nd place by the end of Week 9. Oh by the way, they get a rematch with Pool Fiction for their next real match in Week 10. Before quitting, Pool Pals had started 0-4 before picking up a win over Lucky Shots. Pool Pals departs with a 1-7 record, and a mere 20 wins on the season, one more than Break And Run at the moment for the 2nd worst record in the NL. Last time Pool Pals quit, however, it was only a 45-minute hiatus. So, who knows?

DEVINE INTERVENTION

So the Sports Center jinx hit not only Devine Cuez hotshot eng.ishman, who lost his first game this season (now 7-1,) but apparently the entire Devine Cuez team suffered. Coming into the week at 4-3 and battling Cheap Shotz for the #4 spot in the American League, DC looked like they would just run a line right through Pool Loverz on route to more serious threats to their record. Well... Not so much. Trailing 0-2, Pool Loverz, who had just picked up win #1 last week against Wasted Shotz, rallied to take a 3-2 lead, capped off by PZ Captain & MLP Admin Lenny winning game 5 over lackin_skillz. Well, after Game 6, when real_fkin_deal saved it for DC, Pool Loverz was lackin_playerz. They had to forfeit the final game of the match, and Devine Cuez gladly took their 4-3 win and quickly exited You Got Lucky, stage right. A fitting name for the room in which the match was played, no? Cheap Shotz did beat United Pool the following night, 4-3, when Ant defeated Ketan in Game 7. So both leagues, DC and CZ, now sit at 5-3 in a tie for 4th place. United Pool has lost 2 in a row to drop to 6-2, True Pool Legends also sit at 6-2. As far as head-to-head records between the tied leagues: United Pool holds #2 via tiebreaker, beating TPL 4-3 earlier in the season. By the way, they play each other next week. Between Devine Cuez and Cheap Shotz... You may remember, Devine Cuez put a big ol' mushroom stamp on Cheap Shotz in round 1 of their home-and-home battle, 6-1. Next week, DC takes on #1 Pool Legends. Cheap Shotz gets a suddenly dangerous Pool Loverz team.

BIG LEAGUE DOMINANCE

I bet you thought Miz's run a couple seasons ago was something special in terms of the MLP Big League Tour. Luis has already passed Miz's mark of 4 tourneys in a season, and still has many more to go. What's so significant, though, about the Big League Tour? Let's examine. In a given week, you have to win anywhere from 5-7 games in a row. Now, one may think it's pretty easy if you catch fire somewhere and go on a streak. While that's true, it can't be used to describe what Luis has done. Lulu has done it multiple times in the 1v1 Tour on Sundays, but also won the most recent 2v2 Tour at the end of August. In August ALONE he won 4 Big League Tours. What we're seeing is quite possibly the most dominant performance by any one player in any form, in MLP history. Luis has also withdrawn from the ladder before, erasing his total stats from previous seasons. Yet still, in the Hall of Fame, he sits only 3 behind Miz in Tourneys Won.

Week #9 is just around the corner. Things have become very interesting in both Conferences. Previews will come over the weekend.

One half of the MLP Season out of the way and now for the most part the 16 leagues will get set for rematches with everyone. One of those rematches will be under the spotlight as Match of the Week.

But first, it's a first-time showdown with Elite Pool Legendz, to kick off the week for Pool Pals. As has been well-mentioned before, EPL replaced an Extreme Cues team with a flare for the dramatic. A pair of 4-3 victories for EC before players simply started leaving, for various reasons. The hotspot for those players, the team some of them played for last season - Pool Pals. So around full-circle we come. Pool Pals simply needs a stellar 2 months just to make the Playoffs. Elite Pool Legendz could bury them right here. At 3-4, EPL sits in 5th place in the National League. A win over Pool Pals would put PP 3 games behind, with then 6 to play. They could do the same to Break And Run should they lose to Dream Pool, or simply next week when EPL plays them. I think EPL will finish off this Pool Pals team. PP is going into its matches just waiting for something to go wrong, and when it does... everything shuts down. EPL wins this one 5-2, maybe even 6-1.

Also Monday night, a blowout that's pretty easy to call. First, a shout out to Pool Loverz on getting win #1 on the season last week against Wasted Shotz. Second, a shout out to Devine Cuez to congratulate them for the 6-1 smokeshow they're gonna put on Monday night. There really isn't much to say about this one. The pressure will be on Straight Shots to keep up in the race for 5th, as Devine Cuez will be 5-3... FIVE WINS in 5th place in the American League. Daaaaaaamn. By the way, Straightshots 2-5 coming into this week in 6th place. Turn out the lights.

MATCH OF THE WEEK:

Cheap Shotz @ United Pool. Need I say anything more to justify calling this the Match of the Week? United Pool won 4-3 back in week 1, and it's gonna be even closer this time. There are some people who keep saying: "How is UP doing so well? They're not that good!" - Well, I've played against them in big matches in every big interleague. I've captained against them in big matches. United Pool is always ready to explode, and right when you think they're starting to slip, they drop one on ya. They'll come ready to play this week, and game one will decide everything. If CZ can slow it down against a rapid-fire United Pool team, they will win. Look for the ABCZ's, Ant, and Ben, to come up big Tuesday night, and win this one 4-3 to level the season series.

Also on Tuesday night, Pool Legends will visit Straight Shots. Look for SS to draw some momentum from United Pool if they're able to beat Cheap Shotz for a second time. It would mean that SS could pull within 1 game of 5th place at 3-5. Next week SS would play Wasted Shotz, while CZ plays PZ... Then Week 11, a showdown between Straight Shots and Cheap Shotz. Back to this week, however. Pool Legends, far and away better than their opponents this week. If you remember, it was a SWEEP to start the season against SS. No sweep this time. Straight Shots will put up a fight, but Pool Legends will win 5-2 and maintain its #1 standing in the American League.

Pool Fiction and Lucky Shots kick it off Wednesday night. By the way, that's 47 hours after a showdown in PLC. Rewind back to the opening week here in MLP, LS's Michelle openly requesting no future matches with Pool Fiction in any interleagues because it's always a verbal (or textual?) brawl. The rivalry is renewed all week long here. Remember, Lucky Shots did have a 3-2 lead initially before a Cam DQ gave Pool Fiction that same 3-2 lead, PFN went on to win 5-2. I think it'll be just as heated this time, and even closer. No Cam DQs, just a straight 4-3 win for Pool Fiction. Having James and Jamie at the tail end of any lineup is one hell of a luxury. Even trailing 2-3 every now and then, Kerry has to like her chances with even 1 of them waiting for game 6 or 7.

Tourney Pool will play Magic Pool in the "other" match on Wednesday night. Simon scheduled not only to play for LS at 6:00, but ref this match at 7:00. Something to look out for as the night progresses. Tourney Pool has been a little off lately, Lisa's gone, Ross is in charge now, there's this that and the other thing... Magic Pool has issues too. Remember when Gaz played for Mad Skillz, and he was such a distraction that I felt MZ was suffering because of it? Magic Pool has "that guy" - some will remember George, the guy who has found himself kicked out of the previous two seasons. He came dangerously close last week against Pool Fiction, getting Tom DQed in the opening game, and nobody in Magic Pool realizing: Just because you're scheduled to play, does not entitle you to an invite back to the table. Two MP players were removed from the match early last week, and they were VERY lucky to be allowed to play at all. I think as far as this week goes, MP just has more mental issues than Tourney Pool does and they will get in the way this week. Tourney Pool will take care of things early, and Luis and co. will win 5-2, in a repeat of week 1.

Thursday night, True Pool Legends takes on Wasted Shotz. The question surrounding this match is: What is Wasted Shotz? Is this league good? Well this is the team that went 3-3 against United Pool. Is this team bad? A 6-1 whooping at the hands of Pool Loverz seems to suggest as much. This week, Wasted Shotz deals with TPL and I shouldn't have to say it, but TPL is far better than Pool Loverz. Just remember, 8 Ball Scratch took True Pool Legends to 4-3 in week 1, before they turned into a joke and quit down the road. If Ryan doesn't respect Wasted Shotz, like he didn't respect 8BS, this will be a close match. I think he learned his lesson, though, and TPL's just gonna open up on them. 6-1 True Pool Legends.

And finally, Dream Pool and Break And Run. This match may not have much meaning in the grand scheme of things, but BNR is in desperation mode. This team likely needs to win 5 out of 7, AT LEAST, to overtake EPL or whoever may be in that 5-spot. Then there's the match next week with EPL following this. For Dream Pool, it's about winning to be in position to try and take #1 from Pool Fiction next week. Both leagues have HUGE matches next week, and the team that wins THIS week will be the one that worries about its match THIS Thursday night. I like DP in this match. BNR will need to come out strong to match players like Ash, and Sukioo. If DP leads Ash like they usually do, and BNR goes with Jason as they have since he switched, it's gonna be 1-0 DP in a hurry. BNR will need its players there when the match starts, not 5 games in. Dream Pool wins this, based on what I've seen all season, 5-2.

Only one player remains flirting with perfection this season - Devine Cuez star eng.lishman is 7-0. While there are players at 6-0 and 5-0, only Lewis has played all 7 weeks and won all 7 weeks. Again Devine Cuez takes on Pool Loverz this week, look for Mr. Perfect to remain so for at least 1 more week.