Summary

A great win last night and now we have a nice break over Christmas and the new year before the final. Good teams win the title once but great teams win the title again and again... ...we have that opportunity.[br/] [br/] In the other semi-final, the two Mulligans teams will play each other. If Mulligans 2 win then we will have home advantage but if Mulligans 1 win, as the results during the season suggest, we will be away. On that note, it's worth telling a story about what is turning out to be a very similar turn of events. As part of Be Rude Not 2, Tim and myself played 'Oddfellows' in the final game of the season. At 3-1 ahead in the match we had the opportunity of putting Oddfellows out of the play-off's by winning the final match-up. It was me playing and I lost - perhaps my mind just wasn't in it as we considered the team a 'lesser of evils' given some of the other potential opponents. Needless to say, they came back to haunt us by qualifying and beating us in the final. It's the only final I've lost and I didn't even get a chance to play - I was gutted. This session, at 3-1 ahead, Mulligans 1 had an opportunity to put us out of the play-off's. We snatched a 2-3 reverse, qualified and have now made the final... ...is history repeating itself?

The Games

Heather (SL3) lost 1 - 3 against a 4
Heather came flying out of the blocks in all 4 racks but the rub of the green just wasn't with her. At 1-2 behind, I still remember the long 4 ball that somehow managed to stay out of the pocket with the white being in perfect position for the final solid and the 8 ball. Credit to her opponent, he managed to hold his nerve at the end of three racks to clinch a win.

Mike (SL5) won 4 - 1 against a 5
It took Mike a couple of racks to get going and in fairness he could have found himself 1-2 behind. Instead, with a couple of breaks he was 2-1 ahead and never looked back. The eight ball run out in rack four was fantastic and needing just one more rack, he looked unbeatable. Sure enough, Mike clinched his hill rack at the first attempt for an absolutely vital win. Well played Mike.

Sparky (SL3) won 2 - 2 against a 5
In a repeat of last week, Sparky came from 0-2 behind to clinch a 2-2 win against a 5. This match was equally as huge as last week and Sparky again illustrated great composure and an ability to never give up. Rack three was the turning point, with seven balls on the table and his opponents final stripe literally hanging over the pocket Sparky made the first three and then left a very fortuitous snooker. Ball in hand and Sparky potted his next two but left a difficult cut into the centre on his penultimate solid. A timeout was called, the ball was made but he left an equally tough shot on the final solid. Another timeout and another fantastic shot played with risky but agreed positional play left a much more makeable 8 ball and gave him the rack. The next rack in fairness was hardly in doubt with his opponent visibly rattled. In the end it came to ball in hand on the 8 ball for a mammoth win. Sparky's long final stripe with perfect position on the black in rack three was without doubt a contender for shot of the night.... ...although this time I'm gonna give it to someone else - read on :-)

Mini (SL5) lost 0 - 5 against a 6
Strange match really because in a way people were waiting for the final match. What is clear however is that mini put his opponent under immense pressure throughout and quite honestly had really good opportunities to win three of the first four racks. As it was, his opponent showed his class to punish every mistake made and close out the match. A good lesson for mini here.

Darren (SL7) won 6 - 0 against a 3
This win was all about tactics. Having won the toss, I chose to put up first purely so the opposition would have to put up first in match 4. As long as we had won one of the first three matches we would be in a strong position but winning two of the first three put us in an incredibly strong position and able to leave me to play the weakest player in terms of skill level. I never took the match for granted and felt like I actually played really well. A few shots of note:[br/] Having left myself frozen to the one ball near the side rail, one of the opposition jokingly commented on my lack of positional play. Slightly niggled, I chose to kick off the cushion to hit the one ball and play a combo on the three ball hanging over the opposite pocket - priceless!. A length of table bank on the 5 ball in rack four to develop the 8 ball....[br/] The very next shot, having not had too much luck in developing the 8 ball, I noticed an opponents ball hanging just past the centre pocket and making the pocket a large inviting opportunity. I couldn't refuse and played the 8 ball off the top cushion and into the centre pocket off my opponents stripe. Absolutely delighted!

Shot of The Night

Darren: I'm finally going to award a shot of the night to myself - sorry team. I'm still pumped at the thought of the banked 8 ball off my opponents stripe and into the centre pocket... ...made all the better by Sparky having captured it on video!

Worst Shot of The Night

In a win like this, there were none!