Summary

The Games

Lori (SL3) lost 1 - 2 against a 3
This was oh so close a match and ultimately, the curse of the Mulligans 8 ball scratch came back to haunt Lori again. Hats off to Lori though for making a real fight of it by clinching rack two after the unfortunate events in rack one. It went to hill-hill and we all thought the momentum may have shifted permanently to our girl but her opponent managed to suppress her very obvious nerves to run out a clear winner in rack 3.

Mike (SL5) won 4 - 0 against a 5
This was an absolutely huge match as Mulligans tried to press home their 1-0 advantage by putting up arguably their most talented player. They didn't count on two things though, the first was the fact that their guy seemed to be playing to win 4-0 inside 10 minutes and the second was Mike! Looking odds on to win the first rack, their man scratched and with ball in hand Mike ran his last three balls to leave and nervelessly make a tricky 8 ball for the lead. Rack two returned a little of the luck that deserted Lori as an 8 scratch put Mike 2-0 ahead and the last two racks never looked in doubt. A fantastic win from a player that seems to save his best for the big games.

Sparky (SL3) won 2 - 1 against a 4
Sparky kept his recent awesome run of form going against a player that this session finished third in the MVP list. After winning the first rack Sparky gave his opponent a mountain to climb by needing the last three. He clawed one back but the result was never in doubt. The match was memorable for me as it showed Sparky's obvious new found confidence. With his final stripe left on the table, a timeout was called. Sparky had two suggestions, the first was to roll the stripe slowly into the centre pocket and the second to 'punch' it long to counter the terrible rolls of the table. Each would have left a tricky 8 ball. I showed Sparky a different option, to play it firmly into the middle and bring the white off the top cushion for perfect position on the 8 ball. Sparky understood and executed in some style... ...punching the air as the stripe sank and the white left an unmissable 8 ball!

BURNT8: Seam (SL5) lost 0 - 4 against a 5
I think I, like everyone else, was expecting this to be the last match as Sean went in search of revenge for his defeat at the end of the regular session but it wasn't to be. Sean certainly had some chances but I think a better knowledge of the table told in the end. Note to captain... ...do not play Sean against Evan any more!.

Darren (SL7) won 5 - 0 against a 4
After running the first rack I perhaps got a little complacent and the rest of the match wasn't pretty. My opponent played great and put me under real pressure but the moment she missed the simple 8 ball in rack three I knew it was over. Again, I had the utter joy of closing out the match and our second consecutive title.

Shot of The Night

Can only be the celebratory shot of 'Baby Guinness' that the team enjoyed immediately after clinching victory!

Worst Shot of The Night

Sean: I'll agree with Sean and award it to him in recognition of his ability to jettison a white ball higher and further from the table then I have ever seen ;-)