Semi-Finals
Quarter-Finals
#15 sykology vs #3 deep.cerebro - no pred
Result - 9-4 Luis
Quarter-Finals
#17 HolyWarrior_ vs #8 x_mirotic_x - In this quarterfinals matchup, we have two experienced players from cam competitions and interleagues who have had their many victories in the past. Andy, a strategic player, often relies on his snooker game, but if he thinks he can run the table he will go for it more times than he use to in the past. He showed this vs Roy in Round 1, handling him pretty easy, although Roy might of not played his best set.However, in Round 2 Andy convincely beat JT 7-3. JT folks, was 5-0 in groups and has been winning a lot lately, and Andy still won comfortably. Kevin, on the other hand, is more a runner than anything, and is a great player, he also is one of the top 5-7sec players as well. In his only playoff matchup he ran Jon most tables and took care of him 7-2. I think Andy might have trouble with how good Kevin can potentially run tables, and will make it hard for Andy to use his snooker to his advantage. Also, seems Andy has the Gremlins on him these days, and gets bad breaks or makes an accidental mistake that costs him the game. This matchup should be a close one and exciting, since either play can come up on top, in this match. But I will give the edge to Kevin and his run game.
8-6 Kevin (Ben)
#13 fhm_chamipion vs #5 _dante - Pretty huge matchup here. Both players are coming off great wins and it's going to be hard to say who's more likely to win here but lets try. Ben had to knock off Kevin Welch and Shaggy to get here so his road has not been the easiest. Dante had to beat arguably the best player around now in Ant to advance so he's definitely been tested too. Ben is a former champ in this competition while Dante was the 8brcam runner up last season so these guys have a history of doing well in competitions. Dante has a tendency to be a little more of a runner than Ben so it's a little more likely that his level of play can vary. Not like Dante can't safety and if he chooses to dictate the pace in this set it could work out pretty well in his favour. If both of these guys are at the top of their games I think Ben's game is overall more sound. On any given day though Dante could get hot and be rewarded for his aggressiveness. Ben is the safe bet though.
8-6 Ben
#15 sykology vs #7 poolist - no pred
Result - 7-5 Brent
#3 deep.cerebro vs #11 AzN_PrIdE_LuVa - Trying to get this prediction written quickly because Pita likes to play his sets as instantly as they get set up. Last season Pita got hot around playoff time and took his run all the way to the semi-finals of the competition, where he lost to Ant. That was his best showing so far in the competition after having played a bunch of seasons. Got off to another impressive start these playoffs after taking out Rocky fairly convincingly. He's going up against another legend in Luis to try to at least duplicate his success from last season. Luis is looking pretty good after a good win against Irfan in the previous round and is still probably the favourite to take the whole competition. I think Luis has a game that is too well rounded for Pita to really compete against. For Pita to have any chance in this set he'll need to be running very well and have some bounces go his way. Wouldn't hurt for Luis to make some uncharacteristic mistakes as well. Pita does have cult hero status but I don't see that overcoming Luis
8-6 Kevin (Ben)
#13 fhm_chamipion vs #5 _dante - Pretty huge matchup here. Both players are coming off great wins and it's going to be hard to say who's more likely to win here but lets try. Ben had to knock off Kevin Welch and Shaggy to get here so his road has not been the easiest. Dante had to beat arguably the best player around now in Ant to advance so he's definitely been tested too. Ben is a former champ in this competition while Dante was the 8brcam runner up last season so these guys have a history of doing well in competitions. Dante has a tendency to be a little more of a runner than Ben so it's a little more likely that his level of play can vary. Not like Dante can't safety and if he chooses to dictate the pace in this set it could work out pretty well in his favour. If both of these guys are at the top of their games I think Ben's game is overall more sound. On any given day though Dante could get hot and be rewarded for his aggressiveness. Ben is the safe bet though.
8-6 Ben
#15 sykology vs #7 poolist - no pred
Result - 7-5 Brent
#3 deep.cerebro vs #11 AzN_PrIdE_LuVa - Trying to get this prediction written quickly because Pita likes to play his sets as instantly as they get set up. Last season Pita got hot around playoff time and took his run all the way to the semi-finals of the competition, where he lost to Ant. That was his best showing so far in the competition after having played a bunch of seasons. Got off to another impressive start these playoffs after taking out Rocky fairly convincingly. He's going up against another legend in Luis to try to at least duplicate his success from last season. Luis is looking pretty good after a good win against Irfan in the previous round and is still probably the favourite to take the whole competition. I think Luis has a game that is too well rounded for Pita to really compete against. For Pita to have any chance in this set he'll need to be running very well and have some bounces go his way. Wouldn't hurt for Luis to make some uncharacteristic mistakes as well. Pita does have cult hero status but I don't see that overcoming Luis
7-4 Luis Result - 7-2 Luis
Round 2
#1 _Sugarhigh__ vs #16 HolyWarrior - Moving on with an intriguing matchup in round two, we have the overall number 1 seed vs an always tough player to beat in Andy. Jt has the honor of a first round bye, due to being 5-0 in season play including wins over Stephen, Jordy, and yes, even Ant. I am not exactly sure if JT has gotten that much better, or if some of it was luck or what, from what I remember JT is a solid player, but not one you would of predicted to go 5-0 in this group, or even have a winning record. Nonetheless, he might have improved and could make this matchup something to watch. On the otherhand, Andy only had a fair season heading into the playoffs, with a 2-2 record, but handled a decent player in Roy, 7-3. Obviously, we all know Andy can handle the pool cue well, especially with snookering. He will attempt to run if he feels confident, otherwise he will rely on his snook game. I think Andy's experience and snook should do JT in at the end.
7-4 Andy (Ben) Result - 7-3 Andy
#8 x_mirotic_x vs #9 leeds_united14 - Kevin still hasn't gotten his form back, and I just don't think he practices enough. With the active players getting more and more skilled, he only hops on to play his sets. He's not as big of a threat as he once was. After saying that, he's still got a game plan. He's 80% run, 20% defense. Kevin takes smart shots, but his problem lately is just missing the shots he's taking. Jon's game is pretty steady. He's neither terrible or mega-outstanding, but he's above average. I haven't seem too much of him lately. With his league crumbling apart, and even the cam comp losing interest, I just think he isn't playing as much either. He had a nasty comeback against MJ in 8BRCAM group stages, which is nice. At the end of the match, I just think Kevin chokes a few times too many to take the win.
7-5 Jon (Dante) Result - 7-2 Kevin
#4 shaggymaniac vs #13 fhm_champion - This is a set between two players who probably think they have a good shot at winning the whole thing. Sean got off to a bit of a slow start this season, starting with a loss but he stormed back to win his next 4 sets all in the same day to claim this high seed. When he's running well then he's pretty hard to beat. It's easy to get frustrated when he's finishing every table imaginable and that can lead you into taking chances that normally you wouldn't go for. If anyone has the right approach to knock off Sean it would be Ben. He's always been known for his patience and usually ends up creating some easy run opportunities for himself. If Ben can weather the storm of Sean's runs to start off the set then he'll be in great position to pull off the win. Last time in the playoffs Ben was beaten by a runner and Sean does have the skills to run away with this. I just think Ben will remember and play his waiting game to perfection.
7-5 Ben Result - 7-3 Ben
#5 _dante vs #21 mvp_sicc - Here we have last season's 8brcam final contestants in round two! Dante may not be the premiere final choice for all the cam competitions but he plays smart and always has the potential to win a race and get far in the playoffs. During group play he finished 4-1 in a pretty tough group. On the contrary, Ant was only 1-2 but since the group does not like playing sets he made playoffs, much to the dismay of other opponents. Still, this may be an exciting round two to want to watch, since both can run well. Dante prefers to run tables off break if its open, and sometimes will snooker instead of trying to run. Ant too likes to run, and is probably the best runner in the game these days. Expect a fast set, and Dante needs to be on his A game to have a chance to win vs arguably the best player at pool today. However, as Ant has been winning and winning, he is the safe pick in this match.
7-4 Ant (Ben) Result - 7-4 Dante
7-4 Andy (Ben) Result - 7-3 Andy
#8 x_mirotic_x vs #9 leeds_united14 - Kevin still hasn't gotten his form back, and I just don't think he practices enough. With the active players getting more and more skilled, he only hops on to play his sets. He's not as big of a threat as he once was. After saying that, he's still got a game plan. He's 80% run, 20% defense. Kevin takes smart shots, but his problem lately is just missing the shots he's taking. Jon's game is pretty steady. He's neither terrible or mega-outstanding, but he's above average. I haven't seem too much of him lately. With his league crumbling apart, and even the cam comp losing interest, I just think he isn't playing as much either. He had a nasty comeback against MJ in 8BRCAM group stages, which is nice. At the end of the match, I just think Kevin chokes a few times too many to take the win.
7-5 Jon (Dante) Result - 7-2 Kevin
#4 shaggymaniac vs #13 fhm_champion - This is a set between two players who probably think they have a good shot at winning the whole thing. Sean got off to a bit of a slow start this season, starting with a loss but he stormed back to win his next 4 sets all in the same day to claim this high seed. When he's running well then he's pretty hard to beat. It's easy to get frustrated when he's finishing every table imaginable and that can lead you into taking chances that normally you wouldn't go for. If anyone has the right approach to knock off Sean it would be Ben. He's always been known for his patience and usually ends up creating some easy run opportunities for himself. If Ben can weather the storm of Sean's runs to start off the set then he'll be in great position to pull off the win. Last time in the playoffs Ben was beaten by a runner and Sean does have the skills to run away with this. I just think Ben will remember and play his waiting game to perfection.
7-5 Ben Result - 7-3 Ben
#5 _dante vs #21 mvp_sicc - Here we have last season's 8brcam final contestants in round two! Dante may not be the premiere final choice for all the cam competitions but he plays smart and always has the potential to win a race and get far in the playoffs. During group play he finished 4-1 in a pretty tough group. On the contrary, Ant was only 1-2 but since the group does not like playing sets he made playoffs, much to the dismay of other opponents. Still, this may be an exciting round two to want to watch, since both can run well. Dante prefers to run tables off break if its open, and sometimes will snooker instead of trying to run. Ant too likes to run, and is probably the best runner in the game these days. Expect a fast set, and Dante needs to be on his A game to have a chance to win vs arguably the best player at pool today. However, as Ant has been winning and winning, he is the safe pick in this match.
7-4 Ant (Ben) Result - 7-4 Dante
#2 PRO_BOY vs #15 sykology - A clash of styles here as Brent goes up against Uriel. Uriel is coming off his best season in the competition after going 4-1 in the group stage with some impressive wins. He has been a champion in cam comps before so he's not to be underestimated. He's got a fairly well rounded game and is willing to play safeties when he feels the time is right. Brent is definitely the aggressor in this matchup. He usually likes the look of most tables and his success is dependent on deadly accuracy or some lucky bounces. Brent is coming off a pretty close win in round 1 against Stephen that will mostly be remembered for the aftermath in the shoutbox. I don't see too much talking happening between these two opponents so that's a relief. Brent is definitely more on his game that he has been of late but in the end Uriel's approach and skill will win out.
7-4 Uriel Result - 8-6 Brent
#7 poolist vs #10 pool_king_luis - Pretty interesting match here. Derrick is finally back into the playoffs for the first time in a little while. Was able to pull off a pretty good season and win his group on the strength of a big win vs Ben. Luis also had a marquee win on his resume as he was able to knock of "the real Luis". Luis has already told me that he didn't want to be in the playoffs but yahoo poolers are so temperamental that it's hard to really take any of them seriously. I think this would be a pretty close set if it did get played. Luis has a tendency to choke up in the playoffs but I haven't seen Derrick do anything in the postseason in a while either. Going to go with the hot hand in Derrick based on his latest results.
7-5 Derrick Result - 7-5 Derrick
#3 deep.cerebro vs #14 master - Potential for a pretty explosive matchup here. Luis is back and after putting on an impressive performance in the group stage, it's time to see how he performs in elimination sets. Not really a whole lot to say about Luis besides the fact that he has titles galore and can match up pretty well against anyone. Irfan has been on the rise fairly steadily for quite a while now and looks like he's ready to make a big breakthrough. Irfan is one of the better shooters around and the only areas where he might be able to improve would be his strategy maybe safeties. Luis is by no means a perfect shooter, but for Irfan to have a chance, he'll need to have a solid gameplan going in and stick to it throughout. If he picks his spots well then he might just be able to pull it off. Personally I'll be going with the safe pick and Luis.
7-4 Luis Result - 7-4 Luis
7-4 Uriel Result - 8-6 Brent
#7 poolist vs #10 pool_king_luis - Pretty interesting match here. Derrick is finally back into the playoffs for the first time in a little while. Was able to pull off a pretty good season and win his group on the strength of a big win vs Ben. Luis also had a marquee win on his resume as he was able to knock of "the real Luis". Luis has already told me that he didn't want to be in the playoffs but yahoo poolers are so temperamental that it's hard to really take any of them seriously. I think this would be a pretty close set if it did get played. Luis has a tendency to choke up in the playoffs but I haven't seen Derrick do anything in the postseason in a while either. Going to go with the hot hand in Derrick based on his latest results.
7-5 Derrick Result - 7-5 Derrick
#3 deep.cerebro vs #14 master - Potential for a pretty explosive matchup here. Luis is back and after putting on an impressive performance in the group stage, it's time to see how he performs in elimination sets. Not really a whole lot to say about Luis besides the fact that he has titles galore and can match up pretty well against anyone. Irfan has been on the rise fairly steadily for quite a while now and looks like he's ready to make a big breakthrough. Irfan is one of the better shooters around and the only areas where he might be able to improve would be his strategy maybe safeties. Luis is by no means a perfect shooter, but for Irfan to have a chance, he'll need to have a solid gameplan going in and stick to it throughout. If he picks his spots well then he might just be able to pull it off. Personally I'll be going with the safe pick and Luis.
7-4 Luis Result - 7-4 Luis
#6 l2_o_c_k_y vs #11 AzN_PrIdE_LuVa - Well Mr. Friendly is heart-broken that the 8BRCAM Friendlys are currently down. He seemed to get a good bit of practice, going 18-1 in those sets. However, most were mediocre opponents that AJ could have beaten with his arms cut off. I think Pita is a whole different level of a player. More experience. More patience. More skill. This set could come with some emotional feelings because of Pita's rough time, which I'm praying for. I won't drag it in since it has nothing to do with this. All in all, Pita is a better player, but I'm not sure if he'll even be 60% to play, IF he even plays. I see Rocky getting an archive here. If Pita plays, I'll go with Rocky taking it.
7-4 Rocky (Dante) Result - 7-3 Pita
7-4 Rocky (Dante) Result - 7-3 Pita
Round 1
#16 murkedddd vs #17 HolyWarrior_ - Decent seasons for both of these players. Roy wasn't quite able to live up to his #5 seeding from the previous season but managed to get in through an inactive group on 2 wins. Andy has made the playoffs every time he's been in the competition and also barely made it on 2 wins. Only problem with Andy's playoff experience is that he hasn't made it out of the second round in 5 tries. Roy was also upset early on in last season's playoffs so this could be a good set to get the ball rolling for one of these guys. I don't really see too much of a difference in skill between these players but Andy definitely has an edge in patience and strategy. Only thing I see going against Andy here is that he doesn't play quite as much anymore. With that being said I'll still give him the nod in a close set.
7-4 Andy Result - 7-3 Andy
#13 fhm_champion vs #20 sixohtwo - Here is a matchup between two former cam comp winners. Ben of course is a former winner of this competition from last year. Kevin famously took home an 8br crown a couple years back. Ben had a pretty solid season, picking up 3 wins with his only blemish being a blowout loss to Derrick. Kevin actually only played one set and is the beneficiary of being in one of the two really inactive groups. Sort of unlucky for Ben to have to start with such a tough opponent but his style is also a pretty good way to slow down Kevin. Should be interesting to see which version of Kevin we get here. He can run really well but if his run game isn't on then he doesn't have much to fall back on. Going to have to pick against the dynamic force and go with calm Ben.
7-5 Ben Result - 7-5 Ben
#12 adambuddy vs #21 good-faith - This one appears to be a bit of a mismatch but don't let the seedings fool you. Ant is a 3 time winner, including last season. Not even sure if he wanted to be in these playoffs but no one else in his group stepped up to get any points. Now that he's in, he could go all the way. The guy standing in his way is Adam. Adam has been around the block and isn't intimidated by anyone, which should help. He's shown glimpses of his old form lately so it's possible that he could catch fire during this set. Most of the time though, Ant will win this set and that's where the smart money lies.
7-3 Ant Result - 7-4 Ant
#15 sykology vs #18 stephenb_ - A couple of long time players in the competition here. Brent is coming off his best season in a little while. His most recent seasons have been a disaster where he really wasn't even close to making the playoffs. Brent picked up some solid wins this season and looks like he might have a chance to make some noise. His opponent, Stephen, is another one who barely got in on the strength of a little luck. Stephen only had one win but his win % was enough to get him through. Now that he's in, Stephen isn't a stranger to the setting. He's usually been in the playoffs but he really hasn't done anything at all in them. Good chance for Stephen to finally get a playoff win. Brent seems to be playing a little more lately so I'll roll the dice and say he'll take it.
7-5 Brent Result - 10-8 Brent
#14 master vs #19 zl_stu_lz - I almost feel like it's a waste of time to write this prediction, but who knows, maybe this set will actually get played. Irfan is coming off a great season where he was able to pick up 3 good wins to go along with one loss. He's been absent a bit lately and wasn't able to play his final set to improve his seeding. He ended up stuck in this matchup which might be a blessing in disguise. Obviously no one really wants to have to play against Stu. Lucky for the field Stu hasn't been seen in a while. More than likely we'll see a DQ win for Irfan or even potentially a double DQ. If these two great runners meet up then we could see a very entertaining set where Stu should end up victorious.
7-5 Stu Result - DQ win for Irfan
No comments:
Post a Comment