SSCam Season 1/2011 Playoffs B

Welcome to the playoffs congrats to all who qualified. Should be pretty interesting with some good players going at it here. Special thanks to all the players who made this one of the most well attended div B seasons to date with a great 85% of the sets being played. As always the two finalists will gain entry to the prize tournament which is tentatively set to take place after the second season of this year.

Rd 1 Matchups

#8 xl_bankqueen_lx vs #9 decent.shot - Here we have the always fun group stage rematch in the first round of the playoffs. Last time around Corey defeated Kerry with a decisive 6-3 win. Not sure what the actual statistics on this are but I think more often than not the winner from the group stage ends up losing the re-match in the playoffs. If I had been predicting the group stage matchup I probably would have thought that Kerry would have taken a slow set but Corey proved that he can definitely step his game up to deal with tricky opponents. Haven't seen Corey around in a bit so hopefully this set can get played. If it does get played I think it will play out in Kerry's favour this time.

8-6 Kerry Result - DQ win for Kerry

#5 en_dk vs #12 darth_v4der - Another first round rematch here. The first one was taken 6-3 by Nigel in the group stage. Nigel had a fairly impressive group stage, getting past good opponents to finish 4-1 with his only loss coming to the top seed Dorie. Jan just barely squeaked into the playoffs after his group stage finished with more losses than wins. Seemed like he got better as he went along finishing with a clutch set win against Chrissie to grab his spot in the playoffs. I think this set should be a little closer in the result this time with Nigel maintaining the advantage.

7-5 Nigel Result - 8-6 Nigel

#7 dr_papsmear_at_your_cervix vs #10 goodoldmrcheeseman - Seems as if we have nothing except group stage rematches in our first round here. This should prove to be one of the more entertaining first round matchups because both players are capable of playing well. The first time around Adam claimed victory in a tight set. Jason will definitely feel as if he should have won that set and will come back into this one expecting a victory. Adam is very inconsistent but I think he'll be able to hold it together a little better than Jason to advance another round.

7-5 Adam Result - 7-1 Adam

#6 CANUCK_59 vs #11 lvlanchester.l_lnited - This should be yet another competitive rematch between DJ and Nish. Nish is one of my favourites to win the competition this year and was only seeded this low because of his incomplete group stage. Finishing with a 3-1 record oddly enough the only loss came to his current opponent DJ in a 6-3 result. DJ is looking better than he has in previous seasons coming into these playoffs and really got an unlucky draw to have to play against Nish first. He's definitely proven that he can beat Nish but I think Nish won't allow a repeat performance this time.

7-4 Nish Result - 7-3 Nish

Rd 2 Matchups

#1 PROP37 vs #8 xl_bankqueen_lx - The #1 seed Dorie is finally getting a chance to play in these playoffs. After an impressive undefeated run through the group stage her first opponent in the playoffs will be Kerry who lucked out by not having to play in the previous round. Although Dorie hasn't lost yet up until this point I'm not sure that she's had to play an opponent with the abilities of Kerry yet. Kerry definitely possesses multiple dimensions to her game and will be able to slow things down if she has to. I believe that in table running Kerry also has a slight edge and that's what this set should come down to. Both players are solid and keeping the bad mistakes to minimum will be key to succeed. Again not sure if this is really much of an upset considering Kerry's previous set experience but I'm picking her to move on this matchup.

7-5 Kerry Result - 7-5 Kerry

#4 Top__Dawg__ vs #5 en_dk - Last season Sterlo showed us that he can finally compete in sets with his first playoff appearance being relatively successful. Nigel is back in sscam and moving along quite well so far with only one set loss in 5 matches. This could be an interesting clash of styles as Sterlo will often shoot for the run right away while Nigel can be more content to sit back and let things open up. In this match the difference will be that when the opportunities present themselves Sterlo is better at cleaning up tables and can hit better shots to bail himself out of tricky situations. Nigel will put up a fight and don't be shocked to see an upset here if Sterlo is really off his game.

7-4 Sterlo Result - 7-4 Sterlo

#2 SuGaRBa8y vs #7 dr_papsmear_at_your_cervix - We're into the quarter-final round with Jenni facing Adam. Jenni had her best group stage to date and should be helped out by her high seeding. Adam answered any questions about consistency in the previous round with a 7-1 beatdown of Jason. I think Adam really has as good of a chance as anyone to make the finals and maybe win outright with his improvements over the previous seasons. Jenni has a great seed which needs to be respected but I'm not sure that seed can be taken overly serious until some results are produced. Not sure how big of an upset this would be but I think Adam will advance.

7-4 Adam Result - 7-3 Adam

#3 PSYCHOJASON vs #11 lvlanchester.l_lnited - This should be a pretty interesting set. Nish was possibly a div A player before all the time he took off pool and he definitely showed he can still play well with a pretty comfortable round 1 win. Jason has been in this competition many times with this being his first playoff match. He's definitely gotten a lot better from previous competitions and I think Jason will take advantage if Nish doesn't bring his best game. I'd like to pick Jason but Nish can definitely lean on his safety game if he ever needs to which is sure to frustrate. I take Nish to win but Jason is a good enough runner to keep it close.

7-5 Nish Result - 7-2 Nish

Semi-Finals

#8 xl_bankqueen vs #4 Top__Dawg__ - Well at least one of the two semi-final matches should end up taking place. Kerry and Sterlo had both had good results to make it this far and now the run to the final ends for one of them. These two were always favourites to make it this far from the outset of the group stage so it's always nice to see them matching up in the important final rounds. Its hard to pick a winner between these two. I've never really seen much consistency from Sterlo's game in the past but that 7-4 win in the previous round was definitely a good sign. Kerry has a pretty solid game and she's been at this point before in competitions so she'll be hoping to take it one step further. Over the course of a race to 9 between these two it could really go either way but I think Sterlo will continue his run and have a chance to win it all in the finals.

9-6 Sterlo Result - 9-4 Kerry

#7 dr_papsmear_at_your_cervix vs #12 lvlanchester.l_lnited - Match will not take place as Adam will not be eligible.

Result - 9-DQ Nish

Finals

#8 xl_bankqueen_lx vs #12 lvlanchester.l_lnited - Well we've come a long way after after over a month of sets being played we finally have our finals matchup on the div B side. Seemingly neither player has been given a big test up until here. Kerry managed a fairly decisive win in the previous round over Sterlo which tells me she's meaning business in her efforts to take the title. Nish on the other side has lost only 4 games in 2 matches along with a DQ win to advance into the finals. If Nish had been playing a lot leading into this season he probably would have been slotted into div A and he's showing that it really doesn't take that long to get your game back up to speed with those results. Kerry is playing some pretty good pool as well and although the win against Sterlo is impressive, he is notorious for playing horrendous sets every seemingly pretty often. I think Nish is probably a better runner and also has a much more disciplined approach where he won't take risks if safeties will help make things easier for him. Unless Kerry is able to finish her more challenging runs with consistency I think Nish's style of play will carry him to the div B title here.

9-6 Nish

SSCam Season 1/2011 Playoffs A

Welcome to the playoffs congrats to everyone who made it this far. We have some pretty good players in the post season here so hopefully that will lead to some entertaining sets. Thanks to everyone for playing throughout the season having 80% of all sets being played in the division. As usual the final 4 gain entry into the prize trny which I'm hoping to be able to hold after this upcoming season. Preds are written by Jon and Trav did my match.

Rd 1 Matchups

#1 l3lack_jesus vs #16 l3_lvl_x - Here we have what will surely go down in history as being called the battle of the fake capital B's. Timm earned the top seed in the playoffs through some great play in the group stage, beating last seasons's top playoff seed en route to a 4-1 record in a challenging group. With that top seed he'll definitely get the benefit of an easier route through the playoff bracket so it will be key to take advantage. His opponent David is competing in div A for the first time and also posted some good results to qualify for these playoffs. I don't know if Timm is the calibre of #1 seed that we're used to seeing here so he might have a chance for the upset. I think David will keep it close but in the end Timm is playing too well now.

7-4 Timm Result - 7-5 David

#8 _waybetter_then_ vs #9 R_ook - This is a pretty interesting matchup. Wasn't really too sure what to expect from Dante in the group stage but he came through fairly well. Able to put away the weaker competition and hang in with the better players. JT is in the playoffs for the first time after 3 attempts and it wasn't really too much of a surprise. He has always competed well in the competition and should have a chance to make a run here in the playoffs. If JT is running well I think he'll take this set but Dante's conservative style could give him trouble if the shots aren't falling.

8-6 JT Result - 7-5 Dante

#4 dx.fanatic vs #13 xxl_stud_lxx - No this is not a misprint. Jack is actually the higher seed in this matchup. If you think that's hard to believe then I would point your direction to the group stage where Jack beat TJ 7-2. Jack earned the group win by winning some sets against some fairly quality opponents but those opponents will only get tougher in the elimination portion of the competition. I don't think that Jack is a better player than TJ but he's at least proven that he can possibly beat him. TJ should emerge as the winner in this set and it could be a blowout but I think Jack will fight to keep it close.

7-5 TJ Result - DQ win for Jack

#5 mvp_n00b vs #12 aka_hero - This is definitely my favourite matchup of the first round. On one side we have Kevin in his second time through the competition. His group stage wasn't complete but it was undefeated so the seed is definitely deceptive. Last season he took a high seed all the way to the finals. Steve, his opponent had an even less complete group stage that was also undefeated, gaining the higher seed through placing first in his inactive group. So having said that we can pretty much throw the seeding out the window. I think overall Kevin is the stronger player because of his use of many styles but Steve has definitely shown in the past that he can knock off top players. Should be an entertaining set full of great shots and the winner should have a chance to go all the way.

7-5 Kevin Result - 7-0 Kevin

#2 win-win-win vs #15 dwaechte - Not really the most even matchup here. We have Matt who is always a threat to make a deep run in the playoffs coming off another great performance in the group stage including a set win against last year's winner Ant. On the other side we have Dan who is a first timer in the competition proving his group stage prediction wrong by finishing in the top 3 of a fairly inactive group. Dan did have a couple of notable victories to make it this far but Matt's game should be a step up from what he'd faced in those wins. While he proved that he definitely belongs in div A Dan probably won't have a place in the quarter finals unless Matt can't play this set.

7-3 Matt Result - DQ win for Dan

#7 ant8br vs #10 lx_mike_lx -It's always a lot of fun writing about Ant and trying to find something new to say. He's definitely the person who I've written about the most probably in these predictions. Reason being he doesn't lose very often. Ant is a finalist in the competition in the last two seasons and also happens to be the defending champ. Facing him is Mike who is a first timer in the competition who had a pretty good group stage to make it this far. I think Mike is definitely a player who plays a style that has a chance against Ant but actually putting it all together for this set won't be easy. Mike will have to play near perfect to keep it close and hope for a little luck if he's going to advance.

7-4 Ant Result - 7-4 Ant

#3 safdarbandali vs #14 l0osteekyo0l - Here we have what could turn out to be an interesting matchup. Safdar is back in the playoffs for his 3rd consecutive season this time with a high seed after his best group stage yet. Steven is a newcomer to the competition and managed to squeak into the field surviving an inactive group. He won't be going into this with a lack of confidence after posting good results against strong players in the previous stage. Safdar however, is probably a stronger player and if focuses on this set and doesn't get distracted looking ahead to who the next opponent might be he should be able to get past this test comfortably.

7-4 Safdar Result - 7-3 Safdar

#6 Cocky_Guy vs #11 crazy_cananuck - Should be an interesting match, always is when these two players are involved in a set seperately, and now together in a set.. well.. gonna see alot of strategic play for awhile. Until the one who has been losing these 50/50 games decides to take over and bang out some runs. Personally I consider Craig the favourite, tho he says when he doesn't play for a week he's 'rusty'. Jon on the other hand seems to be pretty hit or miss, if he's hitting watch out, if he's missing well, div b players could potentially upset him. If both players are on top for I'll still have to take Craig for the win here, played some great sets lately.

7-4 Craig Result - 7-2 Jon

Rd 2 Matchups

#16 l3_lvl_x vs #8 _waybetter_then_ - Well I said Timm wasn't the best top seed we've had but David must be doing something well because that's still a good upset. Definitely the strongest playoff win we've seen from him in this competition and on to round 2 with hope to go further. The opponent in this match is Dante and he managed to come out on top vs JT in the previous round without having to play overly well. I think more times than not Dante would come out on top in this matchup because he plays a little more under control. David is definitely showing us something here though so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see his run continue. Dante doesn't overwhelm David by any means but comes out on top in this set.

8-6 Dante Result - 7-3 David

#4 dx.fanatic vs #12 aka_hero - If Jack vs TJ was a mismatch in favour of TJ then Jack vs Kevin is a gigantic mismatch. Jack was fortunate to advance past the first round after TJ's DQ for not being eligible to play. Jack is a fringe div A player at best and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fall out of playoff contention for the following season. Kevin on the other hand was our finalist in this competition losing a close set in those finals to Ant and is coming off a 7-0 distruction of Steve, another good opponent. Having played against both of these guys Kevin kinda scares me with the shots he can hit, while Jack makes me relax a little too much because I know there are mistakes coming. As long as Kevin doesn't relax too much and plays anywhere near his potential this is a guaranteed easy win.

7-2 Kevin Result - DQ win for Jack

#15 dwaechte vs #7 ant8br - Would it be rude to say that I feel bad for Dan in this match? Dan advanced to round 2 due to an unluckily timed vacation by Matt, who was unavailable to play. His reward for taking over the slot belonging to the #2 seed is a second round date with last year's champ Ant. As I said in the previous prediction Dan has shown us very little up until now with some decent results qualifying out of an inactive group. On the other side we have Ant who disposed of Mike in his first round with a fairly comfortable margin of victory. Until Ant faces someone with some kind of a reputation for big set wins I think he's got clear sailing. In this particular match if Dan able to keep it close... like within 4 that would be a victory. He might even be able to learn a thing or two.

7-3 Ant Result - 7-4 Ant

#3 safdarbandali vs #11 crazy_cananuck - So we reach the quarter finals of sscam div a where Safdarbandali takes on the crazy_canauck jon .Well here's my view on both of them is they are good alrounders. Saf always plays for the stacked teams in inters and when I am playing those teams I always hope to be against him .When I look at this playoff quarter finals id def say jon got off lightly with playin saf. Jon on the other hand I reckon is better player makes less mistakes and shud be able to over come this obsticle on his way to what looks like a semi final pairing with ant gl there ...lol.

7-4 Jon (by Stevie) Result - 8-6 Safdar

Semi-Finals

#16 l3_lvl_x vs #4 dx.fanatic - Well I don't think I'd be the only one to say that I'm surprised that these two players have come this far to have a shot at the finals. David was the last player to qualify into the playoffs and somehow didn't have the hardest route to get here. Jack on the other hasn't even had to play a set yet in the playoffs to advance this far. These two players have matched up twice in the past two seasons with David being the victor on both occasions including a win in the div B playoffs last season. It'll be interesting to see which player gets affected moreso by having an opportunity to play in the finals. This set could really go either way but I feel like David plays a little more under control and looks ahead into his runs a little better than Jack and that should provide the difference here.

9-7 David Result - 9-3 David

#7 ant8br vs #3 safdarbandali - We have arrived into the final 4 and have a matchup that could probably be compared to David v Goliath. Safdar is making his deepest run into the competition posting two great results so far in the playoff round. On the other side it's business as usual for Ant who is looking to make a run at back to back titles. Safdar definitely has the skill to run some tables and win some games in this matchup but he'll definitely be the underdog here. Ant hasn't really been tested up until this round and I'm not sure that this test from Safdar will be more than feeble. Over the course of the race to 9 I think one player's skill advantage will standout quite a bit here. Any time Safdar falters which can happen quite a bit, Ant will be there to clear the table. Pretty good run this season earning an invite to the prize tourney for Safdar but it should end here.

9-5 Ant Result - 9-1 Ant

Finals

#16 l3_lvl_x vs #7 ant8br_ - Ok so at the start of the season some people might have predicted one of these players to be in position to win at this point. The other player was actually predicted to miss the playoffs all together. Not too sure if I've used a David vs Goliath reference yet in these predictions but hopefully not because that's truly what we have here. David's run to the finals has been pretty impressive culminating with the 9-3 destruction of Jack in the semi-finals. While none of the opponents were very proven players, the fact is he's been able to come out on top and with wide margins in the previous two rounds. Ant is in his 3rd sscam season with this being his 3rd consecutive finals appearance. In his previous two finals he's had to face top notch players in Chris and Kevin... not too sure if David is really in that class. Can't ignore that David has been in this position before with a cam comp title on the line in mcc and he's showing that he's definitely got real ambitions to win one some day just not quite sure that step will be taken here. Would definitely be David's biggest upset here over Ant but if Ant takes the set seriously it might not be close.

9-4 Ant

SSCam Season 1/11 Group Preds Div B

Division B

Welcome to the first SSCam season of the year. It took a little while for me to get organized and this is probably a couple months late but we still managed to get 54 entrants within a week. Here are the Div B group predictions. We have a pretty competitive field so good luck to everyone.

Group A

darth_v4der - Jan is new to cam comps so this should be an interesting season for him. Seems to be a pretty solid shooter, can finish an open table. There's no one overly dominating in this group so if he's on his game there's an outside chance at playing in the playoffs. More than likely 1 set win at most though.

gbwarrior1 - I haven't really seen Andy play too much lately. Last season in SSCam he dominated the div B group stage and had the top seed in the playoffs only to get trounced by Sterlo in the 2nd round. Does that mean the group stage was a fluke? Probably not, and definitely not to the extent where you'd see Andy miss the playoffs here.

G_O_D99 - Rich is a fairly solid player and has had some success playing sets in this competition. Rich can make some pretty good shots and will move the ball around decently at times. In this group I feel like he's on the inside track to a playoff spot but he'll have to fight off Nigel to make it in.

chrissie_rabbit - Out of the players in this group I think Chrissie might have a slight edge with strategy. This is her first time in SSCam so never know how that might play out but she's a pretty good shooter and I think if she's on her game there's no reason why she shouldn't be grabbing one of the playoff spots for this group.

Jenna_W - Another first timer in this group. With all the new faces to the competition this group is looking fairly wide open so anything could happen. Jenna doesn't have the strongest game but playing in sets like this might help out a little. This season should be a learning experience and a set win or two would be bonus.

en_dk - Way back when Nigel used to play the occasional SSCam he had some fairly decent results and even qualified for playoffs. Not too sure how much he's staying active with playing games lately and that could have an effect. Nigel definitely has a lot of experience playing against quality players and should be able to use that to his advantage to come through with some wins here. Should be fighting for a playoff spot.

Pecking Order - 1.Andy 2.Chrissie 3.Rich 4.Nigel 5.Jan 6.Jenna

Group B

CANUCK_59 - DJ is back for another crack at the can. While never posting incredible group stages DJ has managed to advance to the playoffs in most of the seasons he's been in. Not really sure what the defining factor is in his game but it comes down to being more consistent than his opponents. So if DJ can keep that up there are challenges in this group but he should be once again in the mix for that playoff spot.

PSYCHOJASON - Jason has participated in just about every SSCam competition and I'd have to say he's way overdue for some playoff action. Not that I've been stalking him or anything but through all these seasons there have been definite improvements in his quality in tournament play. Hopefully this quality can translate to some solid set performances and this could be the season he makes it.

Sasha_666 - Introducing a semi-finalist from the previous div B competition...Sacha. He was dialed in for those playoffs and knocked off opponents who were favoured most of the time. Sacha has definitely been improving upon his game for a while and he's gotten to a point where he's actually favoured to win this group. I think Jason could give him a pretty tough set or possibly DJ but he should win most.

x_xthomasx_x - Not sure at all what to expect from Thomas. There was a time a long time ago where Thomas was considered an decent player, never overly spectacular. If his form is near where it used to be or possibly better then he'll be contending for a playoff spot. He's been around long enough playing vs good competition that hopefully that will show here.

Sexy_Beast_ - Joe is making his SSCam debut and aren't you glad he's got nothing to do with the predictions. Considering I've never heard or seen anything very good my prediction isn't overly favourable. This should be a pretty good experience though to get some sets in against some pretty good players. Playoffs would be a longshot though.

rubiiiiii - Moon is another rookie in the competition. She's a pretty good shooter and will be able to finish open tables when her opponents make mistakes. Always interesting to see how that game will translate over to a set and if pressure will come into play at all. I think she has a decent chance to surprise here but more than likely on the outside looking in.

Pecking Order - 1.Sacha 2.Jason 3.DJ 4.Thomas 5.Moon 6.Joe

Group C

no1truckwitt - Graeme has had a little success in SSCam narrowly missing out on a playoff spot a couple seasons ago. Decent player who has a little success in the league. There's no one he should be too concerned about in this group so the sets should be close. Unfortunately I see those close sets mostly being won by the opponent.

xl_bankqueen_lx - Kerry is becoming a steady fixture in SSCam. She broke through last season to qualify for the playoffs after a pretty strong group stage. Kerry is one of the better shooters in div B and should have a chance to win the whole thing. As for this group her main challenge should come from Corey.

l_s_m_0.k_e_y_l - John is a fairly steady player who wins slightly more games than he loses in the league. First timer to SSCam. Not really too sure what to expect from John as I haven't been overly impressed in head to head matchups. This season will just be a taste of what it's like

to play in this competition and hope to get better.

Sugarb8by - Jenni is back again for another try at this thing. Since the last season she has been participating in MCC with varying success. The main thing to notice is that she's actually winning some of her sets and against good players too. This should be the season where we see Jenni in the playoffs and possibly make a run when she gets there.

xlx_dejavu_xlx - It's been a while since Jen has competed in SSCam. She's never advanced to the playoff round but she was never a slouch either, holding her own against quality players. While she's lacking a little bit in strategy that shouldn't come into play much in this group. Her good shooting should have her in contention for a playoff spot.

decent.shot - After a lengthy SSCam hiatus Corey is back to play again. To find anything on previous results from Corey I had to go all the way back to the first season of last year where he was in the playoffs. The group in this competition shouldn't be nearly as hard as the one from last year and I think Corey should be able to get at least a top 3.

Pecking Order - 1.Kerry 2.Corey 3.Jenni 4.Jen 5.Graeme 6.John

Group D

goodoldmrcheeseman - Jason is back for another SSCam for another season. Not too much record of him doing much in past seasons for a while so against the current field it remains a mystery how he shall perform. He's definitely got an edge in experience over just about everyone in this group which should help him out. Needs to keep the bad mistakes to a minimum and he could challenge for tops in this group.

Thanks - Pat is a fairly average player. That combined with his lack of experience in competitions is probably not a great recipe. Everyone has to start with them somewhere though right so who knows how it might go. If Pat can grab one set win here I think that would be about right. 2 wins might be asking a bit too much.

united_united_united_united - Adam is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Sometimes he can be hitting spectacular shots and running tables in seconds while at other times nothing goes right. I think if he slows down his game and places some value on every shot in these sets he should stroll right past everyone in this group stage. But then again you never know.

KindaBad_M - Rahul is back once again to shoot for the skies. Last season he managed to qualify for his first playoffs and should be hoping to build on that for this upcoming season. This group has some quality but Rahul should be able to stay in most of these sets and I believe he has the edge to win a couple of them. Might not make the playoffs again but it will be close.

shelle4461 - Pretty sure Shelle has been in every SSCam comp since the beginning of the whole thing a couple years ago. While the results have been mixed every time it's clear that her game has been improving slowly the whole time. At this point you can't leave her open tables anymore and you can't put it past her to not open them up herself. Should be a strong contender for playoffs.

Top__Dawg__ - Another case of a player with two very opposite faces. Sterlo can be a solid runner and neutralize just about anyone when he's on his game. For whatever reason sets haven't always been a strong suit though. Hopefully last season's playoffs will be a turning point and he'll start to make it back there consistently. If he plays up to his potential he should be in the top 3 here.

Pecking Order - 1.Adam 2.Jason 3.Sterlo 4.Shelle 5.Rahul 6.Pat

SSCam Season 1/11 Group Preds Div A

Division A

Welcome to the first SSCam season of the year. It took a little while for me to get organized and this is probably a couple months late but we still managed to get 54 entrants within a week. Here are the Div A group predictions. We have a pretty competitive field so good luck to everyone. Pred were mostly done by myself (Jon) and my group was done by Ben (fhm_champion)

Group A

l1_stephen_1 - Stephen has definitely proven that he belongs in division A for good now with some strong results in other cam comps including 8brcam's last season where he knocked off heavy favourite Ant before losing to the eventual champ Jamie. Stephen plays a pretty strong game and its going to require a patient strategy to try to overcome his strong running ability. In this particular group he has a great chance at making the playoffs if he comes ready to play.

astro61200 - I think the last time I was doing predictions for Scott he was getting back from a little time off very similar to this situation. Last time I wasn't sure what to expect and he ended up being a div B finalist. So this time Scott gets to play against the best this tournament has to offer and I doubt he'll be overwhelmed much. I wouldn't say he's really contending to win this particular group but he's definitely got a good opportunity to extend his season to the playoffs.

dwaechte - I've actually never seen Dan play before and in most cases those folks would end up in div B. However in this case I was persuaded by Dan the Man himself. After doing a little research into his stats I see that he's tearing it up in SS with a great win % through over 200 games. Not sure how much set experience he has but I'm going to go ahead and assume not much and guess that these guys in the group should make life tough on him. We are dealing with the great unknown though and anything could happen.

fhm_champion - Ben is back playing in SSCam after a one season hiatus. I'm always very impressed with Ben's game because he seems to have an endless amount of shots to go along with his unlimited patience which is pretty much a recipe for disaster if you happen to be on the other side of the table. His results speak for themselves as he qualifies for playoffs in just about everything and has a couple respectable playoff runs in this competition as well as 8brcam. The only person who can match Ben's quality in this group is Mike so he'll be marching in the playoffs once again.

ll_ill_ll - Came as a bit of a surprise to see Mike's application in the pile this season. Mostly because he comes and goes fairly regularly and doesn't tend to stick around long enough to finish a competition. I'll make these predictions assuming that he'll play at least some of his sets. Mike is one of the best players in the league and can play with anyone. Mostly just runs tables like nobody's business but is smart enough to throw a safety in when it's necessary. If the runs aren't falling he can be susceptible to an upset from some of the players in this group but I'd imagine he'll be in the playoffs if the sets get played.

l0osteekyo0l - Rounding up group A Steven is making his first foray into the SSCam field. He's a pretty good player and could possibly cause an upset or two in this group. Once again not sure how much set experience he has and that can't really help his cause. I think he'll be able to keep most of the sets close but won't come out on the winning end more often than not. I have Steven finishing out of the playoffs but gaining some valuble experience.

Pecking Order - 1.Ben 2.Mike 3.Stephen 4.Scott 5.Steven 6.Dan

Group B

ItsAJ - AJ is back trying to pull off a second consecutive Div A playoff birth. Not to rain on any parades but it's worth noting that the previous one came in a fairly inactive season. AJ is definitely a good player and can hit some good shots sometimes but I'm not sure he'll be able to sustain the kind of play necessary to compete in this group. Could pull off 1 maybe 2 wins tops.

Cocky_Guy - The name says it all. Craig is a cocky guy and never has that been more true than present days. Craig has always had skills but he seems to be finally putting it all together and becoming a more consistent player. He's never been afraid to hit safeties to slow the game down and has all the shots necessary to finish even challenging runs. Not to say that he can't be tripped up or thrown off his game but that doesn't appear to be quite the constant issue that it used to be. Should face strong challenges from Derrick and possibly Dante but should qualify comfortably for the next round.

FreeJackpot - Another fine example of a player who really really really wanted to be in Div A. So here is Bryan getting what he asked for and not only does he have to play the sets but he'll be forced to read the prediction too. I don't see this going very well for Bryan and probably his best hope is to pretend that 3 wins in a set is a victory. I have him coming in last place in this group but there's an outside chance that could turn into a 5th place spot with some good play.

dr.putang - Dante is a first timer in SSCam so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Hadn't seen the guy around in a long time until just recently. Had the opportunity to play him in a couple tourney games and from what I noticed he plays a very controlled game. I get the impression that it should translate into a solid style for set play if it can stay consistent through 9 games. This is just an educated shot in the dark with no other competitions really to reference but I have Dante qualifying automatically or possibly in a wildcard spot.

killah_jason - Jason is a pretty good player who seems to be a little off form at the moment. He's a run first player most of the time which actually ended up working out really well for him from what I remember from way back but now the runs are looking a little rusty and that leaves opponents with easy tables at times to clean up. In any given set he could catch fire and take the win but I feel that consistency will be an issue and could keep him out of the playoffs.

poolist - Another player up for arguably the top player in the league position. Derrick's table runs are on steroids, not sure how else to put it. On an off day any player who adopts this style can be beaten but the problem here is that Derrick's off days are few and far between. I'm hoping that he'll be able to complete his sets for a change here so that we can see him perform in the playoff round. With those sets being played he should finish first in this group.

Pecking Order - 1.Derrick 2.Craig 3.Dante 4.Jason 5.AJ 6.Bryan

Group C

TINO_NlCA - Tino, a very respected person, seems to always show good sportsmanship and is a good person. He is a pretty streaky player, who can make it tough on you at times, but at other times he can be handled well. I think this is a fairly tough group for him to win many sets in, but best of luck to you pal.

shitty_attitude - Old time yahoo pool player here. He hasn't been able to play as much as he was earlier this winter, but nonetheless, he is a very good runner, and knows english well. He has been in competitions since they came out and always makes the playoffs as well. Look for him to live it up with Jon and TJ to battle for the #1 spot.

dx.fanatic - Dragon Ball Z nerd right here. I think he spends more time watching that then he does playing ypool. He can sneak up on you at times, but he needs to spend more time on the training table, and improve his game. Look at how long Goku spent training to be the strongest, come on jack put in your work. I think Jack battles to win 1 or 2 sets, and has a hard time in this group.

xxl_stud_lxx - Another old time yahoo pool player. Known him for about seven years from TRP days =)). Anyways, TJ can do it all as well he doesn't have much of a weakness, and he is tough to beat in a set and look for him to be battling hard with Jon and Scott for the top seed in this division.

l3_lvl_x - David is a good shooter, Iv'e seen him make a lot of nice long shots and run many tables lately. He has improved since I first met him. Sometimes he looks like he has help when making long shots and tough banks, so cam competitions only help David out here lol. He can definitely have a chance at upsetting one of the top 3 players in this group, but it will be tough.

crazy_cananuck - One of the few players in yahoo pool, who has strengths at all levels of the game, snookering, english, running, strategy, and banking. He has been playing good in competitions lately, and as long as he gets in a few days of playing in a week he is one of the hardest to matchup against. He usually never misses playoffs, and should make them once again, only the order may be hard to determine with Scott and TJ.

Pecking Order - 1.Jon 2.Scott 3.TJ 4.Tino 5.David 6.Jack

Group D

l2ack.em_up - Another first time entrant into SSCam Chris could be in trouble in a tough group. He's had some pretty good stats in the league and you he's not exactly what you'd call fun to play against in one game situations. Will that necessarily translate well into sets? Always hard to tell but we'll find out soon enough. I have Chris finishing towards the bottom of this group because of the difficulty.

aka_hero - Here we have another heavyweight contender in the competition. I expect last year's runner up to advance through this group stage fairly comfortably and make a similar playoff run this season because it was no fluke. One of the stronger players around because of his creativity and solid shot making. Should be the winner of this group.

lx_mike_xl - Mike is a first timer in SSCam and I haven't seen his name around other comps so this could be a first. He definitely has a strong enough game that is displayed fairly consistently. I think he's good enough to take a set from any of these guys aside from Kevin so that leaves the doors open to a playoff possibility. Could go either way but he'll be in the mix on the cut line.

yo_homicide - Always fun to write about Cam. His obsession with div B has become quite fascinating and it could even be considered a fetish as far as I'm concerned. Bottom line is that he's div A quality especially in this season. Don't think that it'll be easy to take a playoff spot here but I definitely put him as one of the favourites to advance.

n0_0b - Musti has been trapped in div A for a second consecutive season. An unfortunate consequence for being in the playoffs last season. Musti proved that he can compete with and win sets against strong players. Last season he had good wins vs Irfan and Sergio so he's shown he can reach good form. This group is pretty tough and I imagine quite a bit more active than last time so I have to give long odds.

safdarbandali - Safdar has reached a playoff spot in his last two seasons. This season once again he's been assigned to a challenging group. Haven't really seen him play a ton lately but his form has always seemed fairly sharp. I think Safdar can challenge for second place in this group.

Pecking Order - 1.Kevin 2.Cam 3.Safdar 4.Mike 5.Musti 6.Chris

Group E

ll_eskimo_ownage_ll - Petey has shown strong results in his first two seasons in SSCam and is moving up a class for what will make for some interesting sets. I think Petey has a pretty strong game and could get hot and run off some games. I see a few opportunities for set wins in this group but it might be tough to get enough good results to advance to the playoffs.

jt.jester - JT got stuck in a pretty tough group last time around but probably would have been a playoff qualifier if things were a little easier. From what I've seen lately this run game seems to be at a fairly high quality. Will definitely have no trouble punishing bad mistakes. There's enough good players in the group to say that playoffs aren't a guarantee but I think he'll be there.

ant8br - What can I say about new about Ant? Well he's still possibly the best player playing pool today although in recent competitions he's seemed a little more human. Seems to be taking upset losses a little more frequently as his consistency isn't up to normal standards. At the same time a drop in consistency doesn't mean you're still in trouble if you're in this group. Last season's champ should win this group.

win-win-win - Next up we have everyone's favourite exchange student Matt. Ya maybe....bro. He's a wildcard in any competition he enters because of his shotmaking ability. Doesn't always come through all that great and he usually plays pretty strong sets. Both previous showings in the competition were pretty strong and there's no reason to think this one will go differently. Should advance past the group stage.

UN_NATURAL - Well first off lets say Trey is a pretty good guy. Hopefully that doesn't give away what's coming next. I haven't really seen very good results from Trey in a while in comps and just from games that I've seen haven't really been up to a high level. He's definitely no stranger to these opponents so maybe familiarity and overall experience will help out. One or two set wins would be best hope.

nhanxx - Not too sure about this Nhan fellow. Since his great showing from a few seasons back he hasn't won a set in div A. I think he's a pretty solid and sometimes spectacular player. I'm hoping he can put it together here because he should win at least a couple and might find his way into the playoffs again this season.

Pecking Order - 1. Ant 2.Matt 3.JT 4.Nhan 5.Petey 6.Trey