SSCam Season 3/2011 Playoffs B

Welcome to the playoffs once again to everyone who managed to qualify out of probably our toughest group stage ever. Big thanks to all the players participating for completing an sscam record 87% of all sets in our biggest season to date. For those who don't know making it to the finals in this bracket gets you a spot into next year's prize tournament.

Also you still need to play your 2 trny games to be eligible in the playoffs.

Good luck to everyone!

Finals

#8 PxYxRxO vs #7 dark_tranquillity_666_l_l - Well well well... it's that time again. The first finals matchup is set and we have two unlikely combatants who have managed to jump several hurdles to make it to this point. No more worrying about who might be the next opponent because this is it. To begin with DJ is a pretty big surprise making it here because he has been a known commodity in the past. He's been in this competition almost every season the past 2 years and while always making the playoffs he often fell victim to early round losses. Just based on those past results, that were consistently average, makes this a surprise. Kevin on the other hand is new to the competition altogether and is looking to mimic Matt from last season and win it all on his first try. Although it is a surprise, Kevin definitely had the easier path here as it seemed like every time he was about to face a top seed, an upset happened. Both of these players are on the verge of taking their games to the next level by minimizing mistakes and coming through in clutch situations. They're playing at a high level and win or lose the season will have been very solid. Pretty hard to pick against DJ just based on the players he's been able to knock off so far but we are in the finals here and pressure can sometimes make things a little closer than usual. Kevin has a never say die attitude which was on display in the last set that ended up going to an sscam record 26 games. With all that being said DJ should win this but we know that Kevin won't get blown out. Best of luck to both.

10-8 DJ

Semi-Finals

#8 PxYxRxO vs #4 n0_0b - Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the semi-finals. We have one player who doesn't know the meaning of the word semi along with one who has probably forgotten the definition after such a long time between appearances. First off it's important to acknowledge the upset of the competition so far with DJ manhandling Trey in the previous round with an impressive beatdown. DJ has been a player who has consistently had good seasons with absolutely no playoff success. This run could be a sign of some legit improvement, or maybe just a fluky run (they happen). The last time Musti made a semi-finals appearance here was in last year's third season which happened almost a year ago. Musti is definitely showing signs of improvement with some solid wins so far including a nail biter against Naveen in the previous round. For previous matches I found last season's group stage where DJ beat Musti 5-4 in what must have been a close set. At this point it's always harder to pick the better player and a lot of the time it comes down to momentum. DJ is coming off the bigger win and is looking more impressive. He's going to have to make sure the pressure of the late rounds doesn't affect him too much to carry that through another strong opponent. Wouldn't be surprising to see either player advance here but I like the signs DJ is showing of becoming a really good player.

9-7 DJ Result - 9-7 DJ

#7 dark_tranquillity_666_l_l vs #11 joredon - The surprises in this bracket just keep on coming after the remaining top seed lost yet again as Joredon crushed Derek 7-2. Kevin on the other hand is just coming off a performance where he ended a cinderella when he beat Ebs quite comfortably 7-3. Both of these players are peaking at the right time and are now only one more good set away from having a chance to play in the finals. Kevin ran out to a pretty big lead in his set and at the first sign of and Ebs comeback he was able to tighten things up and close it out with strong performances in his final 2 games. Joredon was picked against in his previous round yet again against what appeared to be a dominant opponent. He managed to turn the tables pretty fast shooting out to a big lead and never looking back. Always hard to pick with these first-timers especially ones that have shown such wide ranges in their quality of play. Both guys have had great highlights so far and to figure out who will win there was some coin flipping involved (race to 7 wb2 coinflipping of course) apparently they say Joredon will win to keep his great run alive.

9-7 Joredon Result - 14-12 Kevin

Quarter-Finals

#1 UN_NATURAL VS #8 PxYxRxO - no pred

Result - 7-3 DJ

#4 n0_0b vs #12 n00bsquad_wolverine - Well so far Naveen hasn't really upset anyone with too much quality but it's looking like he'll truly be facing an underdog role here in this set. Musti is coming off a quality victory in the previous round against Alix that could have been a potential upset but he handled it well. This is actually a re-match from the groups in the past two seasons where Musti won both. One positive in Naveen's game is that he's willing to play safeties rather than risking giving away wins on tougher shots which could help him out a bit here. Those safeties can also be seen as a weakness with some tables requiring a little initiative to finish. There are going to be quite a few ugly games here and probably the ones that decide the set will not be the prettiest. Musti is going to be the guy with the knowhow to open up the tables and not make as many mistakes. I have Musti equaling his best performance and reaching the semis again.

7-4 Musti Result - 12-10 Musti

#18 Sabre Girl vs #7 dark_tranquillity_666_l_l - Usually by this point in the competition we're left with nothing but familiar names. This time that couldn't be further from the truth as a couple first time competitors have managed to make it this far. These players were in the same group but never completed their set which leaves them with no previous playing experience against each other. Eba is the bigger surprise here after taking out two of the stronger players in Kerry and Eddie. She's showing not only that she can win some game but also that she can close out sets in crunch time. Kevin is also playing well after dispatching of a pesky opponent in the previous round. Kevin is known to be a harsh self-evaluator but he must be doing something right to get this far. Eba will have opportunities in most games because Kevin doesn't run much from start to finish. If I was predicting this from the group stage I'd say Kevin takes it hands down but after Eba's success it will definitely be a close one. Kevin should still pull this one out and move onto the semis.

7-5 Kevin Result - 7-3 Kevin

#3 run.legend vs #11 joredon - Well after a wild second round filled with some big upsets Derek actually is sitting as the top seed remaining and probably is definitely one of the favourites in this final 8. So far so good in these playoffs for Derek who passed a fairly easy test comfortably against Niks. While Joredon has had opponents in the first two rounds he's only played a total of 7 games with a 4/3 record so we really don't know a whole lot more than we did earlier in the playoffs about him. One thing I'll say about Joredon is that he does have supreme confidence and he does have a pretty good idea of what he's doing on the table. This should be a tougher test for Derek but so far he's shown no sign of weakness and he's probably the better player in this match.

7-4 Derek Result - 7-2 Joredon

Rd 2 Matchups

#1 UN_NATURAL vs #17 my_hillybilly_sbc - Almost forgot Trey was in this competition as he was able to finish all his sets, with no losses, within the first few days of the competition. Here we are almost 3 weeks later and finally Jay has emerged as his next challenge. Jay is coming off probably his most impressive set of the competition where he was able to knock out Harmony with a few games to spare. Trey should be liking his chances in this match but it's definitely a lot closer than it might appear. Jay is probably one of the top players in div B on shotmaking alone and if he gets hot he could run a few tables. Trey actually is probably the top player in div B which and he should be aware of Jay's skill set as they've seen each other a number of times within the league and inters. This should be a really close set and Trey will have to come out with a smart enough game plan to get through safely.

7-5 Trey Result - 7-2 Trey

#8 PxYxRxO vs #9 PSYCHOJASON - Ok well here we have a couple guys who have done very well in div B probably the last 3 seasons and both of them have had pretty tough luck when it comes to the playoffs. Last season in particular both players took upset losses in round one of the playoffs. This season they get byes through to round 2 at least unfortunately to play off against each other. Jason could have had a much higher seed if he finished his sets so he might be kicking himself to have to face the early test here. Both players had 4 wins with some impressive victories along the way so there's not much to choose between them. I feel bad for whoever ends up losing this set because they both probably deserve to be in the final 8. Going to have to take DJ's experience here because I can't think of anything else.

7-5 DJ Result - 7-2 DJ

#4 n0_0b vs #20 oh.alix - Well despite having another successful season and earning the 4th seed in these playoffs, Musti will face a pretty big challenge right away with Alix being his round opponent. Alix is coming off a blowout win against Rahul which didn't really come as too big of a surprise but it might also be a sign that she's elevating her level of play for when the games matter. Musti is always a competitor in the playoffs and it's hard to believe that he's being threatened so early on but Alix is a really good shooter and if she's finishing her runs Musti might not shoot that much. On the bright side for Musti, he is a pretty steady player and Alix hasn't shown that she's been able to beat any of the better players yet. Musti is more likely to make a return appearance in the quarter-finals but Alix might push him to extra games.

8-6 Musti Result - 7-4 Musti

#5 binder.william vs #12 n00bsquad_wolverine - Finally Naveen was able to finish his rd 1 set and after 18 games his win gives him a chance to take on Will here. Will had a great return to sscam with only one loss in the group stage and winning that group. Will is probably the most underrated player in the competition and he should be looking to go a couple rounds deep here and maybe further. Naveen is playing in his first playoffs and just barely managed to squeak by Prak in the last round. Will is going to be finishing a lot more tables than Prak for sure and Naveen will need to step up his game a little more to compete here. Will is still not the most refined player which will leave openings but I still think he clears a few tables and will do a good job taking advantage of any mistakes by Naveen.

7-4 Will Result - 7-4 Naveen

#2 FastEddieTheEvilPsycho vs #18 Sabre Girl - Introducing yet another top player into the div B bracket, Eddie is once again the second overall seed for the second season in a row. Once again pulling off a fairly comfortable 5-0 season Eddie is trying to prove he deserves a promotion to the top ranks. One of the more surprising results from the first round was Eba managing to knock out a former finalist in Kerry in a 7-1 decision. Eba was barely in the playoffs but now she's kicked off her shoes and is looking to hang around a little longer after that drubbing. Last season Eddie had a surprising semi-final loss against the eventual champion and I can't really see him focusing to make it at least that far once again. I'm guessing Eba will fight but it's probably not enough.

7-4 Eddie Result - 9-7 Eba

#7 dark tranquillity_666_l_l vs #10 insaneKoRn - After a 7-1 beatdown of Amy, Drew will face Kevin in the next round. Kevin had a pretty good group stage, losing only one of the 4 sets he played to finish first in his group. It was a little bit of a surprise to see Drew beating Amy by so much there but he showed that it can make a difference to have more experience playing sets. The next match guarantees to be the complete opposite because Kevin plays more under control and has more of an idea what needs to happen to get victories. While its hard to pick against someone coming off such a big win Kevin presents a completely different kind of challenge. Drew will need to make some adjustments in how he plays and I'm not too convinced yet that he can pull it off.

7-4 Kevin Result - 7-4 Kevin

#3 run.legend vs #19 lndiangangsta - Derek is the 3rd and final guy to have managed a 5-0 record in div B and he'll be matching up against one of the lower remaining seeds in Niks. He's a player who I really wasn't aware of before the competition started but he picked up some good wins here and is also doing just about the same thing in 8brcam's div B. Niks is coming off a round 1 win against Pat in a set that took a couple extra games to conclude. This should be a really tough if not impossible hurdle for Niks as he's always just been about average with his group results and really hasn't taken out anyone this good before. I still really don't know much about Derek's game but the numbers don't lie and his run won't be ending here.

7-3 Derek

#6 Sacha98 vs #11 joredon - Welcoming the enigma Sacha to the bracket here, always an entertaining guy to watch in a set. Here we have our very first re-match from the group stages in these playoffs against Joredon. Last time these two played it was a 9-0 win for Joredon even though Sacha was able to recover enough to win the group. This is definitely not your typical performance from Sacha and it's unlikely that he actually played out all those games. Both players are pretty strong shooters who at times can struggle to finish off their runs. Sacha normally has a strict routine of 100 games per day which I've seen fall off a little bit lately so that could be a good or bad thing haha. Joredon got a little lucky getting the DQ win in the previous round to advance here and now he'll be trying to show the previous matchup wasn't a product of luck. Tough call here I think these players are very similar. If Sacha gets down early he might quit so it's hard to pick him because you know Joredon will play till the end.

7-4 Joredon Result - 7-3 Joredon

Rd 1 Matchups

#16 ll_x_lrish.g0ddess_x_ll vs #17 my_hillybilly_sbc - The first matchup in round put puts two pretty good players up against each other in what could very well be the most entertaining match of the first round. Harmony and Jay both got through the group stages with 3 wins apiece against some decent competition. Harmony, I'm pretty sure, is a flat out runner and is a pretty good shooter at that too. She seems to know what she's doing on an open table so Jay will have to limit mistakes. Jay has been around for a very long time playing inters and comps so he shouldn't be overwhelmed by anything here. Jay thinks the game through pretty well but his downfall often times ends up being an easy missed shot every once in a while. I think that if Jay can stay focused and not blow his runs then he'll be in a good position to win this one but could go either way.

7-5 Jay Result - 7-4 Jay

#13 TheGreatOne41 vs #20 oh.alix - Always good to see Rahul back in the playoffs for the first time in a while. He's coming off an impressive season where he managed to pull out a big 7-2 in his last set to get here. Alix was added to the competition in a replacement group so wasn't able to complete her sets but did pretty well anyways on her first time in competition. Rahul is definitely showing us something we haven't seen before with the set wins he's had so he's not the usual pushover from seasons past. Having said that Alix is a pretty strong runner and shoots with a pretty high IQ that she probably acquired from playing inters and games with strong players. Rahul is definitely the people's champ but Alix I think will show that she's one of the stronger players in div B here.

7-4 Alix Result - 7-2 Alix

#12 n00bsquad_wolverine vs #21 ActiveKC - Here we have an interesting match between two of the surprises in the group stage. Both players don't have very strong records in SS league, and we have to say Naveen has a slightly better track record. Naveen is an irregular player, if he is on mood he can play at a very decent level (he won 7-2 in two group stage matches), but when he isn't, his perfomance can decrease a lot. He is improving day by day, and has shown he has the ability to use good english and good set up play. On the other hand Prakash is a player less talented than Naveen in terms of strategy and english usage but his decent shot accuracy can make things difficult for Naveen if Naveen makes many failed runs and leaves open tables. It's hard to predict.

7-4 Naveen (by dark_tranq) Results - 10-8 Naveen

#15 xl_bankqueen_lx vs #18 Sabre Girl - Here we have an all female matchup... oo la la and no it wasn't setup by Musti. After some confusion over some tapes Eba has rightfully taken her spot in the bracket. After being a late entrant to the competition Eba managed to get 3 wins in the final week of the competition coming out of a fairly tough group. Kerry, after being a finalist a couple seasons back, has come back down to earth with the last couple seasons having good but not great group stages. There's nothing overly distinguished about the way these players play and it's virtually a toss up to see who can move on to the next round. I haven't really seen Ebs in many competitions lately so I'll say Kerry is going to move on.

7-4 Kerry Result - 7-1 Eba

#10 insaneKoRn vs #23 baby_merta - Here we have a matchup of two virtual unknowns in this competition anyways. Both players used a certain amount of luck to be able to be in this position. Drew's high seeding is the result of a 9-0 dq win that he received in his last set while Amy was awarded a wildcard spot after he managed to beat out Shelle and Jenni in a 3-way tiebreaker in his group. Drew definitely gets around competitions a little more while Amy is in his first competition here in sscam. Amy used to be a bit of a pushover but lately seems to be improving all the time and has become a dangerous player in ss trnys. Drew is fortunate to not have to be drawn against a dominant player in the first round here but will have to take Amy seriously indeed.

7-4 Drew Result - 7-1 Drew

#14 ill vs #19 lndiangangsta - Unfortunately for Niks some tapes got cleared at the very last second which ended up changing his seeding by 12 whole places. This mean he winds up having to play a first round match against Pat here. Pat is coming off of a somewhat surprising season where he managed to finish 2nd place in his group with some good results. Niks is coming off a season where he only managed 2 wins and got in through his win %. Last season in playoffs Niks didn't even get to play his set so its hard to say how he handles the pressure yet. This should be a pretty close set and I'd have to say Niks experience gives him the edge over Pat but really this could play out either way... or not at all.

7-5 Niks Result - 8-6 Niks

#11 joredon vs #22 G_O_D99 - Ok so this is the last prediction I'm writing and I'm all out of ideas. Joredon is a new player to the league but he's already established himself as one of the better ones out there playing trnys. Rich, his opponent, has been in the competition a few times now and is making his first trip to the playoffs in a while mainly because of a win being given at the last second. At the same time Rich was off to his best start this season and won 2 sets legitimately and is possibly finding his game back. I think the huge difference here will not be in shots made but in strategy. The big downfall with Rich's game is his lack of awareness as to how hard shots need to be hit... he likes to live in the red. Didn't really witness any of Joredon's sets but some people had good things to say and from what I've seen he plays under control. This is probably the biggest mismatch in the first round and Joredon should advance with a little room for error.

7-3 Joredon Result - DQ win for Joredon

SSCam Season 3/2011 Playoffs A

Welcome to the playoffs once again to everyone who managed to qualify out of probably our toughest group stage ever. Big thanks to all the players participating for completing an sscam record 86% of all sets in our biggest season to date. For those who don't know making it to the semi-finals in this bracket gets you a spot into next year's prize tournament.

Also you still need to play your 2 trny games to be eligible in the playoffs.

Good luck to everyone!

Finals

#1 mr_camtasia vs #10 _MaTt15_ - Here we finally have the main event after almost two months of sets only two players are left standing and we have Chris and Matt as the div A finalists. Matt was finally able to break through after this being his third semi-finals appearance with a great win against a shaky Craig. Matt almost blew an 8-3 lead in that set before Craig finally handed him a gimme in the final game. Chris had a bit more of a tougher time with his semi final set against Jeremy as it went the distance and then some finishing with a 13-11 score. Now Chris has still never lost in this competition and it could possibly take a miracle for Matt to win this set but it is possible. This seems to be the competition where Matt excels as deep runs have become his usual and so far he's knocked off top quality opponents in Andy, Dan and Craig its possible this run isn't ready to end. Chris is going to have to be giving up shots for Matt to have a chance but if Chris isn't running every table then Matt could have an ok chance to keep it close. In the end this is still a mismatch and keeping it close might be the best result for Matt.

9-5 Chris

Semi-Finals

#1 mr_camtasia vs #4 pro.jeremy - Unlike the rest of the competition the top seeds have managed earn their rightful place in position to win the title. We are down to the final 4 and everyone has a decent story to tell about how they got here. After getting past Brent in a close set, Chris has managed to to keep that undefeated record intact and it really doesn't look like anyone can beat him right now. The next challenger is Jeremy, who has always been considered a good player but has sort of come out of nowhere to make some news here. In his first season in the competition he managed not only to grab this high seed but he's also been able to play up to that high standard after getting through David and Pita. The determining factor in this prediction for me is that I've never really seen Jeremy in this position before in a competition while its business as usual for Chris who is expected to win every time he plays. Jeremy is obviously playing great by anyone's standards but in a race to 9 Chris is going to leave most people in the dust. Look for Jeremy to keep it close and maybe even lead a little throughout but you can't pick against a guy with camtasia in his ID.

9-6 Chris Result - 13-11 Chris

#10 _MaTt15_ vs #6 __God - Please do not mistake the lack of top seeds here for a potential lack in entertainment value. That would be a grave mistake because there's a potential for fireworks here. Craig is coming off great wins against Kenny and Trav, and is now looking like he's on the best form we've ever seen from him at this stage in the sscam season. Matt is the lowest remaining seed but he's no slouch by any means. So far he's been able to dispatch of Andy in a close set and was able to dominate Dan in a blowout in the quarters. To start it's important to make people aware these two came out of the same group and the last time they played it was a 7-2 win for Craig. While Craig definitely does appear to be the favourite here Matt is back for his 3rd attempt at an sscam semi-finals and he'll be doing everything possible to come out with his best effort. While Craig's great play definitely has to be commended it's noteworthy that in his victory against Trav that his level of play hit an obvious slump when he hit a 6-2 lead which allowed the set to go longer than it should have. Craig will definitely need to stay in a good head space if he wants to close Matt out. Craig has definitely developed into the better all around player and but I don't expect his patience to hold up as well as in his set vs Trav which is where things will get interesting and closer.

9-7 Craig Result - 9-6 Matt

Quarter-Finals

#1 mr_camtasia vs #9 sykology - Here we have another marquee matchup here in these playoffs as Chris will face off against Brent for a spot in the final 4. Both players are playing at a pretty high level to make it this far as Brent dispatched of Jesse in a close set while Chris had his last set against Gary in a blowout. It's worth mentioning that Chris has never lost a set in an sscam elimination set with this being his 3rd such competition. While Brent is the clear underdog in this set, it will definitely be the biggest challenge so far for Chris on his title run. Chris is going to run a lot of tables and not make too many mistakes no matter what. Brent is going to need to find his top game and catch a couple breaks to pull off this upset. Brent is no stranger to this quality of opponent so he'll like his chances going in but Chris will take care of business.

7-4 Chris Result - 7-5 Chris

#4 pro.jeremy vs #5 new.bies - Well so far in this section of the bracket the top seeds have held serve with not a ton of pressure from either opponent. Jeremy has definitely been impressive all season and his solid win last round shows that it was no fluke. On the other side we have Pita who is really an underdog in number only. Pita's specialty seems to be coming through in crunch time so while he might leave some tables open to begin he'll definitely be locked in at the end. Pita definitely is going to be wanting this one and odds are there will be a good bunch of viewers to cheer him on. Neither of these players really has made a habit of making deep runs into cam comps and while I think Jeremy will be a formidable challenge I think Pita won't be stopped here.

8-6 Pita Result - 7-5 Jeremy

#15 dwaechte vs #10 _MaTt15_ - Ok well as I write this some strange shit has just gone down to setup this match. Dan actually had lost his previous round's set but no tapes were provided and the set was forfeited.... sketchy stuff folks. So that sets up the following round between Dan and Matt which will be a much more wholesome set we imagine between a couple good players. Matt is coming off an impressive round 2 victory against Andy to continue his string of playoff success in this competition. Dan is coming off his 2nd consecutive dq win so its pretty hard to tell how he's playing. There's no real clear favourite in this set because Dan has done a good job getting his skill level up to par recently. The last time these two played a set was in doubles competition where Matt took the victory... I'm thinking they'll both be taking this one a little more seriously and it should be a close win for Matt.

7-5 Matt Result - 7-3 Matt

#19 trav_the_king vs #6 __God - Of all the players who made it this far Trav is definitely the guy who has had to dodge the most bullets picking up wins against Scott and Stu in the first two rounds. Craig has been waiting a little while after discarding Kenny in round 2. We haven't seen Craig so far into the competition since his famous 3 round bye from last year. Two really good players here who both have the ability to get really hot at any time and both can really play any style of game. Both players are probably smelling blood too with a favourable semi-finals match on the horizon as well. It'll come down to who can focus on the task at hand for the entirety of the set. Unless Craig starts out really hot with a big lead I think Trav will come out with this one in the end and continue his great sscam success of late.

7-5 Trav Result - 9-7 Craig

Rd 2 Matchups

#1 mr_camtasia vs #17 boston.bruins2011 - Introducing one the most successful players in the history of sscam, Chris is once again the top seed heading into the playoffs. Chris is most recently coming off a victory in the SSCam prize tournament beating out all the former champs to collect the cash prize. It's a little bit of a surprise to see that his opponent Gary even made it this far as the last round appeared to be a mismatch. Does Gary have the potential to pull off an even bigger surprise against Chris? Probably not. Chris doesn't really lose any sets to anyone and Gary won't be the guy to derail his second sscam title run.

7-2 Chris Result - 7-3 Chris

#8 jmunoz3rd vs #9 sykology - Here we matchup two of the stronger players from the group stage who each earned first round byes through their good performance. Brent is no stranger to the playoffs in this competition as he's been here a few times but is still yet to make any kind of a significant run. Meanwhile Jesse is in the competition for the first time and surprised me a little bit with his quality of play coming in second place in a pretty tough group. There's always pressure that comes in to play in these sets and while Jesse has been around pool for a while Brent is the player who I think would be least affected by playoff pressure as he has made deep runs in 8brcam and other competitions before. Anything can happen when they actually decide to play especially when there's so little separating these players. Brent's creativity and shotmaking should give him the slight edge in this set.

7-5 Brent Result - 7-5 Brent

#4 pro.jeremy vs #13 l3_lvl_x - Well after surviving a 20 game marathon set David lives on to face Jeremy in the next round. Jeremy is new to the competition this season but so far has not disappointed after a 5-0 performance in the group stage. David is coming off that extremely long set where while there were a lot of mistakes made it was clear that he definitely has the overall skill to pull off wins against top players. The big difference between these two players is that Jeremy probably has a better vision for safeties and just a better sense of when those shots are appropriate. Davids goal usually seems like its in the neighbourhood of run this table no matter what and that could work out but usually requires a little luck. Jeremy is a little more solid and should be moving on.

7-5 Jeremy Result - 7-4 Jeremy

#5 AzN_PrIdE_LuVa vs #12 n00bsquad_knight - Here we have our first rematch from the group stage between Pita and Stephen. These two should already be somewhat familiar with each other after they played to a pretty tight 5-4 score with Pita on the winning side. This is actually only Pita's second time into the playoffs which is a bit surprising considering how long he's been in SS. He had a great group stage this time around finishing with just one loss and coming out on top of one of the tougher groups. Not that Stephen really needed the charity but he advanced to here based off a win being given by AJ in the previous round. While Pita will definitely be the favourite in this set, Stephen will definitely be up for the challenge as he actually invited a re-match during some table talk not too long ago. Not a whole lot to lose for Stephen as he tries to breakthrough and get a marquee victory for the elimination portion of his cam comp resume. I think its good for Pita that he has no opponent to look forward to yet in the next round so he'll keep his focus solely on this set and grab the win.

7-4 Pita Result - 7-1 Pita

#2 ooo_franchise_ooo vs #15 dwaechte - Introducing another one of the favourites to win this competition we have the Rufferman making his sscam playoff debut vs Dan. Ruffer had one of the most impressive group stages after collecting one of the 4 5-0 records through some strong wins. Dans previous round once again was a DQ win and that gives him the opportunity again to take out a top competitor. Ruffer seems to be a fundamentally strong player who moves the ball around effortlessly wherever he wants while Dan is a little more rough around the edges. Theres always a chance that hangers and some bad bounces can have an impact on the end result but they dont call this guy franchise for nothing.

7-3 Ruffer Result - DQ win for Dan

#7 X_STRIKE_X vs #10 _MaTt15_ - Well no one said it would get any easier for any of these players and here we have a prime example with set between Matt and Andy. Andy is in the competition for the first time and didn't disappoint with a 4-0 record managing to win his group. Andy has long been an underrated player because of his tendencies to have incredibly long safety games in inters but what people miss sometimes is that while he isn't the most spectacular player he's one of the strongest with fundamentals and doesn't often make mistakes on easy tables. Matt is the kind of player who is either going to have great success or crash and burn in a set vs Andy. He's mostly a run first player who is going to need to finish some of those runs to have a chance here. I don't see Matt really being comfortable playing safeties a lot here but he needs to make the tables as hard on Andy as possible to have any chance of coming out with a win here. I think Andy probably takes Matt out of his comfort zone in this set and moves on.

7-5 Andy Result - 7-5 Matt

#3 zl_stu_lz vs #19 trav_the_king - Trav definitely showed some good signs when he was able to dispatch of Scott in the first round but it will be getting a lot harder in this round. Stu is coming off an impressive 5-0 season where he was able to defend his turf against some pretty good players. Trav is slightly newer on the scene as a top player and while he's recently coming off great success in some other competitions he still seems susceptible to coming out flat and not playing as consistently. Stu, on the other hand, consistently has some of the best cue control out there which allows him to keep things simple and not make as many mistakes. This very well could have been a finals matchup with the type of runs these two players are known for making in competitions. Stu probably doesn't appreciate having to take out Trav first on his run but he'll still probably get it done.

8-6 Stu

#6 __God vs #22 the_pool_professor - We introduce another one of our first round byes to the competition with the #6 seed Craig. Once again Craig had very little trouble with his competition in the group stage, managing to move through with an undefeated record. Last season Craig's playoffs were cut short in the second round when he wasn't able to complete his set so he'll be looking to improve on that. Kenny is just coming off a great win against Jordy in the first round which shows us that the shaky form he had in the group stage is possibly a thing of the past. Definitely hoping for a good showing from Kenny again because he'll need it if he's going to keep this run going through Craig. As always with Craig the start of the set is critical because early deficits are killers for his confidence especially against quality like Kenny. Craig would be the safe pick here but I can't ignore Kenny's big win from last night.

7-5 Kenny Result - 7-3 Craig

Rd 1 Matchups

#16 haters vs #17 boston.bruins2011 - Here we have a couple players who essentially did what they had to do to make it out of the group stage with matching 3-2 records. Both players finished in 3rd place respectively and lost to the higher two seeds. While their stats are definitely very similar I'm pretty sure that'll be where the comparisons end. Both players do like to run quite a bit but Ryan is a lot more calculated in his runs than Gary. While I'm more impressed with Ryan's game he seems like he's also prone to blowing some easy games and getting into a funk. Its hard to pick a clear favourite here when both players have shown pretty big inconsistency throughout the competition but in a race to 7 the better player usually wins and I'm going to have to pick Ryan here.

7-4 Ryan Result - 9-7 Gary

#13 l3_lvl_x vs #20 leafed_leafs - So here we have David & Jon who both struggle in groups at times, but then come out in playoffs and make deep runs. I feel Jon has the advantage here, having more of strategic feel to the game. David can clearly run tables when he's playing good, tho if he's not finishing at a high percentage Jon will be able to pick up a few wins from that alone. However, this can go vice versa if Jon is in more of an attack mode, and using less patience. It's really gonna come down to who's the more relaxed, patient player at the time of set. I'm gonna give this one to Jon, based mainly on an experience factor, since it isn't clear to me which player is on their game atm as David went 3-2 & Jon went 2-3. Tough groups, but still doesn't tell me much. Should be quite a RD 1 set to watch.

7-4 Jon (by Trav) Result - 11-9 David

#12 n00bsquad_knight vs #21 ItsAJ - Well look who we have here in the div A playoffs... Its AJ! For a guy who won't shut his mouth about how he doesn't belong he still managed to beat out half the field for a spot here. While being a playoff player in div A is a nice little accomplishment getting in with such a high seed definitely makes the road that much more challenging. Stephen has qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season and will be looking to improve on his first round exit from last season. Not sure how AJ is doing it but he's put up some pretty good results in this competition and 8brcam so I won't go so far as to say he has no chance. Stephen will have to make sure not to look ahead to Pita and take care of business here if he hopes to advance. Should be a close enough set.

7-5 Stephen Result - DQ win for Stephen

#15 dwaechte vs #18 adambuddy - Here we have a couple very skilled players with only room for one of the two to move on to round 2. Dan is into the playoffs here for the 3rd consecutive season and has started to make a habit of playing past the group stage in almost every competition he enters. Adam is like a box of chocolates mostly because he doesn't really play the comps as consistently as he used to. This season though he had a pretty solid 3-0 mark with 2 sets unplayed. Not sure how much these players really know about one another aside from maybe a couple meetings in teamer trnys. Dan is definitely up and coming but I think Adam will be forcing him to take a seat once again in round 1.

8-6 Adam Results - DQ win for Dan

#14 Sc0t_ vs #19 trav_the_king - As far as skill is concerned this is definitely the set to watch out of all the ones from round 1. Scott has finally qualified for the playoffs in this competition after 2 previous seasons coming up short by taking care of the weaker players in his group. Despite having the higher seed here Scott will have to show that he can take down one of the real contenders in Trav. Trav is coming off a prize tourney performance where he knocked out Ant on the way to a second place finish. Unfortunately because of one unplayed set Trav's seeding has been knocked down quite a bit. Trav's bad luck though is good luck for anyone who follows the competition as any viewers will be treated to a pretty good set here. It's really hard to pick a winner here because both players have had some eyebrow raising results fairly recently. Should be really close but Trav has a tendency to come out on top of those sets.

9-7 Trav Result - 7-5 Trav

#11 xlx_skill_xlx vs #22 the_pool_professor - More evidence that getting into the playoffs is not even half the battle, we have another great matchup here between Jordy and Kenny. Kenny returned to action in pool not too long ago to participate in the ss prize tournament where he had some decent results before losing in the semis to Trav. This Sscam season though was pretty shaky for Kenny after he barely managed to win 3 sets and came in 4th place getting in on a wildcard. Jordy on the other hand dominated most of his sets and his seeding is doing him no favours with this first match. Both of these players know how to play any style they really want and there really isn't much to choose between the two. Kenny I'm not so sure about just because he seemed shaky through his group sets. Have to go with the higher seed here although an upset would not be a big surprise.

7-5 Jordy Result - 7-4 Kenny

Div B Mid-Season Report 3/11

Ok so I've sort of been promising one of these since last year so here it goes. A recap on what's happened so far and some insight on what's going to happen for the rest of the season. Here is a group by group recap of SScam so far.

Group A

Ah div B lots to write about as half the sets in the competition were played in the first week. Group A had a few players with lots to prove including Kerry, Rich and Dorie. So far Dorie started out to 3 losses with no wins and Kerry is on a 2-2 record needing a win to move on. Rich is surprisingly in the best spot of those 3 with 2-1 record needing only another win out of his two remaining sets. Trey as expected dominated this group with a 5-0 record winning over 75% of his games. Pat was a pretty big surprise winning 3 of his sets and putting himself into the playoff picture. With two spots already sealed up this group will be hoping to maybe have a wildcard spot to fit everyone in.

Two key sets to watch:

G_O_D99 vs xl_banqueen_lx - Well two players with lots to prove. Rich trying to make his first sscam playoffs in a while while Kerry doesn't want to miss her first one in a while. Kerry lost a set vs Pat which makes this a must win situation for her to advance in the playoffs. She needs at least 3 wins to crack the top 3 or get a wild-card so feel the desperation! I think Kerry knows that she needs this one more and will probably show the same class she's shown in previous seasons to move on.

G_O_D99 vs doriebarnes84 - Well look at that Rich has been featured in his second key set. He seems to control the fate of a couple people in this group. While Dorie has pretty much taken herself out of the running for her own playoff spot she has a chance to play spoiler here to Rich. These two have met in a previous season with Dorie taking the result. Rich should know that he really needs to win this set and I think he might be able to do that by taking advantage of Dorie's low confidence level at this point.

Group B

Group B is the opposite of A as everything is still wide open. DJ and Krazy were seen as the favourites at the start and they both haven't done much to disprove that. DJ did beat Krazy in their set to get the inside track for 1st place in the group while Krazy did win his other game to be sitting at 1-1. The surprise in this set is that the other win belongs to Will who was able to upset DJ in their set. New member in the group Prakash will be doing his best to disrupt things while Maria and Chrissie are still alive with only one set played each.

Two key sets to watch:

binder.william vs _White_Rabbit - Will has done most of his heavy lifting already getting his sets with Krazy and DJ out of the way early and should be happy splitting those sets. One of his remaining tests will come against Chrissie. Chrissie so far has a loss to DJ but is by no means out of the race. A win for her against Will would go a long way towards getting her back in the playoff hunt. Will has been impressive but we'll see just how far he'll go based on how he does here.

ActiveKC vs PxYxRxO - This might appear to be a bit of a mismatch on paper but DJ has been caught off guard once already in these group stages. Prakash really needs to return to his form of long long ago to have much of a chance in this set but if he were able to win it he could have some real playoff aspirations too. This set is pretty important for DJ because he needs the win to claim the group and keep a top seed going into the playoffs.

Group C

Another group where lots has happened so far but only one place is set in stone. Eddie in back to back seasons now has raced out to a 5-0 group stage with more than a 70 win %. Harmony and Rahul each have impressive wins against Sterlo and Rubi to have 2-1 records. Moon has taken herself out of playoff race with an 0-4 record while Sterlo is sitting at slim odds with 1-3. Snow is the player in the group who can make a big difference still with 4 sets to play, he'll need some impressive wins though.

Two key sets to watch:

TheGreatOne41 vs harmony.fitzgerald - Ok well this one is pretty obvious with both players sitting at 2-1, the winner of this set will be going on to the playoffs. Before the competition started I would have said Harmony was the favourite in this matchup but Rahul has surprised me with two impressive victories, maybe he's getting a little better at pool. I think Harmony is a bit tougher to play against and she should come out on top here but watch out for Rahul.

TheGreatOne41 vs snowmanbody - Well I'm assuming this becomes the next key match if Harmony beats Rahul but this should still be important either way. Rahul will be either looking for his 3rd or 4th win in the group to solidify his playoffs hopes while Snow is going to be looking to win some sets to get his name in the hat. Snow's biggest hurdle will be actually playing this set but if they actually do get a chance to matchup it should be a close one.

Group D

Group D was thought to be a fairly wide open group with no real dominating forces and that's how it appears to be playing out so far with lots of sets left to play. The group is currently being led by Jason and Justin who are 4-0 and 2-0 respectively. Musti and Naveen are still sitting in pretty good shape with 1-1 records while John and Dawn are pretty much on the outside looking in. Jason is looking for his first 5-0 in the competition which would earn him one of the top seeds going into the playoffs but he's still got that last set to play.

Two key sets to watch:

PSYCHOJASON vs ultimate_p00l_perfecti0n - Well this one is pretty obvious as a highlighted set. Both player appear to be on their way to playoff positions quite comfortably with no losses between the two of them so far. One player will have to lose though if these two do play and the winner will have a key advantage to win this group outright. Justin still has 2 other sets to win to be able to pull off a 5-0 record but the winner here has a great chance to join that elite perfect group.

ultimate_p00l_perfecti0n vs n0_0b - Justin has taken over second place in this group maybe a little by surprise but he hasn't played the player who was predicted to come in second which is Musti. Musti doesn't need this win to make the playoffs but it will definitely give him a little breathing room. Justin's wins so far haven't really come against any of the contenders in this group so will have to take his results with a grain of salt. We'll see how good he really is in these two sets.

Group E

Here we have a group that hasn't gotten the memo that the season has started with only 4 sets having been played so far. Luckily we've added Graeme into the mix to hopefully help get some more sets played. We have a 4-way tie for first place at this point with all 4 sitting on 3 points and only one win. Shelle and Niks are in the best positions only barely because they have no losses. Kevin has one loss and Amy has two but neither play is out by any means. One of the favourites in the group, Jenni has only played one set which was a loss but by no means is she out of the race. She should be a favourite in every set left except maybe against Kevin. In the end I think the playoff spots will be fought for by Shelle, Jenni, Niks, Kevin.

Two key sets to watch:

dark_tranquillity_666_l_l vs SuGaRBa8y - These were the two predicted top finishers in this group and they both still have a chance to finish up there in the standings. Jenni normally jumps out to pretty quick starts in this competition so hopefully the 0-1 record isn't too worrying. Kevin is a player who I'm still not 100% sure about. He has played really well and sometimes doesn't I guess. If Kevin stays patient in this set and uses his head I think he can win but Jenni also has the ability to run people off the table.

lndiangangsta vs shelle4461 - Well technically at this point both of these players are tied leading the group. Niks and Shelle were both playoff players in the last competition so get ready for some decent pool between the two of them here. Niks is probably more likely to be higher up in the group so this set is probably a little more important for Shelle to win. It should be a pretty close matchup probably ending in a 5-4 score either way but the set will be key for the winner's playoff hopes.

Group F

Here we have a group where every single set was played except for one... well and all of Stevie's sets too. The predictions has Stevie and Sacha as the top players in this group and so far Sacha has been there and Stevie has been replaced by Jerry. Jerry is your new top contender despite the fact that he hasn't been seen in sets before so good luck. Joredon and Drew are both sitting at 2-2 records and are looking for another win to try to get in while Nigel and Bubba are going to square off to try to join that 2-2 club. Could be an exciting finish pretty much all determined by Jerry's sets.

Two key sets to watch:

lawbubba vs en_dk - So far the competition hasn't been all that great for either player as they've lost sets to a couple of the new guys in the lg, Joredon and Drew but there's still time to make amends. The winner of this set will still have a chance to compete for the playoffs while the other will surely be eliminated in this group stage. Nigel definitely has shown in the past that he's got what it takes to be a playoff contender so I think he should put himself in position to even up his record and go for that 3rd win.

downurazz vs joredon - Before this competition started I was pretty sure that Joredon was a nobody who could do nothing but he's definitely proved that wrong. Sitting at 2-2 with wins against Sacha and Nigel isn't a bad result. Jerry is making his cam comp debut here and it should be interesting. Never really seen him play on cam but he's got a pretty strong run game and is a pretty tough player to play against in tournaments. This set should be more important to Joredon for a playoff spot but Jerry has 5 sets left to play so we'll see how it plays out.

NEW GROUP

GROUP G

oh.alix - Alix is a player that I don't really know too much about. What I do know however is that she does have quite a bit of interlg experience which means she's definitely no stranger to playing against good players. The first attempt at cam comps might not go exceedingly well but I think she definitely has the capability to win one or two sets in this group.

my_hillybilly_sbc - Well I managed to convince Jay to play in sscam again and this is the first time he's been in since it's been split in div A and div B. While I always thought Jay would develop into a div A player he definitely will be a contender in div B. Jay has a very good run game and can finish tables just as well as almost anyone on this side of the competition. No stranger at all to high quality pool and should be the top player in this group.

mvp_raven - Brice has finally managed to get eligible to play in the competition and has landed in not too bad of a group for him. Brice has just as much cam comp experience as anyone in this division but it hasn't all been good for him. He is a playoff calibre player in 8brcam's div B though so he has a pretty good chance to pull off the same standing here.

run.legend - Derek is another player who I don't know much about. The story on him is that he showed up in the league one day... played his 50 games to get eligible and no one has seen him since. Well not sure if that's really true but I haven't seen him. He did a pretty good job getting his trnys in and won a few of them. Obviously the quality of play in a set will be much higher than any given tournament so we'll see how he stacks up in best of 9 situations. This group might present some challenges but I think he should move on.

REAPING - Mikey is in the competition for the first time and has somewhat lucked out by being drawn into a fairly easy group here. He's definitely no stranger to top competition and should be able to at least keep most of the sets close in this group. The one criticism I have is that there isn't really one thing that Mikey does really well in order to get wins. He'll have to scratch and claw and have a few bounces go his way to get a playoff spot.

MrsBoogie - Last but not least we have Jenna. Well ok she might end up finishing in last place but she's still pretty cool! Jenna has played in sscam before so she won't be caught off guard by the skill of the players involved in this group. It has been a while since the last time she played sets so it is possible that her game has improved enough to be a contender in this group. She'll probably win 1 set here but it wouldn't be totally surprising to see her win 2.

Pecking Order - 1.Jay 2.Derek 3.Brice 4.Alix 5.Mikey 6.Jenna

Div A Mid-Season Report 3/11

Ok so I've sort of been promising one of these since last year so here it goes. A recap on what's happened so far and some insight on what's going to happen for the rest of the season. Here is a group by group recap of SScam so far.

Group A

Well there is really not too very much to talk about in this group yet. The favourites going in were Jordy and Ben and at the point in the competition Jordy is 2-1 with his two toughest sets yet to play and Ben has actually been replaced by Stu because of lack of activity. So the big news in this group is that we have a new favourite in Stu who is known to be a top contender in any competition he plays. Stu and Jordy look like pretty safe bets to advance in this group while Mike is off to a good start at 1-0 with a set win over Jordy. Dan still has all his sets to play so it'll be interesting to see where he finishes while Shane and Chad still have a chance with one loss a piece.

Two key sets to watch:

xlx_skill_xlx vs zl_stu_lz - This set might not be overly important in determining who gets a playoff spot but it should definitely be a good one to watch. I'm pretty sure Jordy is the only player in this group who has the kind of quality game that can test Stu. Both players are great runners and the spectators won't have to sit through many missed shots here.

dwaechte vs lx_mike_xl - There's still a lot to go down in this group and we might see another contender emerge but I'm picking Dan and Mike to be the two players fighting over 3rd place in this group. Dan has all his sets left to play so he'll have to take care of other business to make this one important but he's done so in the past. Both of these players have proven themselves to be contenders both here and in other competitions... should be a close one.

Group B

Here we have another fairly inactive group to write about. The two top contenders Matt and Craig have already played each other so not much drama left at the top there. If both of those players take care of their remaining sets they should be advancing pretty easily. There should be about 3 other players fighting for a playoff spot here along with new reserve Bryan. Scott hasn't played a set here yet but he always manages to squeak into the playoffs. JD's only loss so far has come to Craig and Gary's only loss came to Matt so really there's a lot left to be determined.

Two key sets to watch:

br0nz3 vs _matt15_ - Well this might look like a bit of a mismatch but it should definitely be an important set for both players. Matt usually breezes through the group stages but at this point his 1-1 record definitely doesn't guarantee anything. Scott has a good opportunity here to start his own campaign for the playoffs with an upset win. Matt will need to take care of business here in order to keep his hopes alive for a high seed.

boston.bruins2011 vs _Cue - Here we have a matchup between two players who started with a loss but both still hopeful to be able to make the playoffs. Two SS interlg players who should know a little bit about each other if they pay attention. Both of these players did pretty well last season and will be looking to build on that. Unfortunately one player is going to earn their second loss here and make the road that much tougher.

Group C (by Trav)

OK so looks to me like there's a few ppl in the running for that playoffs spot. Andy's had some close sets thusfar, but pulled through and is now the leader of this group. 3-0 is pretty well clinch imo with the closest behind him being Dante at 2-2. Jon's only played two sets thusfar at 1-1, but I'm positive he'll finish and I predict atleast a 3-2. Although I am leaning more towards 4-1. If it does go 3-2 him and Dante will be possibly be tied, having it come down to % points. The other key for this group is Adam at 1-0, he's got quite a few sets left so it's hard to judge how he does or if he even finishes his sets. That's what it's going to come down to in this group, who has will to win those following sets & who actually does finish. Definitely a group to watch as there are good players who haven't played, but a few sets and can break playoff opportunities for the rest.

Two key sets to watch:

siccster vs adambuddy - I consider this a set to watch mainly for Dante who's currently 2-2 in this group w/ adam at 1-0. So mainly this will determine whether or not Dante has a shot at playoffs. A victory here will put him with 10 points. If Adam wins he'll be 2-0 w/ 3 more sets to play. I think Dante realizes he needs this to have a real shot at playoffs, losing means he'll have to rely on others not finishing their sets.

leafed_leafs vs m4tt_th3_p0ol_pl4y3r - Jon winning here is the only real outcome that can make a difference in this group. Jon will have a shot at playoffs at 2-1, he can build up his points with the remaining sets. Matt on the otherhand will have one less set than Jon to play, and he's less likely to win against Adam. I think Jon takes this set anyways.

Group D

Here we have a group where there is a bunch to recap as most of the sets have already been played. No big surprise here as Brent and Chris (mr_camtasia) have raced out to fast starts each with 4 wins. Looks like Chris (mr_camtasia) has the inside track on first place in the group with his last set coming against the other Chris (l2ack.em_up). Right now Scott is the only other player in the group with a win but he also has two losses to go along with that so really 3rd place is up for grabs. Nish is definitely a long shot with an 0-3 start and same goes for Tino at 0-2. Probably the fight for 3rd place will go down between Chris and Scott.

Two key sets to watch:

Sc0t vs l2ack.em_up - This is clearly the most important set left to be played in this group. Chris only has one loss so far and he's looking to duplicate his performance from last season where he earned a high playoff seed after a good group stage. Scott needs this win pretty badly as he already has two losses in this group. I think Scott is the better player but he's definitely shown he's capable of playing bad sets. Winner of this one should have the inside track on 3rd place in the group.

nish_is_my_name_choke_is_my_game vs TlNO_NICA - Here we have one of the most important sets of ALL TIME! You only get written about if you're extremely good or extremely bad. This set may be to determine who goes 0-5 in the group and I'm sure neither player wants that distinction. Nish already seems resigned to his fate as he's referenced the 0-5 mark a few times already. Tino doesn't win much in div A either but I think his quiet confidence should be the difference here to make Nish 0-5!

Group E

Ok so far the theme for half these groups has been that not many sets has been played. Luckily we've come across another group with a replacement here to hopefully stimulate some set play. In this group the favourites were Trav and Derrick and so far Trav is 2-0 while Derrick has been replaced by "Ruffer". I honestly can't say that I've seen this Ruffer fellow play but he seems to know some good people which is always a good sign (haha). Ruffer is actually off to a 1-0 start with a win vs JT so that puts him in the undefeated group along with Trav and Stephen. Those 3 players should be favoured to advance to playoffs while John and JT still have a chance to get some wins and challenge.

Two key sets to watch:

trav_the_king vs l1_stephen_1 - Both of these players are really solid. Trav of course has been on a tear of late making it all the way to the sscam prize trny finals. Stephen has been a little low key in competitions lately so that means he's probably overdue for a strong showing. This shouldn't affect the playoff race too much but Stephen definitely will need the win a lot more than Trav. Definite upset alert here.

complete vs R_ook - One of these players is in bad need of a win to get back into contention here. John had a pretty bad previous season where he didn't get any wins but he has proven in the past that he's a strong player. JT on the other hand is off to his worst start in the competition and will not only need this win but wins against Trav and Stephen to have a chance. Either way after this set one of these two guys hopes will be extinguished.

Group F

Here we have another group where a lot has happened already. Pita, Kenny and Stephen have all jumped out to great starts with 3 wins apiece. Pretty much they'll all be moving on either automatically or as a wildcard. None of the other players have been officially eliminated but there's definitely work to be done and no margin for error. Jack and David are both sitting with 1 win and probably looking to outduel each other to maybe get back for a wildcard spot. Sergio is still alive too but he doesn't have a win yet so he's a little further behind.

Two key sets to watch:

dx.hype vs l3_lvl_x - Ok so these guys have a little bit of a history in sscam. This is like the 3rd or 4th meeting in the last couple seasons and both players think they're better than the other. David is going to need to take care of business in this set and beat Sergio to keep his playoff hopes alive. Jack on the other hand needs this win and another one against Stephen to keep his own hopes alive. Going to have to say I like David's chances a little better.

AzN_PrIdE_LuVa vs o0_GoKu_0o - Well this might not look like the greatest matchup to watch but it might prove to be important in the end. Pita has pretty much wrapped up a playoff spot but his last set was a 1-8 loss against Kenny and he could really use one more win to help out his point total. Sergio on the other hand is looking to play spoiler and could still have an outside chance at the playoffs if he manages to upset Pita here.

NEW GROUP

GROUP G

hp_king22 - Ok so we have Don back in the competition for a second time. Good to see him back playing a little pool these days. Don was a semi-finalist in his only effort in SScam and he looks like he's showing that sort of form again which recent performances in MCC and 8brcam. Don never seems to get rusty so he's a lock to dominate this group and advance to playoffs

PlayTheGame - Justin is back playing pool again and has thrown himself into the mix of SScam for the first time. Seems hard to predict how Justin will do in sets because in all the time I've known him I don't think I've seen any set results. He's doing really well in the lg and seems to be playing at a pretty high level so you should see him be pretty competitive in this group as well.

ll_eskimo_ownage_ll - This dude just can't get put in div B much to his chagrin. Last season Petey was in the div A playoffs and benefitted from a dq round that saw him all the way into the quarter finals. This time around this group shouldn't be too challenging for him again and I could see him grabbing enough wins for top 3 or a wildcard spot.

haters - Ryan is a player who I really don't know a ton about. Right now he's playing in Sp cam which isn't really the best competition but he's doing pretty well and beating good players there. This should be a much better test to see how good he really is. All the players in this group know what they're doing and aren't going to be bullied by anyone really so definitely come ready to play.

pool.k1ng - Tyson is a guy who almost tricked me into putting him into div B haha. Luckily there was an easy trade off available and he's stuck right in here among some good players. While tournament stats don't always tell the tale his right now are pretty impressive sitting at 75% of his games being wins. Not a player that I've ever seen perform in cam sets and this group will definitely be a tough one. I've got him on the outside of the playoff hunt but with my lack of knowledge there's definitely a surprise possibility.

jmunoz3rd - Here is a name we've all seen before. I wasn't really aware that Jesse had div A quality game until last 8brcam season where he almost grabbed a playoff spot. This is a pretty tough group but among these players Jesse probably has a more solid and proven reputation that most. This group is filled with wildcards though and it'll be important to take every set seriously. Should be hovering around the playoff line it should be close again.

Pecking Order - 1.Don 2.Ryan 3.Petey 4.Tyson 5.Jesse 6.Justin