8-Ball Teams Final Tonight: $112,000 on the Line at Grand Finals
The richest match in league pool history goes at 8 p.m. ET Saturday in Cherokee — as of noon, Amigos and How You Like Me Now were tied 8-8 in the first semifinal.
The richest match in league pool history goes Saturday night at Harrah's Cherokee — the 8-Ball Teams final at the Ultimate Pool USA Grand Finals pays $112,000 to the champion and closes a week of league play that has already crowned champions across the league programme.
As of noon ET Saturday, the decider was still waiting on its finalists. The first semifinal, Amigos against How You Like Me Now, was in progress and level at 8-8, per the official DigitalPool bracket. Big Time Rockets and Rack Of Ages contest the second semifinal at 2 p.m. ET, with the winners meeting at 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. UTC Sunday).
The semifinal picture
Amigos have been the bracket's wrecking crew all week, putting 44 points on San Antonio's Drunken Masters in Friday's quarterfinal — the widest margin of the last eight — after a 37-5 demolition of Lotomofos in the last 16. How You Like Me Now were nearly as emphatic in a 28-2 quarterfinal win over Cue The Chaos, though they needed a 15-14 escape against Ferrule Animals to open the knockout rounds.
In the bottom half, Big Time Rockets eased past Speed Killz 29-16 on Friday for a fourth consecutive knockout win. Rack Of Ages, who sent Armstrong All-Stars out 25-19 in the opening knockout round, beat Lucky Break Birmingham 24-12 to reach the last four. All four quarterfinals are in the day-six results snapshot.
The prize on the table
The champion collects $112,000 — billed by Ultimate Pool USA as the biggest top prize in league pool history — from a $282,000 purse paying all the way down to the last 32. The runner-up takes $50,000, each semifinalist has already banked $20,000, and Friday's beaten quarterfinalists leave with $10,000 apiece.
What Cherokee has already settled
Armstrong All-Stars won the 10-Ball Teams title 23-7 over In The Stroke Of Time in a final that ran past midnight Friday; husband and wife Tyler Styer and Margaret Fefilova-Styer took the National Pairs; and Francisco Bustamante beat Shane Van Boening 5-3 in the 10-Ball Showdown. Saturday's 8-ball decider is the last league trophy of the week — the National Open and Women's Open continue through Sunday.
Semifinal score and scheduling per the official DigitalPool bracket; live scores update through the afternoon.