Ultimate Pool USA Grand Finals: Day-6 Results Snapshot
Styer and Fefilova-Styer take the National Pairs as husband and wife, while two more Friday finals — Mixed Pairs and 10-Ball Teams — run past our Cherokee cutoff.
The biggest week in American league pool crowned a husband and wife on Friday night. Tyler Styer and Margaret Fefilova-Styer beat Shane Van Boening and Chris Melling 6-2 in the National Pairs final at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort — a second title of the week for Fefilova-Styer, who won the National Women's Shootout on Monday, and a second final defeat in two nights for Van Boening after Thursday's 10-Ball Showdown. Two more finals — Mixed Pairs and 10-Ball Teams — were still to come at the cutoff.
National Pairs: Styer & Fefilova-Styer 6-2 Van Boening & Melling
The champions' route went through the day's tightest match: a 4-3 escape against Rab McCullough & Mark McDonald in the quarter-finals, then 6-4 over Rodney Morris & Shane Thompson in the semis before the 6-2 final — done in barely half an hour on the arena table.
Van Boening & Melling had looked the pair to beat, conceding nine racks across their three matches: 6-3 over Hayden Ernst & Landon Hollingsworth and 6-3 over Tom Cousins & Declan Brennan before the final.
| Round | Winners | Score | Losers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final | Shane Van Boening & Chris Melling | 6-3 | Hayden Ernst & Landon Hollingsworth |
| Quarter-final | Tyler Styer & Margaret Fefilova-Styer | 4-3 | Rab McCullough & Mark McDonald |
| Quarter-final | Rodney Morris & Shane Thompson | 6-2 | Johnny Archer & Manny Perez |
| Quarter-final | Tom Cousins & Declan Brennan | 6-3 | Eric Charlton & Joven Bustamante |
| Semi-final | Shane Van Boening & Chris Melling | 6-3 | Tom Cousins & Declan Brennan |
| Semi-final | Tyler Styer & Margaret Fefilova-Styer | 6-4 | Rodney Morris & Shane Thompson |
| Final | Tyler Styer & Margaret Fefilova-Styer | 6-2 | Shane Van Boening & Chris Melling |
Confirmed: the official DigitalPool bracket — the only logged source for Friday's rounds at the cutoff; Inside Spin's pairs page had not yet entered Friday's play.
Mixed Pairs: final still to come
The last final set on Friday will be Ashley Benoit & Chris Melling against Avah Weems & Oscar Dominguez — scheduled for the evening session but still unplayed at the cutoff.
Benoit & Melling won their semi-final 6-1 over Styer & Fefilova-Styer — the new National Pairs champions, sent straight back out after lifting the trophy, managed a single rack. It gives Melling a second shot at a pairs title on the same night after his defeat alongside Van Boening.
Weems & Dominguez took the other semi 6-5 on the hill over Van Boening & Sofia Mast — Van Boening's third finals-stage defeat of the week. For Dominguez, Wednesday's National Shootout champion, it is a second final of these Grand Finals.
Scores per the official DigitalPool bracket at the cutoff.
10-Ball Teams: final under way at the cutoff
The 10-Ball Teams final — In The Stroke Of Time against Armstrong All-Stars — was just getting under way when this snapshot was taken, closing a night that produced the comeback of the week: Armstrong All-Stars trailed Syndicate 9-3 in their semi-final before storming back to win 16-15. In The Stroke Of Time had it far easier, beating Marcia's Misfits 24-9.
Scores per the official DigitalPool bracket at the cutoff.
Around the hall
- 8-Ball Teams — the league's $282,000 centrepiece played its quarter-finals on Friday night: Amigos 44-13 over Drunken Masters, Big Time Rockets 29-16 over Speed Killz, How You Like Me Now 28-2 over Cue The Chaos and Rack Of Ages 24-12 over Lucky Break Birmingham. Semi-finals and the final run on Saturday.
- NSL Stage 2 — four of the league's five singles divisions crowned champions: Darren Musser took Class A over Matthew Shoemaker, Omkar Narain beat Morgan Stout 3-2 in Class B, Jose De la Vega beat Romain Sankar 4-1 in Class C and Charcoal Perez beat Josh Williamson 2-0 in Class D. The Semi-Pro final was in progress at the cutoff with Michael Bramlett leading Kevin Wampner.
- The opens — the 512-player National Open and the 128-player National Women's Open continued bracket play through Friday, both bound for Sunday; the National Junior Open begins on Saturday.
Scores per the official DigitalPool bracket at the cutoff.
What happens next
Saturday decides the 8-Ball Teams — the biggest prize in league pool — and clears the two finals left over from Friday: Mixed Pairs (Benoit & Melling vs Weems & Dominguez) and 10-Ball Teams (In The Stroke Of Time vs Armstrong All-Stars). The Junior Open begins and both big opens roll on toward Sunday. Live brackets for every event are on DigitalPool.
