Mika FB-live-streamed 2 matches, and Darren was i think recording the Melling-Lee Van Corteza semifinal.
the latter being a travesty in my view. yes, Chris ignored 14.1 tenets once or twice, but Lee Van was constantly blasting away at the pack without apparent thought, or going blindly into clusters with no insurance, playing incomprehensible or nonexistent patterns, and a litany of other straight pool no-no's. the difference is that LVC got good rolls and Chris didn't. and, yes, i'm well aware of George Fels' saying "all rolls, good and bad, are a function of cue ball speed", but i didn't see such an educated approach at work here. to give LVC credit, he simply doesn't miss, despite fundamentals you expect to see in a local 8-ball league.
i couldn't stay for the final with Thorsten and LVC, but from what i observed in Thorsten's matches over the week, the 5.25" pockets were gobbling even more of his power break shots than they do on Diamond 4.5" pockets. no surprise there. i have to guess he turned the table over on that factor once too often.