Apologies in advance, this will probably get lengthy.

I have a spot in the bag that has been bugging me for two seasons, and I can’t seem to fill it. Typically, I feel I’m pretty good at picking balls for myself, but this particular spot has me stumped. I’m starting to think I’m searching for something that doesn’t exist.

Here is the situation. One of my two fall leagues is a second shift league on a pattern that is fairly cliffed even on fresh. The first shift comes and uses a bunch of strong balls up 10, and by the time we start, the outsides are anywhere from dry to toast. However, the house uses a pretty good amount of oil to start, so there’s plenty of oil from about 10 and in.

I’m a power player with 18-19 mph (monitor) speed. My rev rate is high, but I’d still be classified as slightly speed dominate because of my ball speed. My A game is higher axis rotation. The higher axis rotation and rev rate force me left, but the speed can pose problems on misses in. It’s easy to blow through the breakpoint and washout.

I’ve been in this league for 5 years or so. The shot is inconsistent (inherent with second shift), but the best plan of attack for me has consistently been using strong solid asyms. The strong covers give me enough traction in the flood in the middle to play 10 and avoid the toasted outsides. Attempting to play the extreme friction to the right is tempting but dangerous - a good look can be found, but you’re often playing a game of strike or split. Using a strong cover gives me miss room left and right. Misses left will often carry, misses right will usually burn up enough to leave me a weak 10 pin instead of a split. Although you’d typically associate second shift with polished equipment, it gives me the exact opposite - misses left skate and washout, misses right jump through the beak.

My most consistent ball for this particular league over the last couple of years has been a Brunswick OG Mastermind, pin over ring. The heavy midlane chug blends the pattern well for me. However (we finally reached the question!), it is prone to burning up as the night goes on. What I need is a ball down that will allow me to play the lanes with the same strategy (note: not the same exact line, but a similar breakpoint) without burning up.

Turns out, that’s been easier to theorize than actually produce. Balls I’ve tried to fill this hole in the last couple of years:
- IQ Tour with a strong layout (I love my IQ Tours with 5” pins on this pattern when it’s fresh and I’m able to start further right, but a stronger layout really didn’t make the ball any stronger in oil)
- Code Black (50x5x40 - one of the better attempts at this hole, the asym with a weaker polished cover was long enough and rolly enough to sometimes. It was 50/50 though, some nights it worked according to plan, some nights it also seemed to chug too hard and leave lots of flat 10s like the MM. I did love this ball on many other patterns. )
- Gauntlet (pin down asym to try to extend the hook zone and save a bit more for the pins - similar results to the Code Black)
- Intense (polished asym  with same layout as MM - this ball just hook/stopped for me most nights. It had flashes of brilliance but often was DOA at the pins and hated to chase oil left)
- No Rules Pearl (another 50x5x40 asym - almost nailed this one. Almost perfect mixture of cleanliness/chug for what i needed, but was much stronger on the back. Any small miss out was trouble. Games with this ball turn into strike or split too often. Another ball that is great for me on other conditions, including a 280 at nationals this year.)
- Soniq (pin in ring, finally decided to try a sym for this, but the weaker polished cover was too long. Can’t bring myself to change the surface because the ball is SO good on other conditions)
- Drive (pin in ring, got this ball for free, but thought the nano cover on a sym might work out. Close - the ball just doesn’t quite have enough shape to carry 10 pins when I’m further left as I tend to be second shift.)

Not all of these trials are for naught. As mentioned, a bunch of these have done very well for me otherwise. The No Rules Pearl and Soniq especially are two of my go-to balls and form a perfect transition flow down from my MM, except on this one condition. I’d just call it a crappy house shot, take what i can get and move on, but it’s a big jackpot league. The right ball would be a very lucrative investment.

I’m not sure where to go from here. A truly strong sym like a Phaze 2 or Idol? A solid asym with a medium cover like the Code X or Villian? A similar ball to the MM with a low flare layout?

Sorry for the long post, I had two years of data and thoughts built up. I’m looking forward to any ideas.

Love yourself enough to go get a Covert Ops.

Love yourself enough to go get a Covert Ops.

I can’t say I know much about the 900 line. Is the covert ops in the “asym with medium cover” category?

What happens if you square your angles up?  Usually in this situation; I would take my Deep Freeze and play around 15-17 at the arrows with around 12-13 breakpoint and had a lot of success.  My rev rate was over 500.  The Deep Freeze flared very little so even if I leaked it a little right towards the burn, it did not over react and get jumpy. 

I would think if you missed left and it skated too far, that you would have some room to move your feet back to the right a couple boards and square up. 

My other thought is a Gamebreaker 2 Phenom.  While the core numbers are similar to the Soniq; I would think the coverstock would be strong enough to play in the oil.