North London was once again gripped by hysteria and intrigue on Thursday night as the PLB returned for another hard fought contest. Pin-heads lucky enough to bag tickets were witness to a spectacle of passion and controversy in what was ultimately a very bad night to be a bowling pin.

With the league's stratospheric growth and evolution there are countless narratives to follow as we approach the half-way point of our sophomore season.

Magees Milanese collected their 3rd consecutive points victory, keeping their perfect record on the season despite an inconsistent and scrappy performance on the lanes - struggling to keep all their considerable talent firing cohesively in any one game. Magee himself is approaching deity-like status amongst the Pinter faithful as much for his talismanic presence on the lanes as for his man management and locker room presence. Analysts need look no further than former 1st overall pick Micky BigTime, who has developed in his 2nd year to new heights - contributing a whopping 3.33 league points per game and setting a new league-record 189 in game 2. Skeptics will speculate as to the effect of Magees devastating departure following game 4 on the powerful but mentally fragile marksman. Despite the inconsistency in scoring, Pinter fans must be encouraged by the depth of talent at their disposal; even with outings below that which you'd expect from stars such as the Tickler, you can be confident that the slack will be taken up somewhere across the likes of NaeStrikes, Zlatan, Pinetti, or of course, Pins Magee himself.

On the other side of the lanes, it's not looking good for Davie 2 Shoes and his Riders Rabble. Even with the return of Davey Slapz, a rare example of a Riders player popular with the masses, they couldn't muster anything more than lacklustre bowling. Two Shoes will, yet again, be questioning his team selection as well as his own character. As captain of the league champions, Two Shoes' neck is on the line and the Rohirrim simply won't stand for his lack of leadership, much less the seemingly irreversible plummet in scoring. They made a clear statement on the terraces last night with a banner reading 'Two Shoes. Zero patter."

You could see how rattled Shoes was in the post match interview with PLB Weekly, where he seemed distracted and dazed. It seems he truly doesn't know where to turn next, at one point suggesting a frankly desperate 2nd recall of rotation option Moz "Moz" Moz. The heavy hitting pintsman was sent back out on loan to the lowest tier of Dutch Bowling (failing to establish himself in the far more respected 'Beeridivisie') at the start of the season. Is Two Shoes regretting that decision? Apparently so. Truly bizarre and concerning lack of strategy and personality from the man in the hot seat, or hot shoes. 

Fans in attendance and across the world were also disappointed with the behaviour from the Riders throughout the fixture. Everyone from historians of the game to the casual fan on their sofa on a Thursday night understands that bowling is a game best served with pints. This spirit was however unfortunately seemingly missed by the starting 6 from Riders last night, and more worryingly by the officiating team who appeared to miss some flagrant violations. Slapz, usually a dependable pintsmith, was caught by a camera refusing a pint of lager while empty handed offering the excuse 'that stuff is too fizzy for me', while Alex 'Balbert' Bew opted only for a glass of water and a soy macchiato to go with his fish and chips. Our PLB reporter on the street managed to get time with a furious fan on his way out of Rowans who offered a scathing critique: - 'It's one thing to be shit at bowling, but to be that bad on a sober head? Disgraceful.' He was then seen discarding his Riders jersey into a bin overflowing with empty Roosters Chicken wrappers, and in this writer's opinion, who can blame him.

In camp Rollers it's all smiles in what is progressing into an astonishing debut season. Many had written off the new franchise as a publicity stunt, but have swiftly been won over by the charm, talent, and marketability of the young team. Club captain the Renegade is being lauded for his scouting network and recruitment ability, attracting serious talent such as No-Show, who again was physically present, ruining accumulators across the country, and who posted the highest overall score on the night, and more recently The Big Lenonceski, who left unsavoury rumours regarding his personal life in his dust as he powered to huge scores and took all 6 points home in his debut. A diamond in the rough, or just a paedo on a good day? Time will tell. 

Elsewhere on lane PCR there was some more lovely bowling from the Tomahawk, who won the hearts of the masses following a charming and eloquent post match interview. Said Tomahawk: "Rollers gonna keep on rolling." Shortly after, Tomahawk scooped up PLB's 'Heartthrob of the Month' amassing a staggering 82% of the votes.

All in all, Game 3 was messy, it was tense, and it was euphoric. Milan have the lead as many expected, but it's PCR they are watching warily, not the ROR. Will the Rohirrim stop the skid? Will Pinter manage to replace Magee? Will we see our first 200 pointer? Stay tuned as we enter the crucial halfway point of the season.

Back to you in the studio.