Team USA Wins Mosconi Cup 11-6

Team USA Wins Mosconi Cup 11-6Shawn Putnam 4-5 Mika Immonen Finland’s Mika Immonen kept European hopes alive at the 2005 Mosconi Cup, and he completed a tense victory over Ohio’s Shawn Putnam to reduce the deficit to 4 points in the race-to-11 tournament. Team USA still needed just one point to complete victory, while the Europeans must win every single one of the remaining five matches. Immonen won the lag and had a shot on the 1 ball, which he made, but he then over-cut the 2 ball to let Putnam to the table. The American ran out of position but played a quality safety. Immonen had the 3 ball on but missed, and then his opponent missed an even easier attempt on it. That gave Immonen the chance he was looking for, and he ran out to take the opener. With no clear path to the 1 ball after the break, Putnam reached for his jump cue and played a superb short range jump shot, which set him up for the run-out to go 1-1.
Immonen took the next with a comfortable run-out from the break. Putnam was forced to push out in the fourth but pushed to a jump shot. Immonen took it on but completely messed it up as he drove the cue ball into the intervening 2 ball. With ball in hand, Putnam squared it up at 2-2. Immonen maintained the edge as he once again ran out from the break. Putnam made the first big mistake of the match as he scratched, giving the ball too much follow-through. With ball in hand, Immonen cleared the remaining two balls to go 4-2 ahead. With one rack required for Team Europe, Immonen took on a cross-table bank on the 1 ball, but it narrowly missed. That allowed Putnam to get to the table where he completed a nervy clearance to reduce the deficit. Putnam put the European captain in trouble in the next, and he could not escape the snooker. With ball in hand, Putnam took on a risky 1-9 combo but pulled it off to go hill-hill. But Immonen, under intense pressure, broke and ran out to take the match and extend the Mosconi Cup further into Sunday. A relieved Immonen said afterwards, "My adrenaline's still high – I knew I had to break and run out to take the initiative. "The pockets were looking tighter and I took the extension on the last shot but the more time I took, the smaller the pocket looked. "We all need to win anyway, but the team feels good about the order – if we get three games we'll get the momentum and they'll be under enormous pressure. "It's nerve-wracking, but I just had to take care of business as usual."Jeremy Jones 5-4 Thorsten HohmannJeremy “Double J” Jones won the 2005 Mosconi Cup for Team USA by completing a final rack victory over 2003 world champion Thorsten Hohmann. Jones hadn't had the best week in Las Vegas, but he held his nerve to defeat Hohmann and pot the winning 9 ball for the second time at the MGM Grand. The European supporters erupted when Hohmann won the lag – taking the tournament's lag score to 12-6 in their favor. He didn't have a shot on the 1, but a snooker induced a foul from Jones, and Hohmann cleared the table to take the lead. Jones responded in kind but missed the 1 ball in the third after Hohmann left himself out of position from the break and couldn't continue his visit. Hohmann attempted a cut but left it hanging, and Jones capitalized to turn the match on its head. He then ran out again to take a two-rack advantage before Hohmann, clearly on edge, completed a clearance of his own to stay in contention. Jones came up dry in the sixth, leaving a road map of a layout for Hohmann to draw level at 3-3. Hohmann's break stroke was perfect in Rack 7, but once again the rolls didn't go Europe's way, and he was forced to push out, leaving Jones a half-chance on the 1, which he missed. But the German scratched on his next visit, and Jones cleared to move to the hill, having to pull off an impressive recovery shot on the black 8 when he over-shot for position. The American's break wasn't kind in the penultimate rack, and he had to push out, before Hohmann put him back in. Jones' shot was poor, and Hohmann cleared to force a deciding rack. The break came up dry, and Jones snookered Hohmann, who left the 1 on despite escaping with a solid shot of his own. But Jones redeemed himself for an average tournament performance by clearing to seal the 2005 Mosconi Cup for Team USA. "It's a good habit to have to pot the last 9,” Jones smiled. "Day after day we got better and as a team we got better – I didn't play at my best, but I pulled it off at the end, and it's great to win again." “It’s always great to win this event. It’s been a long week, and although nobody played especially well, everyone tried hard and showed heart. Sometimes you have to reach from the bottom and that’s what my guys did,” said a jubilant Archer. “Europe showed heart, but my team was awesome, and looking at the guys, you know you never have a shaky line-up. Everyone has earned their place, and we’re all looking forward to next year,” he added. For Jeremy Jones, it was his second time potting the case ball, “It’s a pretty good habit to have! I know I played better two years ago, but as a team I’m happy we got win.” Team rookie Shawn Putnam was thrilled following his Mosconi Cup debut, “I made it my goal at the beginning of the year to make it on the team. That was a big honor in itself, but winning was amazing!” For Charlie Williams it was another enjoyable Mosconi Cup. “This is a real special deal. We all came together as a team, and that is a great experience that you get a lot out of,” he said. “I play for the fans, and I want to put on a good show. The wins and the losses come and go, but when the fans cheer that makes it worthwhile and those experiences last forever. When I play in the Mosconi I really want to enjoy every moment,” said Rodney Morris. Finally, it was a tearful Earl Strickland, “I’m really shocked I got Most Valuable Player award and I would like to apologise for what I said about London - it’s a nice town! “The people here know me and they know that in the heat of battle I can come undone. Team Europe gave it their best and eventually they will find a way to penetrate us. “I’m 44 now and I don’t know how long I’ve got left but I played like I was 24 this week.” For the Europeans, Mika Immonen had nothing but praise for his team, “I feel empty and this was my first time as captain. They played better than us, but I’m proud of the team. We really worked hard and I’ve got nothing but thanks for the support they gave me as a captain.”Visit InsidePOOL Magazine for the latest news from the Mosconi Cup.

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