U.S. Leads 3-2 at Mosconi Cup

U.S. Leads 3-2 at Mosconi Cup By InsidePOOL StaffIn the race to 11 points that is the Mosconi Cup, Team USA is winning 3-2 after the conclusion of Day one’s matches. The Mosconi Cup made its first trip to the United States after nine years in England and is being hosted by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Matchroom Sport is sponsoring this most excellent event, which features seven members on each team, including one non-playing captain each.Many Europeans made the trek to Sin City to support Team Europe, and they are making their presence known by their cheering and singing. The Americans are a bit more reticent but are still rooting for Team USA with gusto. The audience members are definitely enjoying themselves at this unique event.
One point is awarded for each win, and the matches are both singles and doubles. Matches consist of a race to 5 with alternate breaks. The first match of the day was between Johnny Archer and reigning world champion Thorsten Hohmann. “The Scorpion” won the lag and the first game of the Mosconi Cup. He followed that up with two more games under his belt. Hohmann got on the board with a nice break-and-run, but when he hooked himself in the following rack and subsequently scratched, Archer got ball in hand and reached the hill 4-1. Hohmann broke and cleared the next rack, and in the following rack, Archer missed a kick shot in the side pocket, and the German ran out again to come within a game of his opponent. He tied on the hill after a scratch by Archer, but a tough back cut on the 1 ball got him in the final rack, and Archer danced the cue ball through the rack to win the first match 5-4. Score 1 for the USA.The next match was a doubles scuffle between Finland’s Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat of Sweden against Charlie Williams and Tony Robles. Team Europe won the first after a nice kick shot by “Iceman,” who promptly dogged the 9 ball in the following rack, allowing Team USA to tie at 1 apiece. No one wanted to win the third rack, and each player had at least one miss at the table, but Immonen again came through to take a 2-1 lead. A nice break-and-run by “Little Napoleon” saw Team Europe inching closer towards their goal. In the next rack, it was Team USA breaking, but “The Dragon” scratched, and Chamat cleared the table to reach the hill with USA still lagging with one game. Immonen came up dry on his break, and after a safety battle, Robles fouled and gave Europe ball in hand, and Immonen ran out to win the match 5-1. Team Europe and Team USA tied at 1 game apiece.Past U.S. Open champion Ralf Souquet met “Rocket” Rodney Morris in a singles match that had the audience screaming. Morris drew first blood with a break-and-runout, and Souquet countered with his own win after Morris scratched in the following rack. The two traded tension-fraught games, but the momentum went over to Team USA after the German unexpectedly bobbled a 6 ball in the corner. With a cry of “USA!” from the easygoing Morris, he ran out the remaining balls to tie at 3 apiece and then broke and ran out the following rack to reach the hill. Souquet, faced with a cluster of unappealing balls in the last rack, opted to play safe on the 4. “Kick it in!” advised non-playing team captain Nick Varner. Morris took his advice, and with a superb shot on the 6 ball up the rail, cleared the remaining balls to win 5-3. USA now leads 2 to 1.Earl “The Pearl” Strickland and current U.S. Open champ Jeremy Jones faced off with Nick Van den Berg and Steve Davis in the next match. When Van den Berg scratched on the first break, Strickland quickly set the pace, running that rack out and getting a nice break-and-run to take a 2-0 lead. England’s snooker superstar Steve Davis missed a tough 2-8 combo to allow “Double J” to bring it to 3-0, and Jones then broke and ran out the following rack to reach the hill. Holland’s Van den Berg cleared the next rack to get on the board. Now Strickland’s break, he got in trouble and was forced to kick at the 2. Davis made the 2 but snooked himself for the 3 and kicked at it. Jones sold out on a safety attempt, and Van den Berg cleared to bring the score to 4-2. What looked like it would be a sweep turned into a full-fledged battle, as Davis played a nice 4-9 carom to win the following rack, and then Van den Berg capitalized on a Jones error to make it a hill-hill match. Van den Berg came up dry on the break, however, and although Strickland got funny on the 2, causing the European sector of the audience to croon, he pulled it off to win the match 5-4. Team USA leads 3 to Team Europe’s 1. Johnny Archer’s string of good luck came to a quick close in the day’s last match, in which he faced Mika Immonen. The first game set the pace for the rest of the match. After a safety by Immonen, Archer jumped over the 7 ball for the 3 and banked it into the side. Much to the surprise of almost everybody, Head Referee Micaela Tabb called a foul, saying that Archer’s cue had brushed the 7 ball before striking the 3. The audience booed and hissed, but a slowed-down instant replay proved her correct. From there it just got worse and worse for Archer. With ball in hand, of course Immonen won the first rack, but Archer, although he scratched on the break, got the next game after Immonen hooked himself on the 3. The Finn grabbed the next two games to make the score 3-1 and came up dry on his next break. Archer played a great position shot on the 2 ball through a stack of balls, but when he inexplicably missed the 5, Immonen took the opportunity and ran out to reach the hill. Archer’s luck held out when he made nothing on his following break, but he gained new life after a miss by Immonen on the 4 ball, and Archer brought the score to 4-2. Another missed 4 by the Finn brought Archer within a game of his opponent, as the audience cheered loudly for their champions. Overcutting a very difficult 1 ball in the final rack, Archer sat down only to watch Immonen hang the 1 but get safe behind the 6. “The Scorpion” kicked and made the 1 ball but ended up hooked behind the 7 for the 3. As in the first rack, he was forced to jump over the 7 for the 3, and he made an incredible shot to make the 3-8 combo only to scratch in the side. Immonen ran out for the 5-3 to bring Team Europe to 2 points, and Team USA still holds the lead with 3 points.The Mosconi Cup will continue until one team has 11 points. The event is scheduled to last through Sunday, December 21, 2003. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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