Comeback, Blowup Highlight Mosconi Day One!
After dropping the opening two matches on the first day of the 2005 Mosconi Cup, Team USA charged back with three consecutive wins, highlighted by a contentious 5-4 doubles victory, to earn a 3-2 lead at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The transatlantic team event features two new twists for 2005, a 30-second shot clock and alternating singles-doubles matches. Because the event is carried live throughout the United Kingdom on Sky Sports, the format features one five-hour block of matches each day. The shortened TV window forced promoter Matchroom Sport to cut the 2005 Mosconi to a race to 11. To assure each player opportunities for singles play, Matchroom is running a three doubles matches, with two singles matches sandwiched in between.
The event opened with Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Neils Feijen of Holland thumping the American duo of captain Johnny Archer and Jeremy Jones, 5-1. Euro captain Mika Immonen then beat Archer in singles, 5-2, to give Europe a quick 2-0 match lead.
But the Americans stormed back with Cup newcomer Shawn Putnam and Charlie Williams bouncing 24-year-old Raj Hundal of England and Alex Lely of Holland, 5-3. Williams, not traditionally a strong performer in the Mosconi Cup, continued his powerful Day One performance with a convincing 5-3 singles win over Feijen to draw the Americans even, 2-2.
As if scripted, the day’s finale, pitting the U.S. duo of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris (unbeaten in 2004) against Immonen and Sweden’s Marcus Chamat, evolved into drama-filled cat fight. The Americans free-wheeled to a 4-0 lead, then withstood a furious Euro rally that knotted the match at 4-4. During the match, the pro-Euro and pro-American fans took turns pushing the good-taste envelope, and Strickland got into one of his patented verbal sparring matches with several fans.
The Euro pair had a chance to complete the comeback, but found themselves hooked shooting at the 5 ball. With their extensions used up (each team is allowed two per rack), Chamat appeared to foul by not attempting his shot before the clock expired. Referee Micheala Tabb awarded the Euros a second chance after ruling that the clock had not given Chamat fair warning. Chamat fouled on his attempt, and the Americans ran out to earn the 5-4 win and a 3-2 match lead at the close of action.
In the post-match interview, aired live in the U.K., Strickland berated the European fans and engaged in a profanity-laced exchange with a female fan in the crowd.
With that, the 2005 Mosconi Cup was off and running. Play will continue Friday with another round of three doubles and two singles matches. For more information on the day’s action, log on to MosconiCup.com
Team Europe Gunning for USA at Mosconi Cup
One of the strongest European teams in years believes that it can dethrone Team USA at the 2005 Mosconi Cup, set to kick off Thursday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.
The four-day international pool tilt will pit Americans Johnny Archer, Rodney Morris, Shawn Putnam, Jeremy Jones, Earl Strickland and Charlie Williams against a stacked European squad, featuring Mika Immonen, Niels Feijen, Thorsten Hohmann, Raj Hundal, Marcus Chamat and Alex Lely.
The Americans have won nine of the 11 previous Cups, including a 12-9 victory in 2004.
BD Publisher Mike Panozzo notes that, in previous years, Team Europe has been somewhat handicapped by the inclusion of snooker stars and unproven United Kingdom 9-ballers, often included to boost interest and television ratings in the U.K., home of tournament producer Matchroom Sports and primary TV partner Sky Sports. Team Europe has no such hindrances in 2005, and has, in fact, pieced together its most talented squad ever.
However, Panozzo has still picked the USA to win the event this year (and in the process has set off a firestorm of controversy in online chat rooms), based on its overall talent, experience and sense of entitlement.
For up-to-the-minute updates on Mosconi Cup action, go to the event’s Web site at www.mosconicup.com.
U.S. Open Field Down to Half
Ochoa’s play is turning some heads.
Reno Open winner Marlon Manalo and 2003 BCA 9-ball Open titlist Tony Robles found themselves slugging it out deep in the one-loss bracket on Friday afternoon. Nearby, major event winners Marcus Chamat and Mike Davis faced off as red-hot Robb Saez and 2004 BCA champion Thorsten Hohmann battled for survival in the one-loss bracket.
Playing on diamond tables with 4 1/2 inch pockets and an absolutely unforgiving cut the finesse players and most experienced pros seemed to have an edge.
“You aren’t seeing a lot of guys breaking and running out,” said pro Tony Crosby.
Among the 16 players left in the winners’ bracket was Efren Reyes, who dropped defending U.S. Open champ Gabe Owen to the one-loss side, 11-8 on Thursday night. Reyes will meet Filipino countryman Jose Parica on Friday night. After a weak showing at the World Pool Championships, the Filipino contingent is performing quite well here; Alex Pagulayan and a resurgent Francisco Bustamante will meet in a winners’-bracket match on Friday night as well.
So far, the surprise of the tournament is young Sylver Ochoa, 19, a college sophomore at Texas-Pan American and a mainstay on the Fast Eddie’s regional tour. Ochoa beat Keith McCready Thursday night, 11-8, to stay undefeated. He will face Ralf Souquet on Friday night in a winners’-bracket match.
The sixteen players now left in the winners’ bracket are:
Nick Van den Berg, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, Jose Parica, Efren Reyes, Ernesto Dominguez, Charlie Williams, Ralf Souquet, Sylver Ochoa, Tang Hoa, Niels Feijen, Andreas Roschkowsky, Jeremy Jones, Alex Pagulayan, Francisco Bustamante, Johnny Archer and Troy Frank.
Results Rolling in for European Championships
The European Pool Championships are well underway, with winners in from many divisions. The multi-part event started April 20, in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, and goes through April 30th. An all-time high of 34 countries are represented.
The men’s and women’s straight pool and 8-ball divisions have crowned champions. On April 26, Alex Lely bested Thomas Kaplan, 8-7, in the men’s 8-ball final. The same day, Cristine Naeff took the women’s 8-ball, 6-2, over Wendy Jans. It is Naeff’s first European title.
Friday the 24th, In straight pool, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann beat countryman Nicolas Otterman to the title by a lopsided 125-3. On the women’s side, former WPBA National Amateur champion Jasmin Ouschan squeaked by Diana Stateczny, 75-60.
The 9-ball divisions, men’s and women’s, are still in progress, and will conclude on Friday. The team competitions wrap up on Saturday evening. Among those still alive in the single-elimination men’s final 32 are Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, Niels Feijen, Hohmann, and Marcus Chamat. Among the women, Ouschan and Jans are still in action, as is WPBA regular Kim Shaw.
Far From Over
Once again it looked as if the Americans were poised to shut the door on the 2004 Mosconi Cup, and once again Team Europe wedged its collective foot in the way.
As was the case Saturday night in the ballroom of the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee, Holland, Team USA posted a critical win in the opening match of the session to extend their advantage, then watched the Euros storm back with consecutive match wins. In what was then viewed as the most important match of the tournament, Rodney Morris continued his MVP play for the Americans, topping Euro ace Mika Immonen, 5-3, to give Team USA a 10-6 lead in the race-to-12 team tournament.
But Dutch national treasure Niels Feijen revived Team Europe’s hopes with a 5-2 win over mistake-prone Johnny Archer. And in a repeat of his Saturday night heroics, pint-sized Swede Marcus Chamat came through in the clutch, beating Tony Robles, 5-3, to pull the Euros to within two points at 10-8.
The Americans still have Earl Strickland, Gabe Owen and Charlie Williams for Sunday night’s session, with the Euros banking on Steve Davis, Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann. If the match reaches a 22nd and/or 23rd match, the teams will be allowed “Captain’s Choice” selections.
Team Europe Refuses To Surrender
Marcus Chamat
Having swept the three double matches Saturday afternoon, the U.S. squad entered the evening’s singles matches leading 8-4. The defending champions extended their advantage to five matches when firecracker-hot Rodney Morris drilled Germany’s Thomas Engert, 5-1, in a sporty 30 minutes.
But Team Europe captain Oliver Ortmann stemmed the U.S. onslaught with a 5-1 win over struggling Tony Robles. Sweden’s Marcus Chamat then pulled off a stunningly easy 5-2 win over Earl Strickland, sending the packed partisan house into near hysteria and his Euro teammates to bed with visions of a comeback dancing in their heads.
The 11th running of the transatlantic Ryder Cup-styled team event will conclude with a maximum of eight singles matches on Sunday.
U.S. Triples Its Pleasure in Doubles
Thomas Engert and Oliver Ortmann
Hoping to recapture some of the magic that spurred Team Europe to the 2002 Mosconi title, German captain Oliver Ortmann called his own number in the opening match Saturday, tabbing himself and countryman Thomas Engert to face the American duo of Johnny Archer and first-timer Gabe Owen. After playing poorly the night before in 2002, Ortmann sent himself out first in the next session, and his spirited effort was a turning point in the Euros’ surprise win.
But the magic was missing in 2004, and the German duo dropped a heart-wrenching 5-4 decision in a match that saw some brilliant pool. The American squad received a bonus when Charlie Williams and Tony Robles, winless in two team matches this year, surprised the previously unbeaten team of Dutchman Niels Feijen and Brit Steve Davis, 5-3.
With two wins already in the bag, the Americans got to sit back and enjoy its top squad, Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris, who performed a virtual clinic in a 5-0 thrashing of Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat. The humbling loss left the European team four matches down, with the action shifting to singles play for the duration of the event.
Things will get no easier for the Euros Saturday night, with Morris and Strickland on tap for the Americans.
Rodney “Freud” Rescues U.S.
Rodney and Earl Strickland
Having lost the opening two matches on the second day of the four-day, race-to-12 team tournament, the U.S. trailed Team Europe, 3-2, heading into the match pitting Morris and Strickland against the German duo of Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert. Making amends for subpar performances on the first day, the Germans played nearly perfect pool, and held a 3-2 lead in the race-to-five match. With the crowd influence growing, and annoyed by the slow playing Germans, Strickland began to grumble, drawing a warning from referee Michaela Tabb. Sensing the importance of the situation, Morris joked
about the slow play and wisecracked about the match. Having successfully reeled Strickland back in, Morris led the U.S. comeback and a 5-4 win, leaving the contest knotted at 3-3 heading into Friday night’s singles action.
“That’s me,” joked Morris. “Sigmund Freud. Keeping volatile situations under control.”
Earlier, birthday boy Mika Immonen and Swedish teammate Marcus Chamat whitewashed Charlie Williams and Tony Robles, 5-0. Williams has failed to win a Mosconi Cup match in his last six attempts.
Feeding off of the first-match win, which tied the overall score at 2-2, Steve Davis and Neils Feijen put the Euros ahead with a 5-3 win over Johnny Archer and Gabe Owen.
U.S. Takes Early Lead
On the heels of near perfection from the duo of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris, and the cool play of Gabe Owen, Team USA took a 2-1 lead over Team Europe on the opening day of play at the 2004 Mosconi Cup at the Hotel Zuiderduin in the Dutch seaside resort village of Egmond aan Zee.
For the first time in the 11-year history of the Matchroom Sport produced event, the European squad was installed as a slight betting favorite by Gibraltar-based betting service Stan James. And the Europeans scored the opening salvo when Dutch hero Niels Feijen and Matchroom-managed snooker star Steve Davis squeaked past luckless Charlie Williams and Tony Robles, 5-4. The loss marked the sixth consecutive Cup loss for Williams, who took the collar in four matches in 2003, and his last match in the 2002 Cup.
But Owen, the 26-year-old surprise U.S. Open winner making his Cup debut, proved to be the steady hand with captain/partner Johnny Archer in a 5-3 win over the German duo of Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert. Owen rescued Archer on several occasions after the world’s No.1 player botched a pair of easy shots to allow the Europeans to stay in the match. “I wasn’t nervous at all,” said Owen. “I was a wreck in my television matches at the U.S. Open. But here we’re the underdog, and I love being the underdog. Always have.”
The Americans seized the lead in the final match on the first day when Strickland and Morris stomped Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat, 5-1. The U.S. pair played flawlessly throughout the match.
The best-of-12 event continues Friday with three doubles matches in the afternoon, followed by three singles matches Friday evening.