Mosconi Cup

2017 Mosconi Cup – Team USA qualification series announced

14th March – 2017 Mosconi Cup Team USA qualification series announced MATCHROOM SPORT can announce the Official Mosconi Cup Team USA Ranking Events for the 2017 Europe v USA match which takes place at the Tropicana, Las Vegas from 4th to 7th December. The roster has been set at 15 events, a reduction from 2016, with all tournaments on 7 foot tables having been dropped at the behest of the competing players. In addition, there are no overseas events. This year the final qualifying event will be in early September which means no US Open, following Team USA captain Johan Ruijsink’s stipulation that he needs additional time to work with the team in the lead up to the event. The 15 events are divided into three grades with Grade One carrying the most points and Grade Three carrying the least. At the end of the qualification period, Team Captain Johan Ruijsink will select four players from the top ten of the rankings plus one other player (top ten or not) to comprise his squad of […]

Mosconi Cup

Mosconi Cup XXIV – New American captain announced

20th January – 2017 Mosconi Cup Ruijsink is new Captain America JOHAN RUIJSINK, the authoritative Dutchman who led the European side undefeated through seven Mosconi Cups, makes a return to the competition after a two year absence as he takes the reins of Team USA in an attempt to revive America’s flagging fortunes in the transatlantic team event. Ruijsink last captained the European side at Blackpool in 2014 when they ran out comfortable 11-5 winners over the USA. He promptly announced his retirement from an event that he had come to over-shadow after turning Europe from regular losers into the dominant Mosconi Cup force. Following three barren years with Mark Wilson at the helm, it was felt that the Dutchman’s fantastic experience and his progressive methods in producing winners were ideally suited to get America competitive again. Commented Ruijsink, “The reason to take on the job is quite obvious; I am an authentic lover of the game and especially of the Mosconi Cup. In 25 years of coaching, the Mosconi has proven to be by […]

Mosconi Cup

2017 Mosconi Cup – First Euro ranking events announced

20th January – 2017 Mosconi Cup First Euro ranking events announced MATCHROOM SPORT can announce that the following events will be included in the ranking system for Team Europe selection for the Mosconi Cup XXIV which takes place at the Tropicana in Las Vegas from 4th to 7th December 2017. Similar to last year, there will be three levels of points. Level One will comprise ‘World’ events and similar large tournaments; Level Two will comprise mainly Euro Tour events and Level Three will comprise several smaller events. This is not a complete list and further events will be added shortly. LEVEL TWO February 24/ 26 Feb – Euro Tour Italian Open, Treviso Table: 9 ft Players: 128 minimum Total Prize Fund: €34,000 March 30/ 1 Apr – Euro Tour Portuguese Open Table: 9 ft Players: 128 minimum Total Prize Fund: €34,000 May 18/ 20 May – Euro Tour Austrian Open, Alpendorf Table: 9 ft Players: 128 minimum Total Prize Fund: €34,000 August 10/ 12 Aug – Euro Tour Dutch Open, Table: 9 ft Players: 128 […]

Mosconi Cup

2017 Mosconi Cup – First US events announced for MC qualification

5th January – 2017 Mosconi Cup First events announced for MC qualification MATCHROOM SPORT can announce the initial three events on the Official Mosconi Cup Team USA Ranking for 2017. They are: January 5/8 – Turning Stone Classic – Verona, New York January 14/17 – World Pool Series – Astoria, New York January 20/28 – Derby City Classic 9 Ball – Elizabeth, Indiana The full list as well as the points allocation will be published in due course. The 2017 Mosconi Cup will take place at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas from 4th to 7th December. Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com Notes: MATCHROOM SPORT is one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and is responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, they operate three pool events; the Mosconi Cup, the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters. In addition, the company produce a multitude of events in darts, snooker, tenpin, golf, fishing, […]

Mosconi Cup

Mark Wilson stands down as United States captain

22nd December Mark Wilson stands down as United States captain FOLLOWING THREE YEARS at the helm of the USA Mosconi Cup side, Mark Wilson has stood down as captain after the recent heavy defeat at the Alexandra Palace, London. Wilson was appointed in January 2014 following a run of defeats and was in charge of all team affairs for the next three Mosconi Cups, all of which resulted in losses. Commented Wilson; “The three year record speaks for itself and while it is personally painful and deeply disappointing, it is the reality. Sport is about winning and a philosophy change is due when the scoreboard reflects a team’s shortcomings. “Despite the pain of losing there have been victories towards building the sport and I hold no regrets in terms of the efforts, support, and direction chosen. The tremendous individual people and businesses that have shared the vision and contributed wilfully to create a brighter future for billiards all have my deepest gratitude. “I completely respect the opportunity afforded me to be part of the best […]

Mosconi Cup

2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup – Europe rout USA

9th December – 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup Europe 11 – 3 USA Jayson Shaw 5 – 1 Mike Dechaine THE EUROPEANS needed just one match to retain the 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup as Jayson Shaw had the honour of potting the winning 9 ball as he eased past Mike Dechaine 5-1 to spark wild celebrations at the Alexandra Palace. Team Europe entered the fray carrying a 10-3 lead after dominating the first three days of the competition and they delivered a crushing defeat to an American side that looked out of their depth at times in front of a very vocal 2,000 strong crowd. Shaw, who came into the event on the back of a run of brilliant form, never looked too comfortable over the first three days. However, he came with some terrific shots to banish Dechaine to the sidelines and secure the European’s seventh consecutive victory. A delighted Shaw said, “There were a lot of nerves out there but you have to stay calm and take every ball one at a time. It […]

Mosconi Cup

2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup – Europe on the brink

8th December – 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup Europe 10 – 3 USA Appleton / Feijen 5 – 2 Dechaine / Van Boening Shaw / Ouschan 5 – 3 Morris / Woodward Albin Ouschan 5 – 4 Skyler Woodward Gray / Appleton 4 – 5 Bergman / Morris TEAM AMERICA lives to fight another day at the Alexandra Palace as the pairing of Rodney Morris and Justin Bergman won the final match of the evening in the final rack to stall European celebrations at the 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup. With the Europeans leading 7-2 going into the final session, they need to win all four of the evening matches to reach the required 11 points to retain the Mosconi Cup for the sixth time. “We can smell the Cup!” said Euro captain Marcus Chamat. “It is really hard to win every match but we were close. We have Jayson first tomorrow and then Niels so we have a good line-up for the first two tomorrow. “I wanted Jayson and Albin to play together because I think […]

Mosconi Cup

2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup – Euros continue to dominate

7th December – 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup Europe 7 – 2 USA Feijen / Gray 5 – 2 Van Boening / Woodward Jayson Shaw 3 – 5 Rodney Morris Ouschan / Appleton 5 – 4 Dechaine / Bergman Mark Gray 5 – 1 Justin Bergman TEAM EUROPE piled the misery on a floundering American side to take a five point lead into the third day of the 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup at the Alexandra Palace in London. They won three of the four Wednesday night matches to leave the USA a mountainous task if they are to win the Mosconi Cup for the first time in eight years. European captain Marcus Chamat was in no doubt as to how the day had gone; “What can you say, I thought today I would relax, watch some games, but it is very hard not to get involved in every game – the games are so tough and my players are playing so good so I am over the moon, and especially with a score like this. “The […]

Mosconi Cup

Betfair Mosconi Cup 2016 Day One Report

6th December – 2016 Betfair Mosconi Cup Europe 4 – 1 USA Europe 5 – 2 USA Gray / Ouschan 5 – 2 Van Boening / Morris Niels Feijen 5 – 2 Mike Dechaine Shaw / Appleton 1 – 5 Woodward / Bergman Darren Appleton 5 – 3 Shane Van Boening TEAM EUROPE showed exactly why they are big favourites to retain the 23rd annual Betfair Mosconi Cup as they enjoyed a convincing opening session, winning four out of the five matches to take a 4-1 lead into day two. It was the worst possible start to the event for the Americans who have not won the Mosconi Cup since 2009. Even after just one day they face a mammoth task against a European side that looked confident throughout. Commented European captain Marcus Chamat, “The first day is always really tough. The way they put out their team, they came with their strongest but I feel there are no weak links in my team and whatever I came out with today, I had four aces. […]

Mosconi Cup

2016 Mosconi Cup – Broadcast details

4th December – 2016 Mosconi Cup Broadcast details announced for Mosconi Cup WITH JUST TWO days to go before the 23rd annual Mosconi Cup gets underway at the Alexandra Palace in London, promoters Matchroom Sport can announce the global broadcasters who will be showing the event live. With a show produced by host broadcasters Sky Sports, the Mosconi Cup is live from the first lag to the final 9 ball, in a top-level production that more mainstream sports would be envious of. The success of the event in recent times means that the list of countries broadcasting the Mosconi Cup is ever-expanding with more areas around the world showing the event live. The Mosconi Cup runs from Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th December with all sessions getting underway at 18.30 GMT. The stations broadcasting the Mosconi Cup live are: Sky Sports 2 & Mix – Great Britain & Ireland ESPN3 – USA Viasat – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria & Baltic States Nova – Czech Republic, Slovakia Sky – New Zealand DAZN – Japan DAZN […]