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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

bpeacock
jay helfert said:
A lot of chatter here about what's wrong with Team USA and what we need to do to fix it. I'm sorry but none of the above is the answer. There is a reason why Shane became Shane and not just another American player. He actually grew up playing on bar boxes but made the transition to big tables by devoting himself to the game and whatever it took to be the player he is. It did not happen by accident. Shane put in the twelve hour days for years to get where he is. There is no short cut to pool stardom. It takes work and lots of it!

I've personally witnessed the practice regime of some great players who stayed at my home for periods of time. For years I had a really tough Diamond Pro table and players like Dennis, Carlo and Shane would spend day and night on that table until they had it mastered, or close. I'd wake up in the morning to the sound of pool balls and go to sleep at night to the same sounds. I saw real dedication by guys who wanted to be the best.

It makes me think the current crop of U.S. players does not do anything like this. Maybe they go to the poolroom every day (or on their home table) and hit balls for a couple of hours and hang around and smooze with their friends there. I don't think they take the game as seriously as the aspiring Euro and Asian pros. To them (Euro and Asian) they see a way to make a good living if they can win, so they make the necessary sacrifices to get there.

P.S. Attendance looked rather sparse in there. Maybe even the Euros have begun to lose interest in this annual bloodletting.
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My guess is 75-80%full...my wife says less than that.
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

lfigueroa
garczar said:
i agree to a degree but all that you alluded to would not have changed what i saw yesterday. the attitude alone is vastly different. the Euros are runnin-n-gunnin and the US squad looks like they're going to the dentist.
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Maybe, but my experience is that if you know and/or feel you are unprepared you’re going to have that “deer caught in the headlights” appearance, lol.

Lou Figueroa
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

S
jbart65 said:
I strongly disagree with the idea the Americans aren't taking the event seriously. They are tired of getting embarrassed year after year. I know I would be.

They want to win. They want to win so badly, I'd contend, that they put undue pressure on themselves.

The only guy I'd fault is Woodward. He spends way too much time acting like he is Maximus in the Roman Coliseum.
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Or Styer who is practicing shooting with his eyes closed.
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

bpeacock
jay helfert said:
Let the flagellation begin. Just when you think it can't get any uglier it does. Tyler looked like he forgot how to play pool in the last match.
The U.S. has two players who can play with the Euros and three others who are a full level below them. Even in a short match the difference in skill level shows up. The first doubles was the only good match of the day. In the one singles match Skyler looked like he was struggling on every turn at the table. Jayson meanwhile was on cruise control. The last doubles match was beyond awful. As far as I'm concerned that sealed the deal for this edition of the MC, over on Day One.
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We looked like total amateurs across the board... Was painful.. I am enjoying the pubs though 😜
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Experiments in looking at the cueball while delivering the stroke.

gregcantrall
ChrisinNC said:
CB last works great for me on a 7’ table, but on a 9’ table I utilize both depending on the distance between OB and CB.
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That could be in alignment with Ronnie's answer, regarding which last.
My inability to switch back and forth only speaks to what works best for me at this time. My struggle making the switch kinda keeps me from experimenting further. 🤷‍♂️ 😉
I can always claim a Senior Discount. 🤷‍♂️ er uh disability. 😉
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

T
jay helfert said:
In my day, 60's and 70's, there were literally thousands of poolrooms all across the country. Every small town had a billiard room, or two. And they were all 8' or 9' tables. Bar tables were exclusively in the bars and for adults over 21. You grew up playing on a full sized table!
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Absolutely, Jay. 100%. In DC alone, in the mid-60's there were several dozen rooms with nothing but full sized tables. I don't think it's entirely coincidental that the shrinkage of U. S. top grade talent followed the rise of these Romper Room 7' tables. Bar tables were strictly for social players and hustlers like Buddy Dennis who came from regular pool rooms to milk the fish.

I'm 81, and to play in a weekly non-handicapped tournament on 9' tables I have to drive 40 minutes up I-95 to the Baltimore suburb of Elkridge. Big Daddy's used to be a room with 9' tables, and it's now Brews 'n' Cues with nothing but toy tables. This is obviously what most U. S. players prefer nowadays, but it's no wonder that Europe and Asia keep handing us our hats on the world stage.
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Introducing the new Bitman rack 😳

ShootingArts
trob said:
I feel like when even starting the project as soon as you got to the point of what do we have to charge and someone said $500 the project should have died lol
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That is really what killed many, perhaps most, projects when I worked in R&D. The dreaded "Not commercially viable." It is hard to recovery R&D costs on short run products. One reason that some of the ridiculous looking NASA and military payouts are actually fair. Some are BS, some not. It took years to develop a chocolate bar that wouldn't melt in desert heat. Not just coated with something, the chocolate doesn't melt. A bug sized drone that can zip through a door as it is opened and closed when somebody walks through it, unnoticed!

There are lists of what the government or military is interested in put out at least yearly if not more often. I noticed it was often over ten years from "wish list" to reality. One project I worked on, one man air conditioning, was obsolete before it was ever completed. During Desert Storm we claimed to have all of the NBC suits needed. True enough maybe, but what we didn't admit was that the suit itself would kill our soldiers in two hours of desert heat. While we were working on stopgate measures a suit was created that breathed and still protected from Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical agents.

I don't know if $500 represents a ridiculous mark-up or a fair price per unit. I am skeptical they will ever sell enough units at that price to get back production costs.

Hu
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Experiments in looking at the cueball while delivering the stroke.

gregcantrall
ChrisinNC said:
the CB last throughout the stroke
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Not sure if I am parsing right. 😉
I think I got it. Not the answer just understand the statement.
The Coverage of the Snooker does provide high definition looks at various aspects. Close up capabilities are put on display. The occasional looks at the eye pattern through the stroke is there. Most of the variation or movements of the eyes is beyond my ability to detect. I rely on movements of the eye brows for a clue.
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

lfigueroa
jbart65 said:
Shaw and the Euro team announced a few weeks before the International they were skipping the event and holing up in Scotland for almost two weeks. Widely known.

The U.S. team got together after the International and evidently had a week of structured practice.

I don't think any team needs more than a week.

As for Matchroom, it desperately wants a better U.S. team and a more competitive event, if just for its bottom line. Frazer has been darn near pleading and crying for the U.S. to play better and win.

Matchroom is bringing more events to the U.S. precisely because it still is one of the most lucrative, if not the most lucrative, market for the WNT. Frazer has said repeatedly she hopes it helps to develop more American talent.
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At this level of play I’m going with the guys spending two weeks v one getting used to the time zone change, equipment, food, and just being more acclimated, relaxed, and prepared.

And BTW, MR is not going to be developing more talent here with a few more events. If that’s their thought they are dreaming and delusional. As others have pointed out, the pool situation in the US has been in decline for decades. What little pool is left is mostly on bar boxes.

Lou Figueroa
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Extra Deflection on Mosconi Cup Table??

C
FeelDaShot said:
I saw a Facebook post today from Oscar mentioning how deflection is exaggerated at the Mosconi Cup due to the new slick cloth. I've never heard of this before. Can anyone explain what's going on here? I guess I don't understand how cloth can affect the amount of deflection.View attachment 867153
View attachment 867154
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In my opinion, for players at the top pro level playing in a premier tournament on 4” pockets, even a miniscule way less than 1% difference in how a CB deflects could occasionally make the difference between a made or missed shot. It’s not likely a deflection difference that the rest of us need to worry about trying to adjust for.
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Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London

OverTheNut
Badpenguin said:
Where does their site clearly say the score, schedule, and time (for US viewers)? Did I just miss something? How about a screen shot?
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Schedule of who is playing in each round:

MOSCONI CUP - Matchroom Pool

matchroompool.com matchroompool.com

Full details of broadcast options and start times for various time zones:
matchroompool.com

EVENT GUIDE | 2025 SPORTSBET.IO MOSCONI CUP - Matchroom Pool

The 2025 Sportsbet.io Mosconi Cup returns to one of the most iconic homes of nineball from December 3–6, taking centre stage once again at the historic Alexandra Palace in London. In partnership with Sportsbet.io, this year’s Mosconi Cup will see Team Europe defend their title on home soil...
matchroompool.com matchroompool.com
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