jbart65 said:

This is a fair point and it's been hotly debated before, but the die has been cast. MR will be vindicated to some extent if/when Fedor becomes a citizen. Gotta say, though, Fedor acts ands thinks more like an American than many native-born people I know. He's is very attuned to our culture.

At any rate, the U.S. has no more six legit Mosconi players, if I include Hohmann. Only three of them, SVB, Gorst and Woodward, would have a chance to make a European team.

Then there's another handful of very borderline candidates, and that is being generous.

Lukas would be the youngest of the lot. His recent WNT win was his best ever. Let's see if he can build on that.

I've said before, the U.S. has lost the past two years more due to tactical, strategic or mental errors than other causes. They can hang with Europe in shotmaking, but not if they don't give themselves a chance by playing smarter. They need an edge simply due to the obvious though not insurmountable talent gap.

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sjm said:

Bergman was one of the top three American players ten years ago, along with SVB and Dechaine.

Still, he, more or less, feel off the face of the earth as far as competing at the rotation pool majors, and that includes the ones played in the United States. As you rightly note, the reason he has always offered is that he does not like to travel, and that's a legitimate reason. Nonetheless, that decision, like all others, comes with consequences, and one of them is reduced access to sponsorship.

I'm not sure what you base the "he's still one of the best US players" comment on, as he has no noteworthy results at rotation pool in recent years. If he has those skills, let him show them. He has missed every single major championship in the four-year history of the WNT tour. There were about ten WNT ranking events in the United States last year (probably more this year) and he missed them all. To this point of 2026, he has yet to play in a WNT ranking event. Let's see if he plays at Super Billiards Expo, a WNT ranking event that starts this Thursday in Pennsylvania.

Scott Frost has been selling Justin Bergman for Mosconi inclusion like snake oil, but there's no evidence that Justin has any interest in demonstrating that he cares to qualify on points. If he is given a wild card that is not based on performance in rotation pool events, it will be yet another stain on the already embarrassing Mosconi Cup wild card selection process for Team USA, further proof that Team USA selection is about politics, not about playing excellence.

Also worth noting is that Justin has never played in an event having the Matchroom break, and the only way he will learn it is by playing in some WNT ranking events. As is his every right, he has shown no inclination to prepare himself for WNT play, so on what basis are any of us to take his Mosconi Cup candidacy seriously?

I like Justin a lot and consider him a friend. I'm rooting hard for him to recapture the magic of ten years ago, and we know that he is capable of outstanding play. I will not, however, go as far as saying that just because I am a fan of his, I want him to get a Mosconi Cup spot whether he earns it or not.

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sjm said:

Last year, there were Matchroom ranking events in

Philadelphia PA
Jacksonville FL
Seattle, WA
Atlantic City, NJ
Orlando FL
Raleigh, NC
Front Royal VA
Roanoke VA
Boston MA
Wallingford CT

Ten opportunities in the US to earn WNT rankings points, including two WNT majors, made it easy to chase down a Mosconi spot in 2025 without ever leaving US soil.

In 2026, it will be even easier as a new US based, Matchroom major has been added to the calendar, namely the Arizona Open.

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nine_ball6970 said:

He has shown up at the Texas Open on several different occasions. I would be surprised if he didnt make the trip to the US Open honestly.

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skor said:

I prefer winner breaks (and looser rack)

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