Mosconi Cup Team USA Named!

[JAM]

You're not the first to suppose this about Mika. I suppose many of you supposing individuals have a very strong anti immigration-stance, seeing as
you only have two parties to choose from. Why would you all of a sudden want to hand out citizenships?
btw, thats one way of saying Mika does not have US citizenship, and I'm sorry that you don't like him representing his country and his continent at the Mosconi Cup.

Thanks to the American representative to the WPA, the Billiard Congress of AMERICA, Mika competed in a tournament in China earlier this year.

Of course, he's from Finland, but the point is that he competed in a Chinese tournament, thanks to the American representative organization. He had not competed in enough European tournaments to be eligible to compete in China, so Mika, thanks to the American representative organization, did indeed compete in China. All other Europeans were required to have a designated slot thanks to their European representative pool organization. Mika didn't have enough tournaments that he competed in, in Europe, to qualify.

This has nothing to do with immigration; it has to do Mika getting to China on the backs of the American pool organization instead of his own European pool organization. The public found out AFTER THE FACT about Mika getting the BCA's green light to China, instead of his own European organization green light. In America, we call this "having your cake and eating it, too." :smile:

 

[Celtic]

Matchroom sports stated clearly at beginning of the race which event's finish points would determine one's score to be selected into team member. 10 events listed for USA team and 13 events listed for Europe team.

Although Huidje See won the World 10 Ball Championship this year, his total accumulated score placed finished him on 6th and 6 points short of Niels Feijen who's 5th.

As for Thorsten, although he is ranked as one of top player on WPA ranking, him not competing in Euro Tour has killed his chance of increasing his points to the top.

For this year's Mosconi Cup, I believe players were picked straight from their points accrued. No Wild Cards, just 1-5 on USA list and 1-5 Europe list.

S.G.

Do you have a list of the events for each side?

Thorsten won the Philippine Open, won the World 14.1, won the World Cup of Pool alongside Ralph, got 5th in the China Open which was a super powered field. Nick Van Den Berg did not seem to have a particularily successful year compared to that, he won a Paris Open which had few top international professional stars. Maybe Matchroom needs to look closer at the events that give out points. Winning world championships and tournaments like the Philippine Open which had a strong as hell field should count for something...

 

[JAM]

I agree, no back room deals or politics involved this year if they just took the top 5 on the points list for each team.

I agree. The methodology to be included in Team USA was democratic and fair to all. Every single one of those players had a chance, and it came down to who accumulated the most points.

Mike Dechaine did receive a point exception to, I think, the $25,000-added Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour event at Turning Stone. He went to Philippines with Corey Deuel representing the United States in a non-point-ranking event, but I can't remember how that affected his point standing to represent Team USA. I remember reading about it, though. :smile:

Notice in this tournament how many slots the EUropeans have and how many the United States has: World Cup of Pool in Phillippines.

 

[JAM]

Do you have a list of the events for each side?

Thorsten won the Philippine Open, won the World 14.1, won the World Cup of Pool alongside Ralph, got 5th in the China Open which was a super powered field. Nick Van Den Berg did not seem to have a particularily successful year compared to that, he won a Paris Open which had few top international professional stars. Maybe Matchroom needs to look closer at the events that give out points. Winning world championships and tournaments like the Philippine Open which had a strong as hell field should count for something...

I think -- and I may be wrong -- that Matchroom went with the so-called precious "ranking points" for United States and Europe based on their representative pool governing bodies' points. Since Thorsten and Mika have not completed in very many European events in recent times, they didn't make the cut.

I agree that it seems odd, but Matchroom has to follow some system, and the ranking points of each organizational entity seemed the fairest way to go. I admire them for sticking to their guns on this. :smile:

The BCA could learn a lesson or two from Matchroom about sticking to their guns and not changing the rules willy-nilly to accommodate a love child.

 

[Put_upor_shutup]

Looks like this year is dead gambling..I still like Texas in this one..Think im even gonna fly out and watch it..

 

[JAM]

Here is the description of the Mosconi Cup ranking for the U.S. as far as points in this article: US Mosconi Cup Rankings - Mike goes back to No.1 despite not playing .

The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 10 events throughout the United States, culminating in the US Open in October. Points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event will be weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and players will be allowed to drop their worst finish of the ten event series. At the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.

The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.

DESPITE missing the recent Turning Stone event, the third to last qualifier in the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup USA Rankings, Mike Dechaine reclaimed the top spot, edging Shane Van Boening into second place.

This was because players are allowed to ditch their worst finish in the ten event series, and due to the fact that Dechaine was representing the USA in the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Manila, he did not compete at Turning Stone.
Therefore his zero points from the event became his worst placed finish and his previous worst effort of 33 points, returned to his tally. Other movers included Johnny Archer, chasing his 15th consecutive Mosconi appearance, who climbed into the top five for the first time.

 

[billbOK]

Do you have a list of the events for each side? ...

All the informations are listed in this page HERE

Sunny is right about Thorsten and the fact that not playing the Eurotour events makes his chances very thin to make the team. World 14.1 and Philippines Open are not part of the ranking for the Mosconi cup race.

Concerning Nick, he was #1 in the Euro ranking until the last event considered for the race to MC.

 

[freedomfry]

Thanks to the American representative to the WPA, the Billiard Congress of AMERICA, Mika competed in a tournament in China earlier this year.

Of course, he's from Finland, but the point is that he competed in a Chinese tournament, thanks to the American representative organization. He had not competed in enough European tournaments to be eligible to compete in China, so Mika, thanks to the American representative organization, did indeed compete in China. All other Europeans were required to have a designated slot thanks to their European representative pool organization. Mika didn't have enough tournaments that he competed in, in Europe, to qualify.

This has nothing to do with immigration; it has to do Mika getting to China on the backs of the American pool organization instead of his own European pool organization. The public found out AFTER THE FACT about Mika getting the BCA's green light to China, instead of his own European organization green light. In America, we call this "having your cake and eating it, too." :smile:

All well and wonderful. Nothing to do with Mika playing for the US team in the Mosconi Cup. Sure he lives in the US. So in order to either have OR eat his cake, he should not accept the BCA spot in a WPA tournament? Am I understanding you correctly? or would playing for the US team in the Mosconi Cup suffice?
Imo, assuming legal status, paying taxes in the country you live in should be enough to exercise your liberties. And may I add, that Mika has probably paid more taxes in the last years than any American player.
But hey, you could always tell Mika that you, being a veteran member of this forum, don't appreciate what he's doing and make him play for the US team or whatever it is you actually want.

P.S. doesn't the BCA reserve one WPA spot for the highest non-US finisher in the BCA ranking?

 

[JAM]

All well and wonderful. Nothing to do with Mika playing for the US team in the Mosconi Cup. Sure he lives in the US. So in order to either have OR eat his cake, he should not accept the BCA spot in a WPA tournament? Am I understanding you correctly? or would playing for the US team in the Mosconi Cup suffice?
Imo, assuming legal status, paying taxes in the country you live in should be enough to exercise your liberties. And may I add, that Mika has probably paid more taxes in the last years than any American player.
But hey, you could always tell Mika that you, being a veteran member of this forum, don't appreciate what he's doing and make him play for the US team or whatever it is you actually want.

P.S. doesn't the BCA reserve one WPA spot for the highest non-US finisher in the BCA ranking?

I don't give a hill of beans with Mika does, truth be told. He's not on my birthday cake list. With all due respect, as far as taxes go, it really doesn't have anything to do with the topic at hand.

My point is that he got a green light to compete in China thanks to the BCA. If he's representing Finland, he should be getting green lights from the European organization, not the American BCA.

 

[JAM]

All the informations are listed in this page HERE

Sunny is right about Thorsten and the fact that not playing the Eurotour events makes his chances very thin to make the team. World 14.1 and Philippines Open are not part of the ranking for the Mosconi cup race.

Concerning Nick, he was #1 in the Euro ranking until the last event considered for the race to MC.

I happen to like Nick's style. He's a great team player. I look forward to seeing him compete! :smile:

 

[billbOK]

Euro team

True, and I really think Hohmann and See could replace any of the players in the europe team. Even though I know the ranking system is the only "fair way" to pick a team, I still would like maybe one spot for us to vote.

Hohmann perhaps... See no!

See is a good player and has lately amazing finished in world events, but he is not as consistent as the other team members. See is pointing at the 31th place in the Euro ranking, with a best result of 3rd. The MC selected players are all in the top 10 and have all won an event this season, except Niels Feijen. Niels had in fact an accident who keep him off the table for a while and has altough enough point to make the team!

 

[JAM]

Hohmann perhaps... See no!

He is a good player and has lately amazing results in world events, but he is not as consistent as the other team members. See is pointing at the 31th place in the Euro ranking, with a best result of 3rd. The MC selected players are all in the top 10 and have all won an event this season, except Niels Feijen. Niels had an accident who keep him off the table for a while and has altough enough point to make the team!

What happened to Niels in the accident? I hope he's okay.

 

[billbOK]

I happen to like Nick's style. He's a great team player. I look forward to seeing him compete! :smile:

Nick is not only a fantastic player, he is also a great guy and an example of sportmanship!

 

[billbOK]

What happened to Niels in the accident? I hope he's okay.

I heard he was hit by a car while cycling (his passion out of pool). I guess he is now ok as he made the trip to the US Open.

He also had a baby early on this year

 

[JAM]

I heard he was hit by a car while cycling (his passion out of pool). I guess he is now ok as he made the trip to the US Open.

He also had a baby early this year

I'm sorry to hear about his biking accident.

I bet that is one beautiful baby. He and Katrina are both a good-looking couple.

Here's a pic I snapped at the SBE in 2004 or '5, I think it was.

 

[JAM]

But here's my favorite Niels pic at the 2003 Open.

 

[billbOK]

But here's my favorite Niels pic at the 2003 Open.

Nice pics JAM.

PS wich one is Niels on the last picture?

 

[pooladdict]

...

Notice in this tournament how many slots the EUropeans have and how many the United States has: World Cup of Pool in Phillippines.

JAM, you are comparing apples and oranges here. Europe is a continent, USA is a country. Countries are allocated slots in WCOP.

Before we then start the discussion about how unfair it is that a continent competes against a country in Mosconi Cup, we can take a look at how many pool players there are in Europe compared to USA.

In addition to that, it doesn't have to be an advantage for Europe to use players with different background from many different countries

A UK team with Appleton, Melling, Gray, Peach and Boyes - or a German team with Souquet, Hohmann, Ortmann, Engert and Jentsch could surely have given USA a run for their money also.

Then again, getting the right chemistry in an American team can obviously be a challenge :grin:

 

[JAM]

Nice pics JAM.

PS wich one is Niels on the last picture?

He's on the left, of course. My first immediate reaction when I saw him for the first time was how blond he was. There aren't very many true natural blonds in this world, and his color was striking to me. I'm a natural blond, but my hair got darker as I got older. I'm an ash blond today. Niel's is still blond as blond can be. I love that.

 

[JAM]

JAM, you are comparing apples and oranges here. Europe is a continent, USA is a country. Countries are allocated slots in WCOP.

Before we then start the discussion about how unfair it is that a continent competes against a country in Mosconi Cup, we can take a look at how many pool players there are in Europe compared to USA.

In addition to that, it doesn't have to be an advantage for Europe to use players with different background from many different countries

A UK team with Appleton, Melling, Gray, Peach and Boyes - or a German team with Souquet, Hohmann, Ortmann, Engert and Jentsch could surely have given USA a run for their money also.

Then again, getting the right chemistry in an American team can obviously be a challenge :grin:

Look, I understand the contingent versus country comparison, but if we were to go on populations of each country, some of those European countries aren't even as big as Rhode Island is in the United States.

If the Mosconi Cup was formed based on the European organization -- I forget its acronym -- and the American organization (BCA), then Team USA by all rights should be able to accept players from Canada. BCA is supposed to represent North America. For that matter, Alex Pagulayan has a dual citizenship, to include Canada. He'd complement our other team members Team USA, don't you think?

As far as getting the right chemistry in an American team, I'm going to refrain from what my first thought was as it pertains to the word "chemistry."

Personally, I can't believe Matchroom is still accepting the Americans as a Mosconi Cup contender, since Philippines and Asian countries have so many prominent pool players today in comparison to the States. For that, though, I'm sure all Americans are happy as clams.