Where are Mika and Ralf?

M

MisspentYouth

Banned
I know someone probably already answered this somewhere. I'm just too lazy to search. I'm just wondering why they picked Mark Gray and Nikos. Both are great players, but they aren't in Mika's league in my opinion. And maybe Ralf is getting on in years, but I wouldn't want to play him for the cash.

I'm thinking maybe matchroom decided to weaken the stew a little bit this time to make it a bit closer as they know that viewership is obviously going to continue to drop if they keep kicking the yanks' heads in every year. So, unless someone comes by and says there was a scheduling conflict with Mika and Ralf or something like that, I am content with my conspiracy.
 
MisspentYouth said:
I know someone probably already answered this somewhere. I'm just too lazy to search. I'm just wondering why they picked Mark Gray and Nikos. Both are great players, but they aren't in Mika's league in my opinion. And maybe Ralf is getting on in years, but I wouldn't want to play him for the cash.

I'm thinking maybe matchroom decided to weaken the stew a little bit this time to make it a bit closer as they know that viewership is obviously going to continue to drop if they keep kicking the yanks' heads in every year. So, unless someone comes by and says there was a scheduling conflict with Mika and Ralf or something like that, I am content with my conspiracy.
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Nikos came third in the US Open 9-ball and is very deserving of being on Team Europe. Including the team match, Nikos is 4-1 in this Mosconi.

Gray is probably weaker than all of Mika, Ralf, Thorsten, Vandenberg and Shaw, but he got in on merit based on Eurotour results.
 
Add Chris Melling and Darrell Peach and it's clear that Europe's "B" team could still kick our ass. Add Oliver Ortmann Albin Oschean, (I think I have this misspelt) and Thomas Engert and maybe their "C" team could as well. This is getting pathetic
 
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MisspentYouth said:
I know they deserve to be there. Just sayin' Thorsten, Ralf and Mika could take Gray and Nikos' lunch money if they wanted to.
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For sure, IMHO Nikos is not in 1st tier elite . From what I have seen of Gray he is a great long potter but not 1sf tier. For sure Europe did not send their A team this year but they don't need to
 
dnschmidt said:
Add Chris Melling and Darrell Peach and it's clear that Europe's "B" team could still kick our ass. Add Oliver Ortmann Albin Oschean, (I think I have this misspelt) and Thomas Engert and maybe their "C" team could as well. This is getting pathetic
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Also don't forget Van den Berg. Yes their C team can win also :)
 
spartan said:
Also don't forget Van den Berg. Yes their C team can win also :)
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Van Den Berg is a strong favorite to make the A team. He is a complete beast and is right up there with the other Euro elites like Appleton and Niels.

ATM I would say the A team in Europe is a pick-em between the following players.

Thorsten
Appleton
Feijen
Boyes
Mika
Van Den Berg
Melling
Ralf (for the Mosconi, his game is slipping but his Mosconi Cup game is still world class)

Those 8 guys are IMO the cream of the crop of European players.

I am not sure how the heck Gray was chosen for this. I looked at his results and he has not won a lot of cash on the Euro events AZB has listed, won none of them, and many of the players we are missing this year Europe could have chosen have seemed far more dominant.

Denis Grabe won two events on the Euro tour this year, both he played in and they both had awesome Euro fields with most of the best players from over there competing in them. He would have likely been far more dangerous then Mark Gray, Gray looks terrible out there. If they wanted some new blood throw in a guy who at least wins, especially when you are passing on guys like VDB and Thorsten. Gray is just an odd choice and looks like a clear effort to weaken the Euro side.
 
You got that right!!

dnschmidt said:
Add Chris Melling and Darrell Peach and it's clear that Europe's "B" team could still kick our ass. Add Oliver Ortmann Albin Oschean, (I think I have this misspelt) and Thomas Engert and maybe their "C" team could as well. This is getting pathetic
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We don't really have many pro players, not guys that can paly and definitely not guys that can play as a team.

SVB, Rodney and Archer are it for the USA and only SVB seems to know how to get done at every event.
 
I don't think that the European players that permanently reside in the U.S. should play in the Mosconi Cup (and vice versa, but I don't know of any U.S. players that reside in Europe).
 
SakuJack said:
..........


Why?
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That's just how I feel personally. If one choses to permanently reside in a country (even if he/she isn't an official citizen of that country), he/she shouldn't compete in events against that country. I just seems a little disrespectful to me. Once again, that's just a personal belief of mine.

I feel the same way about other sports as well, but many of them also compete against the U.S. so maybe I'm the oddball in my line of thought.
 
Ralph and Mika went skiing in Austria.From what I have heard they are having great time in Bad Kleinkirchheim:):):):wink::):):)
 
Euro Big 5

spartan said:
For sure, IMHO Nikos is not in 1st tier elite . From what I have seen of Gray he is a great long potter but not 1sf tier. For sure Europe did not send their A team this year but they don't need to
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No question Mika and Thorston on the Euro team would have made their side much stronger and like you said it looks like they didn't need to have them.

To the people that think Oscar should be in instead of Schmidt, or any of the 3 that were in the "8" perspectives should be in instead of another...bottom line if USA sent their best 5 against - Appleton/Mika/Thorston/Ralf/Neils...i don't see any US Team beating those 5 guys in this format.
 
Celtic said:
Van Den Berg is a strong favorite to make the A team. He is a complete beast and ight up there withKarl... other Euro elites like Appleton and Niels.

ATM I would say the A team in Europe is a pick-em between the following players.

Thorsten
Appleton
Feijen
Boyes
Mika
Van Den Berg
Melling
Ralf (for the Mosconi, his game is slipping but his Mosconi Cup game is still world class)

Those 8 guys are IMO the cream of the crop of European players.

I am not sure how the heck Gray was chosen for this. I looked at his results and he has not won a lot of cash on the Euro events AZB has listed, won none of them, and many of the players we are missing this year Europe could have chosen have seemed far more dominant.

Denis Grabe won two events on the Euro tour this year, both he played in and they both had awesome Euro fields with most of the best players from over there competing in them. He would have likely been far more dangerous then Mark Gray, Gray looks terrible out there. If they wanted some new blood throw in a guy who at least wins, especially when you are passing on guys like VDB and Thorsten. Gray is just an odd choice and looks like a clear effort to weaken the Euro side.
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A beast??? Van den berg is a solid player, no doubt but not in the same breath as the top euros...same goes for " clean the cue ball" karl
 
molinatx4206 said:
A beast??? Van den berg is a solid player, no doubt but not in the same breath as the top euros...same goes for " clean the cue ball" karl
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Who are you classing as the top Euros?

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, just curious as to who you mean.
 
Let me say something what I can tell you from the first hand.Beside, I think I have a better and more realistic view on top European players since I am from Europe myself and have been the part of European pool scene for 20 years.
So,regarding to Nick Vanderberg,he is certainly in best 5 players from Europe and certainly better from some European players who plays Mosconi Cup.If you would talk to some American pro players they will tell you the same.He is all around player who plays all games almost at the same level and likes to play for money although he used to do that even much more in the past.He has traveled all around the States and was playing many,many money matches and was pretty much successful in that.Also,he comes from Netherland where some of the best European players are from.Beside Germany,Netherland is a country where pool scene is the most developed.I am talking about pool education and not about prize money in tournaments.He is from the same generation of pool players as Alex Lely,Niles Feijen who have invented the most of the greatest exercises to improve the game and almost all of other Europeans have worked out theirs game using theirs drills and it could be said they are the architects and authors of the most of pool drills and rehearses that pool players use here.At the same time they were the first who started to work strongly on the mental aspect of the game here.
Nick Vanderberg has showed himself numerous times as a great player,not only for European circumstances but as one of the worlwide bests.He was European Champion a few times and in few differents games,so although Nikos is the great players as well and although some of you think he might be better player,believe me saying he is not yet better than Nick Vanderberg.
:smile::smile::smile::thumbup::smile::smile::smile:
 
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