MOSCONI CUP LIVE (Score Updates)

iLLCON said:
Observations: Mark Wilson's lackluster approach bothers me. This American team seems to really lack the FIRE when it comes to this event. I just don't see any raw determination. If I were Mr. Wilson, security would have to pry me from the players corner.

SVB is everyone's hero come tournament time. Though there is no debate he stands alone in his ability to outperform near all his competition in tournament style individual play, he is not a team player... and it's not because he doesn't want to be. At no fault of his own, he doesn't play or train to think as part of a team collective. He wins AND losses alone. That's a lot of pressure to have on anyone with this type of personality. Not to mention the effects it has on the team when he doesn't win.

My growing concern for Rocket's aggressive-style is yet again being confirmed. Highlight-reel pots and kicks aren't going to intimidate Europe. They are not your average USA tournament players. They'll break you with containment shots until you get impatient, especially in short-races, alternate-break format.

Should USA be victorious, player IQ execution from Woodward and Bergman will lead the charge and Dechaine to follow.

I don't see USA playing safeties when they should. They are making the amateur mistake of trying to force shot-making to gain confidence. You can't breathe intimidation into the Europeans. They know how much each American player wants to bite the bait. Each game, They're just waiting to land the hook.

Lastly, the break. My GOD the break.. its killing us. If I were each of those players, My head wouldn't hit that pillow until I broke 500 times tonight.

For now, I'll join in with the "It ain't over until it's over" speech, but if the play doesn't change by game 3 if tomorrows session, you can tally another year up for Team Europe.
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I don't know who you are but this is an excellent overall analysis of what's going on over there. Thanks for having the guts to say it. :thumbup2:
 
Teacherman said:
What were you watching?

Justin played better than everyone else. Not even close.

He won his single game. He played flawless with Skylar.

Skylar dogged position in his single game to lose it.
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Dinosaurs, my friend. Dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs. Somebody put Jerry out of his misery. The guy gets one shot out of ten right. He makes Jim Wych seem like a a decent commentator, FFS.
 
pmac666 said:
maybe europe had some rolls, like every year since they dominate lol...... wasnt it arnold palmer who said "the more i practise, the luckier i get"? and that it is, not the rolls, not the races, not the pocketsices, just look at the gamedifference last 10 years!
europe became better in every department of the game (and outside) over the last 15 yrs, they have built structures, most have a team around them and they travel to the biggest tourneys worldwide while most US players are still lonewolfs and prefer to play some bartable tourney instead for whatever reason! the truth is probably that europe could send 3 or 4 winning teams.....
and the sad thing is, there wont be a change soon, the competition isnt good enough anymore in the bigger US tourneys (when they are not filled with sharks from all over the world) + the fargo ranked handicap tourneys will do the rest to level the playingfield down! theres a long way back and i dont see it coming soon! pray for shane to have a very long career, he covers alot........(and put fargo in a bin)
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Lou, would like to know your thoughts on somethng like this----->

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=5742406&postcount=7
 
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Teacherman said:
What were you watching?

Justin played better than everyone else. Not even close.

He won his single game. He played flawless with Skylar.

Skylar dogged position in his single game to lose it.
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As usual you're a day late and a dollar short. :smile:
 
snucar said:
Dinosaurs, my friend. Dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs. Somebody put Jerry out of his misery. The guy gets one shot out of ten right. He makes Jim Wych seem like a a decent commentator, FFS.
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The commentary has been bad.

They should not have bad amateur players commenting on high level professional matches. At lower levels of play and experience some guys have no idea what the balls are going to do on a given shot, or what the correct strategy is, and are repeatedly calling shots that aren't there or would never get played.

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
The commentary has been bad.

They should not have bad amateur players commenting on high level professional matches. At lower levels of play and experience some guys have no idea what the balls are going to do, or what the correct strategy is, and are repeatedly calling shots that aren't there or would never get played.

Lou Figueroa
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Yeah, let's blame the commentators for how Team USA is playing. I have been in that box and it can be hard to see the table from where you sit. I used to stand up to watch the matches just so I had a better view. Jimmy is doing fine imo. It's the other guy Phil who knows very little about pool. For the most part he knows to be quiet and let Jimmy explain what's happening out there.

And by the way Lou, you would have liked to have had half the career Jimmy had in billiards. He played the world snooker tour successfully for almost two decades, competing and winning matches against all the best players. I know he was ranked in the top twenty for many years and may have made top ten a couple of times. Compared to him, you sir are a rank amateur!
 
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jay helfert said:
Yeah, let's blame the commentators for how Team USA is playing. I have been in that box and it can be hard to see the table from where you sit. I used to stand up to watch the matches just so I had a better view. Jimmy is doing fine imo. It's the other guy Phil who knows very little about pool. For the most part he knows to be quiet and let Jimmy explain what's happening out there.

And by the way Sir Lou, you would have liked to have had half the career Jimmy had in billiards. He played the world snooker tour successfully for almost two decades, competing and winning matches against all the best players. I know he was ranked in the top twenty for many years and may have made top ten a couple of times. Compared to him, you sir are a rank amateur!
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Where did I blame the commentary for anything?

Oh, and one more: where did I identify Jimmy as the commentator I was talking about?

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
Where did I blame the commentary for anything?

Oh, and one more: where did I identify Jimmy as the commentator I was talking about?

Lou Figueroa
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Quote, "The commentary has been bad." End quote.
Now I wonder who said that?
 
jay helfert said:
Quote, "The commentary has been bad." End quote.
Now I wonder who said that?
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I did.

But there have been several people in the booth ;-) AND I specifically said, "bad amateur players." So how do you even begin to figure I was talking about Jimmy?

Lou Figueroa
 
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lfigueroa said:
I did.

But there have been several people in the booth ;-) AND I specifically said, "bad amateur players." So how do you even begin to figure I was talking about Jimmy?

Lou Figueroa
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Let's see, he's a commentator and I didn't see you excluding him from your remarks.
 
Teacherman said:
What were you watching?

Justin played better than everyone else. Not even close.

He won his single game. He played flawless with Skylar.

Skylar dogged position in his single game to lose it.
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I'd say it was close.

Skyler did dog position on the 7-ball in his first game in the Teams match, played safe, and Niels made that long carom on the 7/9. But Skyler also played a second game in the Teams match, and he broke and ran that game.

In their doubles match, Justin missed his very first shot (Game 1), and Europe ran out. Both Justin and Skyler played well the rest of the match, with no misses or fouls. Justin made a nice cut on the 5-ball in Game 4 after Skyler left him tough position. They broke and ran 2 of their 3 breaks.

Commendable play for both guys.
 
It is fun to analyze everything but it is also fun to just kick back and enjoy the spectacle: the arena, spectators, cameramen, announcers, commentators, players and their "colors". I find it all visually appealing and very entertaining. It all looks good to me.

As far as play is concerned: Albin Ouschan missing that 9 in the corner is evidence of just how difficult it is to play in this pressurized condition.
 
lfigueroa said:
I understand what you're saying however I'm just talking about today. Anyone who knows jack about pool knows Europe got a disproponate amount of rolls.

Lou Figueroa
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yeah i know and dont disagree....... but who do u think gets a roll more likely? the one whos positive and in stroke or the one who is negative and not in stroke?
in the end europe outscored team US in the long run over the last 10 years as they did today, and thats surely not the result of a few rolls!
i understand your dissapointment tho.....
 
iLLCON said:
I don't see USA playing safeties when they should. They are making the amateur mistake of trying to force shot-making to gain confidence. You can't breathe intimidation into the Europeans. They know how much each American player wants to bite the bait. Each game, They're just waiting to land the hook.

Lastly, the break. My GOD the break.. its killing us. If I were each of those players, My head wouldn't hit that pillow until I broke 500 times tonight.
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These two points are inseparable. Team USA's general weakness in tactical sequences makes it far more reliant on strong breaking than Team Europe.

European superiority in the moves game (defense/kicking/two way shots) was a huge problem in 2014, and it went unaddressed in 2015, and so far, it doesn't look like it was addressed in preparing for the 2016 Mosconi Cup.

Team USA shot selection has been embarrassingly weak. Poor preparation is what has, seemingly, gone wrong so far, but I'll reserve judgment as this can change in the next three days.

In the last three Mosconi Cups, unless my memory is failing me, Team USA has yet to win a single session/day of play, so we're in pretty big trouble. That needs to change tomorrow, or Europe's lead may be insurmountable after day two.
 
Paul Schofield said:
It is fun to analyze everything but it is also fun to just kick back and enjoy the spectacle: the arena, spectators, cameramen, announcers, commentators, players and their "colors". I find it all visually appealing and very entertaining. It all looks good to me.
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Agreed 100%.

Even though we get punked year after year, I love the production that Matchroom puts on. Just seeing the emphatic and engaged audience for this show gives me hope that a successful pool product could one day blossom in the future.

Barry Hearn does everything right with this show, and even if it has lately been an exhibition of us being fed to the lions, I wish he would produce more events that would get people excited about pool again.

p.s. Out of everything you listed of the entertainment, how could you neglect the ring girls?

<paging ENGLISH!...>
 
lfigueroa said:
Yes, Skyler looks to be having the best outing.

It's hard to have energy when you're playing a far better team and your team's stars are not performing up to spec and you're getting beat to death. Of course there's also the issue of the home court advantage, with hundreds of drunks in the stands chanting, yelling, and screaming mocking you, while you're walking to the next shot and studying the table but I digress.

And, at least to a certain (spelled: huge) degree, the Europeans have been getting a *big* percentage of the rolls. Even the abysmal commentators have been able to pick up on that. Not saying that's it, the Euros are the better team, but the rolls for USA have been brutal and in race to five, tough to outrun.

Lou Figueroa
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Horrible safeties missing easy balls poor breaks all from the US and you think EU are winning cause they had all the rolls? give your head a shake.
 
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