MOSCONI CUP 2023 AZB Watch Party / Master Thread

And according to Matchroom (Barry & Emily), this event is the best you could ever get in nineball (to put the brand of the game the way they like).

to see something positive here, this surely speeds up the creating of an efren reyes cup.

thinking of it, at no point in time during MC history wouldn't asia been able to field a team capable of beating the then dominating MC side. efren, bustie, parica, fong pang chao, okumura, takahashi. only thing there is the language barrier.
 
Bunch of results pickers in this thread. This is Team USA playing on foreign turf with screaming drunk hyenas. This is not a battle of the strongest by any means.

This event is supposed to be fun for pool fans, and it is. I'm sticking by Team USA through thick and thin. When they're down on their belly, that's the time to show support, more than ever. You don't kick 'em when they're down. Win or lose, I'm rooting for Team USA all the way.

24297269_10155337824643020_5272513566558843268_o.jpg
 
only thing there is the language barrier [for the Asians]
Same is true about the Europeans. You either learn English or can not communicate enough within your team. Ex., the Spaniards, David and Fran, ,not long ago they hardly bothered but recently had to bring up their language skills.
 
I can’t figure out why he left himself as long as he did on the 9 ball - wasn’t the 8 ball virtually hanging in the pocket? Then the miss on the 7 was even worse. He was straight in and all he had to do was to draw back to play the 9 in the same pocket. Mosconi Cup pressure!
No. It wasn’t and he was very straight on 4 inch pockets. There isn’t much wiggle room
 
Bunch of results pickers in this thread. This is Team USA playing on foreign turf with screaming drunk hyenas. This is not a battle of the strongest by any means.

This event is supposed to be fun for pool fans, and it is. I'm sticking by Team USA through thick and thin. When they're down on their belly, that's the time to show support, more than ever. You don't kick 'em when they're down. Win or lose, I'm rooting for Team USA all the way.

View attachment 731381
It happens every year jam. It’s not like this is the first time. Foreign soil has nothing to do with it. europe is better… period. Europe doesn’t dog easy outs. We do. It’s that simple.
 
I think Svb just puts too much pressure on himself. I’m sure he insisted on playing first.
He was playing brilliantly all that frame, had a slight wobble on the 8 but then you could see him almost say out loud “why does this 9 look so hard now? He had a wry smile before shooting.
I feel really sorry for him , make that 9 and everything changes and these posts would have been completely different
 
Where do we stream this in the US? I looked on Matchroom live and they have nothing listed. I don’t want to pay first and be disappointed.
To find which service in your country it's on, go to https://matchroompool.com/mosconi-cup/

Go down to where it says

WHERE TO WATCH 30TH ANNIVERSARY MOSCONI CUP​

and expand the tab.

In the US it's DAZN.

( I see that DAZN was not broadcasting some of the studio/intro audio. That is standard on the snooker broadcasts. I assume DAZN has the rights to game play and direct commentary but not the studio production.)

I can't watch the replay on DAZN because although I paid for it in the US I'm now in the wrong country. Does DAZN have the matches up for replay in the US?
 
Last edited:
As for the screaming fans, it's important to remember that they are paying for the production and the prize fund. They are mostly quiet when the player is down on the shot, except for the occasional Euridiot. I think I'll bring earplugs tonight.

One nice feature of the venue is that there is a huge food court with multiple stands selling burgers, burritos, tacos, cheese steak sandwiches, hot dogs .... And drinks. The prices are not bad, at 14 GBP for a large cheese steak and fries. Public transit from central London is dead simple.
 
I feel so bad for Shane. Hope he shakes it off. Styer and Wolford had some really good shots on these damn unforgiving tables.
Europe is just pretty solid, but not flawless. On to day two.
 
He's actually been playing the God, not the ghost, recently: same as the ghost but you don't get ball in hand after the break. So you just have to break and run to win. I saw him play one set that he didn't win, but came close - final score in this video was 21-19:
If you watch this video and don't think he's Fedor is the best player in the world, then ...?
 
Time for a new captain. Anybody that's paid even a little attention knows SVB does not play well in the Mosconi. Jeremy set the team up for failure running SVB so early. I would have had him ranked 3rd on the team, maybe even 4th as Tyler's B game is getting pretty solid.

The Mosconi has ALWAYS been about your B game, not your A. It's about how poorly you're capable of playing, not how great you can. Shane can play very poorly in the Cup and everybody knows this. I guess except for JJ.
This is accurate. I bet as soon as Fedor was announced, SVB immediately felt relief until the lineup for the first match was announced. I think SVB just wants to play, not have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
 
Not making excuses for SVB, he should have made the 9 and the 7. Shocking misses really. This is just my opinion on his MC performance over the years.
This is a guy who grew up with a major disability, was bullied a lot, never played team sports, was always a loner. While this probably makes him great in an individual sport, It seems like his downfall in team events. It's like he just doesn't know how to act or handle the situation where he is forced to interact with a team. He looks really uncomfortable.
I would like for him to be Moved down to like 3rd or 4th. Fedor, Sky, Tyler, Shane, Shane. Take a little pressure off him. It can be tough feeling like you always have to be perfect.
 
I like Shane and he is truly a great player. By far the best in the USA for a long time now. To watch him self destruct last night was hard to see. I felt for him.

Pool is that kind of game. A sometimes cruel mistress. She will jilt you just when you think all's well. And it's so hard to recover after it happens. Shane couldn't last night.

There were times in my life where I simply forgot how to play, and all of a sudden every shot looked hard and none of the options looked good. That happened to me in my exhibition with Mosconi and in a tournament match with Pete Margo. I will never forget that totally lost feeling. And even Shane is not immune. Sad, that's all.
 
We should be able to win with these short races. Hanging out for a few days before the MC doing some practice doubles matches together is not coaching. The coaching we need is not in how to play pool, it is in how to handle the pressure and how to win. The mental side of the game is killing us. We did win when we had a real coach. Hate to say it, but JJ has got to go, there is nothing he can teach these guys.
 
And the excuses begin to roll in from the usual suspects 🤣
Followed along like clock- work by those who make it a point to dump on the Americans in EVERY thread.:ROFLMAO:
We should be able to win with these short races. Hanging out for a few days before the MC doing some practice doubles matches together is not coaching. The coaching we need is not in how to play pool, it is in how to handle the pressure and how to win. The mental side of the game is killing us. We did win when we had a real coach. Hate to say it, but JJ has got to go, there is nothing he can teach these guys.
I agree. No doubt the guys like and respect JJ, but at the end of the day the coach is evaluated on the teams' performance. A few years ago I remember the Johan Ruijsink and prospective team having several mini "boot camps" , as well as the entire team going to play in a tourney in Russia. I admittedly have no idea what preparation JJ has done behind the scenes, but I agree he seems to be a much better commentator than coach...
 
We should be able to win with these short races. Hanging out for a few days before the MC doing some practice doubles matches together is not coaching. The coaching we need is not in how to play pool, it is in how to handle the pressure and how to win. The mental side of the game is killing us. We did win when we had a real coach. Hate to say it, but JJ has got to go, there is nothing he can teach these guys.
I tend to agree... not to degrade JJ though. Johan seemed to get the TEAM ready. Yesterday was brutal.
 
Followed along like clock- work by those who make it a point to dump on the Americans in EVERY thread.

I agree. No doubt the guys like and respect JJ, but at the end of the day the coach is evaluated on the teams' performance. A few years ago I remember the Johan Ruijsink and prospective team having several mini "boot camps" , as well as the entire team going to play in a tourney in Russia. I admittedly have no idea what preparation JJ has done behind the scenes, but I agree he seems to be a much better commentator than coach...
Get out my head, man, lol
 
What made it hard to watch for me was Shane looked like he was having a good time, even grinning when the crowd was giving it to him.
He knew what to expect and kind of embraced it. Hopefully he can pull it together and help salvage some points today.
 
I can’t figure out why he left himself as long as he did on the 9 ball - wasn’t the 8 ball virtually hanging in the pocket? Then the miss on the 7 was even worse. He was straight in and all he had to do was to draw back to play the 9 in the same pocket. Mosconi Cup pressure!
IIRC he was very straight on the 8 ball. He may have been able to be a little more aggressive but he clearly felt it wasn't worth the risk of rattling the 8 and he decided to just take the longer 9. I believe that decision also impacted his decision in the next rack. Again, he was clearly frustrated by his positioning on the 7-ball and opted to take on the riskier shot rolling in the 7 for an easier 9 ball.

It's a shame because he took on and made some fantastic shots in that 1st rack and I thought looked really good.
 
Back
Top