Well said. I agree
Mosconi Cup 2025, Dec. 3-6, Alexandra Palace, London
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
Him and Filler both have that love to hate aspect. Gotta respect the skills.
In fairness, Tyler has historically performed well enough in the MC. Having said that, every time I've watched him play this year, he seemed to be struggling, which isn't always observable in this game based off win/loss records. I think he's just in a slump at the moment and probably should have sat this year's MC out.Way too many matches decided by 1 missed 9 ball to say we don't have a chance. Am I happy, no, but we should still be playing right now.
I seem to remember being pleasantly surprised by Tyler in past MCs, don't know what was wrong with him this time, but it wasn't the norm.
If I were team USA, I'd be practicing with loud music, screaming, and people dropping shit until I didnt want to play without it.when next year rolls around they can encourage the crowd to yell no stop.
We lost, but we can be competitive. Didn't watch today's matches...yet
I think he'll get in, but I kind of doubt he'll get in with his first year of eligibility. As much as I'd like to say it's not a bit of a popularity contest, it is...and Jason Shaw is popular whether you love him or hate him. Look at guys like Dave Howard who's a 2-time U.S. Open winner, back when it was arguably the biggest title in pool, as well as a winner of the Asian Cup. For majors, that's arguably a better record than Shaw's (depending on how you view Turning Stone) and he's not in the hall of fame. But hey, that's pool and politics!
You don't know until you know
I'm not saying they don't have the talent. They definitely do! In a race to 5 the skill difference between all of those guys, statistically, is probably no worse than 60/40 (no I didn't do the math.) For that reason alone, U.S. should be winning some of these. But they're not. It's the same story every year...they get looks, they have chances, and for lack of a better way to put it...they "dog it." It's time to give this team a break for a bit, and maybe they'll get hungry again, and/or get out of their own heads.I think we can with our current team, they just need some - i done give a F pills about the pressure.
They showed they can get there if they just cross the finish line.
Yep, he never moved the needle for anybody. Tommy Kennedy(as nice as he is) has won a US Open, if he won a second would he be in the discussion? It's too bad people cant be put in more than once - Shane is certainly deserving of more than 1 entry, same with Earl. Is Albin in yet? If you ever slept on that guy you were in serious danger
Or they need to play under extreme pressure - giving up games in a very loud atmosphere to the 6th through 10th place guys. Bring in Dechaine, Bergman, Oscar, Chohan, and Wolford to play them set after set before the Cup. If there's any Asians currently in the country, throw them in the mix.
The 6th through 10 place guys can get experience playing in that atmosphere
Is Albin old enough yet to be inducted? I was thinking there was an age requirement, but I could be wrong. Still, I agree, he's got to be a shoo-in even if he never plays another a tournament in his life.
BlueRaider
Registered
Shaw will probably get in the HoF because there’s about to be a big gap in players with HoF resumes turning 40 anytime soon and he’s first in line before Big Ko and Wu. We might actually see Alcaide sneak in because of that, although they may go with female players like Jasmin over the next couple of years.
Hallelujah, and lay your hand upon the radio!I think we can with our current team, they just need some - i done give a F pills about the pressure.
They showed they can get there if they just cross the finish line.
Wish I knew the numbers off the top of my head, but the USA had the lead in a good many matches.
I’ve been a Cleveland fan since Bernie Kosar, Joe Carter, and Mark Price, so I’ve seen some teams invent new ways to lose.
When Styer got loose in his singles match it looked downright dominant for a minute. Also, Thorpe made some really nice kicks that were abso-lutely not flukes.
These guys can hang with anybody. Sky shoots some awesome safeties. I wish that would be the emphasis of the tourney prep. Europe always seemed to be able to swing a match in their favor with a perfectly timed safety. I don’t advocate looking to duck, but especially early, it seemed like USA had that hold my beer mentality.
Always next year, God willing. Party on!
Page 86. Hmmm...
For the murkyan team,
This is a good place to start.
www.instagram.com
HINT:
You need the head room.
For the murkyan team,
This is a good place to start.
Tsovoo Chaobo on Instagram: "测测你的水平😂"
18K likes, 22 comments - tsovoo81 on December 1, 2025: "测测你的水平😂".
www.instagram.com
HINT:
You need the head room.
They don't have to put ppl in. Doesn't have to be the hall of very good
Styer has demonstrated ability to hold his own in the Mosconi Cup. There aren't many great options past him so hopefully this is just a one-off year where everything went wrong.
Thorpe has shown recent flashes of potential to compete at this level (5th Peri Open, 3rd US Open 10 Ball) but most of his money and top finishes in the past few years have come from bank pool and one pocket events and regional tournaments. He should be showing substantial improvement in major Matchroom and world tournaments to get another chance.
The US team has a clear core of SVB, Gorst, and Woodward for next year. Styer is pretty much a lock if he keeps showing up to Matchroom events and cashing. So that leaves one additional spot.
Thorpe has shown recent flashes of potential to compete at this level (5th Peri Open, 3rd US Open 10 Ball) but most of his money and top finishes in the past few years have come from bank pool and one pocket events and regional tournaments. He should be showing substantial improvement in major Matchroom and world tournaments to get another chance.
The US team has a clear core of SVB, Gorst, and Woodward for next year. Styer is pretty much a lock if he keeps showing up to Matchroom events and cashing. So that leaves one additional spot.
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Pissflitsche
New member
Pick any of the winning top European players over the last year's, they're all gonna be Hall of Famers one day! Filler, Oushan, Shaw, Feijen, Gorst... You name them.
DaWizard
Well-known member
There might be a business model. But even more if I was very rich, then I would be excited to be the founding father of a (possible) renaissance in a sport I'm passionate about.
I see two options, neither one which is that good.
First of let's be clear about the make up of our team. We have one great player in the twilight of his career. A second player who is a Euro convert? Two more players who are journeyman pros. And a Bank Pool specialist. Kind of a patchwork team representing us.
Now let's look at the Euro side. Five high level professional pool players who make this their full time job. And they take their job seriously, working hard on their game to continuously improve. Their collective goal is to be among the best players in the world, and they are!
When you look at it realistically, you can see it's kind a mismatch isn't it.
Option A) Get a full time mental coach for the players on Team USA so at least they can have their heads on straight when it comes to playing in a high stress environment. I can attest to the fact that pool players are coachable and can be taught to play at their highest level. Even if only for one specific event.
Option B) Start all over with a completely new team. I'd like to take a group of five or six promising young players (18-23 years old) and spend a year developing them and their game to prepare themselves for the MC. We do have talent here. I've seen it. But they need some good coaching and instruction to be world class players.
I would100% guarantee that given the chance a completely new team would fare far better than what we've been seeing the last few years. They won't dog it is all I've got to say. There is a way to get past all that.
Can you imagine taking a group of college kids and beating the Russians at Ice Hockey? It could be done in Pool too!
If the powers that be would fund it (maybe to the tune of 100K) I would take on that role for one year of my life. We all know that's never going to happen though, so it is only my little pipe dream.
First of let's be clear about the make up of our team. We have one great player in the twilight of his career. A second player who is a Euro convert? Two more players who are journeyman pros. And a Bank Pool specialist. Kind of a patchwork team representing us.
Now let's look at the Euro side. Five high level professional pool players who make this their full time job. And they take their job seriously, working hard on their game to continuously improve. Their collective goal is to be among the best players in the world, and they are!
When you look at it realistically, you can see it's kind a mismatch isn't it.
Option A) Get a full time mental coach for the players on Team USA so at least they can have their heads on straight when it comes to playing in a high stress environment. I can attest to the fact that pool players are coachable and can be taught to play at their highest level. Even if only for one specific event.
Option B) Start all over with a completely new team. I'd like to take a group of five or six promising young players (18-23 years old) and spend a year developing them and their game to prepare themselves for the MC. We do have talent here. I've seen it. But they need some good coaching and instruction to be world class players.
I would100% guarantee that given the chance a completely new team would fare far better than what we've been seeing the last few years. They won't dog it is all I've got to say. There is a way to get past all that.
Can you imagine taking a group of college kids and beating the Russians at Ice Hockey? It could be done in Pool too!
If the powers that be would fund it (maybe to the tune of 100K) I would take on that role for one year of my life. We all know that's never going to happen though, so it is only my little pipe dream.
i like the option B, clean slate, they'll lose but so does this lot. problem is that would have to circumvent the rank system which isn't fair or probably even possible.
SVB, fedor will get in on points. sky won't be captain anymore so he's gonna need to get in on points too next year. tyler could challenge him for the third automatic but i doubt billy can. lukas can get in on points too.
that leaves the wildcards. my suggestion would be that no matter what pick two young guns. lukas, eric roberts, lazaro martinez, sam henderson, someone like that. get a captain like johan or lely in early 2026, have him assess this group of youngsters over the first 6 months and eventually pick two. spend quality coaching the rest of the year. this team won't win the MC but the next year they may be at least competitive. plus SVB won't be playing forever, need to build for the future
too much golf?