Super Billiards Expo 2026

Nice turnout. Great field. Looks like nearly all the players that played at the Predator St Louis event went on to this WNT ranking event at Super Billiards Expo in Pennsylvania. The majority of the US Mosconi hopefuls are there, too. This event, which was on a downturn no so long ago, has greatly benefited from its WNT affiliation and is now one of the very best events in the Northeast United States.

With $16,000 for first, $10,000 for second and $7,000 for third, this event offers a nice chance for a) Neuhausen to pad the Mosconi points lead he attained at the European Open, b) for other European hopefuls to begin making their Mosconi statements, and c) for American hopefuls to begin making their statements for Team USA consideration.

Good luck to all these fine players. I'm sure we'll have a very worthy champion come Sunday evening.
 
It's curious why a few American prospective Mosconi Cup candidates are missing at this WNT ranking event. Maybe the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore? And I don't understand all the byes.
 
JAM said:
It's curious why a few American prospective Mosconi Cup candidates are missing at this WNT ranking event, and I don't understand all the byes.
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Because most of them could care less about actually competing to make the team, they'd rather get a wildcard or captain's pick.

Also, they probably know they have a very low chance to win a tournament with such a huge international field. But I still think they should try, even if they don't get 1st, they could at least rack up some points. I would be surprised if an American made it to the finals, with so many Euro players in the tourney. They would have to hit a higher gear.

AND! The Boogeyman Josh Filler isn't there, so that should make everyone else feel a little safer.
 
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Kris_b1104 said:
Because most of them could care less about actually competing to make the team, they'd rather get a wildcard or captain's pick.

Also, they probably know they have a very low chance to win a tournament with such a huge international field. But I still think they should try, even if they don't get 1st, they could at least rack up some points.

AND! The Boogeyman Josh Filler isn't there, so that should make everyone else feel a little safer.
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We have friends there who say the place is packed. Looks like the vendor booths are a major draw this year with lots of shoppers.

Personally, I'd like to see five new players on Team USA at the Cup. Win or lose, the change might be refreshing.
 
JAM said:
We have friends there who say the place is packed. Looks like the vendor booths are a major draw this year with lots of shoppers.

Personally, I'd like to see five new players on Team USA at the Cup. Win or lose, the change might be refreshing.
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Strongly agree on the new players. What do we have to lose?

And yes, some of my friends traveled very far just to go for the vendors and check out new equipment.
 
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skogstokig said:
it's streaming on the billiardnet channel.. back pocket 10b and the usual suspects
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Not what I meant. I went up last night. The action room was only 5 9 footers and that was it. They did have a barbox, but everyone was throwing their shit on that.

Got on the list for the 20 dollar table Waiting about a half hour. won 3 racks, lost 1 rack then signed back up and had to wait over an hour to get back on the table.

The streaming action tables are in the Expo area and not in the action room.
 
JAM said:
It's curious why a few American prospective Mosconi Cup candidates are missing at this WNT ranking event. Maybe the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore? And I don't understand all the byes.
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Actually, quite a few of them are present. In part, the absence of those American Mosconi hopefuls who are skipping the event is because of the favoritism that has been shown in Team USA selections in recent years. Few American players view the Team USA wild card selection process as a meritocracy, and that, as Ocar Dominguez has noted, has demotivated them. On the other hand, the conveniene was there, as the SBE event actually worked well with the pool calendar, just about 750 miles from the Predator Pro Billiard Series event that just concluded in St Louis.

I'll give a shout out to all the Team USA hopefuls that are in this field.
 
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JAM said:
Why are there so many byes? I thought it was a full roster.
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They opened up the planned 128-player field to 176. The next-sized bracket for double elimination when you have more than 128 players is 256. When you put 176 players on a 256-player bracket you get 80 byes in the first round (256-176=80). That leaves 96 players to play in the first round (176-80=96). 96 players means 48 matches on a 128-match list for 256 players. In this case they had 3 forfeits among the 96 players scheduled to play in the first round, so they actually had just 45 matches played in Round 1.

And the 80 byes in Round 1 also carry through to the Losers' side.
 
sjm said:
Actually, quite a few of them are present. In part, the absence of those American Mosconi hopefuls who are skipping the event is because of the favoritism that has been shown in Team USA selections in recent years. Few American players view the Team USA wild card selection process as a meritocracy, and that, as Ocar Dominguez has noted, has demotivated them. On the other hand, the conveniene was there, as the SBE event actually worked well with the pool calendar, just about 750 miles from the Predator Pro Billiard Series event that just concluded in St Louis.

I'll give a shot out to all the Team USA hopefuls that are in this field.
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I only see Billy and Tyler in the tourney, as far as hopefuls go. Oscar is in it as well, but I don't think he cares to make the team. I don't count Fedor because he's a given to be on the team.

Who else do you consider Team USA hopefuls? Or are you just referring to all Americans that are in the tourney? Do you consider a player like Kevin Clark a Team USA hopeful?

SVB and Skyler are missing in action. SVB is a given and maybe Sky thinks he will get a wildcard/captain's pick due to his previous performances/MVP.
 
Kris_b1104 said:
I only see Billy and Tyler in the tourney, as far as hopefuls go. Oscar is in it as well, but I don't think he cares to make the team. I don't count Fedor because he's a given to be on the team.

Who else do you consider Team USA hopefuls? Or are you just referring to all Americans that are in the tourney? Do you consider a player like Kevin Clark a Team USA hopeful?
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Eyeing the brackets, I would call each of Nathan Childress, Eric Roberts, Lukas Verner, BJ Ussery, Shane Wolford, and Landon Hollingsworth Mosconi hopefuls.

... and a late addition, Thorsten Hohmann, now a US citizen.
 
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sjm said:
Eyeing the brackets, I would call each of Nathan Childress, Eric Roberts, Lukas Verner, BJ Ussery, Shane Wolford, and Landon Hollingsworth Mosconi hopefuls.
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I like all of those picks, except BJ. Plays a little too slow for my liking. Also, he's close to 50. We need young guns. No offense to anyone.
 
JAM said:
It's curious why a few American prospective Mosconi Cup candidates are missing at this WNT ranking event. Maybe the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore? And I don't understand all the byes.
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The prize money is not high enough.

Shane doesn't need the money.
Bergman won $15k last week in the Predator event.
Sky is a family man.

If the above 3 don't come to the UK Open then I will be worried about their commitment to the Mosconi Cup.
 
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John Morra vs Lechner started an hour and a half ago and they're still at 5-5. Two super slow players 😑

In more exciting news, FSR beat Billy 10-7.

Oscar vs Tyler battling it out 4-4, that match might be over at midnight.
 
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