SVB, Gorst, Styer and Bergman should be there. For the 5th slot it'd be between Thorpe, Hohmann and Sky, and based on recent performance at this point I'd go with Thorpe, even if he's skanked his last few MC appearances and doesn't appear on the current ranking board.
Mosconi Cup standings after the US Open
- Thread starter insidesp.in
- Start date
I would prefer Sky over Thorpe but I agree with the rest of your list.
Nope.. he doesn’t travel internationally so it’s hard to get qualified. I can’t say I blame him. The cast is crazy
SVB, Styer and Gorst are probably the auto-qualifiers once the Philippines Open is played. After that it's not so simple, but the only other American hopefuls who had a high finish in even one WNT major are Billy Thorpe, who was ninth at the US Open 9ball, and Thorsten Hohmann, who was ninth at the Florida Open.
While I'd love to see him on the team, the case for Bergman is super-weak, as he sat out the first four and a half years of the WNT, came back for five weeks to play five events, and never finished in the Top 16 in any of them. Justin is still very sharp in his decision-making skills and plays very solid defense, but his long-term absence from top level 9ball has certainly shown up in his inconsistent pocketing on the four-inch pockets that are the norm in Matchroom events.
It was an off year for Woodward, but his third-place finish in the WPA World Team Championships was a significant accomplishment.
Johan has some tough choices to make.
While I'd love to see him on the team, the case for Bergman is super-weak, as he sat out the first four and a half years of the WNT, came back for five weeks to play five events, and never finished in the Top 16 in any of them. Justin is still very sharp in his decision-making skills and plays very solid defense, but his long-term absence from top level 9ball has certainly shown up in his inconsistent pocketing on the four-inch pockets that are the norm in Matchroom events.
It was an off year for Woodward, but his third-place finish in the WPA World Team Championships was a significant accomplishment.
Johan has some tough choices to make.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
I mean, historically, are they not all europeans already? I don't see Atencio or Dominguez in the running. They aren't even on the above list. Paul Song would make a non-european part of the US MC team lolHe's been living in the USA for a good 20 years, and obtained his USA Citizenship a few years ago. The exact same thing happened with Allison Fischer. They both represent USA now in international competition.
In another few years Team USA might be all Europeans
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
slim pickings
I love Thorpe's enthusiasm and aggressive style. He's playing good too with no fear. He would be an exciting addition to this years MC imo.
For sure! It actually seems even slimmer pickings than prior years, how is that even possible? I don't get it. Pool is booming. Local rooms are busy. Tournaments every night of the week. Action streams. It's almost as good as the late 90's in my area. Why haven't new pro-level players emerged in the past 10 years?
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
As an outsider looking in, I feel like the US has more of a "Guanxi" problem than China sometimes...
Guanxi?
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
"Who you know, who you blow" - "Hierarchy of importance and it's impact on relationships"
Google says this;
"Guanxi is a term used in Chinese culture to describe an individual's social network of mutually beneficial personal and business relationships"
Not really sure of the exact way I would translate it. But it sucks when it affects you negatively, and is pretty good when it works in your favour...
Most people spend their lives trying to put themselves the right side of important people. The amount of times I have seen someone agree with the most incredulous nonsense, or get given opportunities thrown at them, simply for their percieved importance
DJT"Who you know, who you blow" - "Hierarchy of importance and it's impact on relationships"
Google says this;
"Guanxi is a term used in Chinese culture to describe an individual's social network of mutually beneficial personal and business relationships"
Not really sure of the exact way I would translate it. But it sucks when it affects you negatively, and is pretty good when it works in your favour...
he's played the last two years. but yea he can be entertaining, i'll give him that
you need to make it or not on our own . those who think it's who you know are merely puppets for those people."Who you know, who you blow" - "Hierarchy of importance and it's impact on relationships"
Google says this;
"Guanxi is a term used in Chinese culture to describe an individual's social network of mutually beneficial personal and business relationships"
Not really sure of the exact way I would translate it. But it sucks when it affects you negatively, and is pretty good when it works in your favour...
in life its what you do, not who you know.
It's both. For some it's the former and others the latter. Have you never been around people with real wealth?
Where are the rising U..S. pros? I still think there's not enough money in it for the good amateurs to go for it. Why give up the fun, profitable amateur gig, in order to chase a living at professional pool? I think the semi-pro, one foot in, one foot out path is wiser and quite possibly even more fun.
Who’s going to join SVB and Styer? Gorst is a lock, as you note, even if he doesn’t surpass Hohmann in points.
Hohmann is still a very good player. In interviews, he comes across as a gentleman. Friendly, thoughtful and respectful. I applaud all his effort and hard work to become a U.S. citizen. Impossible not to like him.
Still, I admit: I’m not crazy about two-fifths of the players on Team USA not being native born. Yet If Hohmann earns a Mosconi spot on points, he deserves the right to play. I will cheer for him, too, just like the other players.
My bigger quibble is with the decline in his game. Hohmann, 47, does struggle vs better players. He has inexplicable misses at times that seem to be a clear result of his age. In that sense, he's not at David Alcaide’s level.
Let’s say Hohmann is overtaken on points by Gorst. Or he decides to withdraw given his history of playing for Team Europe (three times). Who should be the two wild cards?
There are only three choices, of course. Skyler Woodward, Billy Thorpe and Justin Bergman.
If I were Johan, I would pick Bergman and probably Skyler. I would even favor Bergman over Skyler if they were vying for just one wild card.
Start with Bergman. Sjm is right in his evaluation of Bergman. He was away from high-level 9 ball for a long time. It shows up in his inconsistency.
The case for Bergman is stronger than sjm thinks, though, relative to Woodward and Thorpe. For one thing, he is still a very good player who can compete and beat the best. He has shown that this year.
In 2026, Bergman has beated Carlo Biado, David Alcaide, Mickey Krause, Felix Vogel and Arsenis Sevastyanov in long 9 ball races. He also secured wins in the PLP in races to 5 vs. Aloysius Yapp, Kledio Kaci, AJ Manas and Duong Quoc Hoang.
Bergman also beat Joshua Filler, Wojciech Szewczyk and Duong Huoc Huang in at the World 8-ball Championship in St Louis. He and Xiao Fang Fu, what’s more, got to the final of the mixed doubles event in St. Louis. That was more impressive than Skyler’s finish in the WPA World Team Championships.
Just as important to me, Bergman is motivated to play.
He wants to play in the Mosconi. He said it was hard to watch the last few years. He came back this year to try to make the team. He is even traveling for the first time ever outside the country for a major event, the World 10-ball Championship in Vietnam.