2026 Mosconi Cup Team USA
- Thread starter JAM
- Start date
Yes, well said. Thanks for the clarifications.
In my experience, very few American players over 400 FR think coaching is useful. If they have run a rack, they have all the knowledge and technique they need.
sudocrushms
Well-known member
If i'm Europe i'm going with:
- FSR (currently locked, and playing REALLY well too)
- Filler (because duh)
- Shaw (he's their captain until proven otherwise and always plays well)
- Aleksa
- 1 of Oliver/Wiktor/Moritz, but a fun wild card would be Felix.
Looking at the current rankings, it is WILD to not see Albin even in the top 20.
- FSR (currently locked, and playing REALLY well too)
- Filler (because duh)
- Shaw (he's their captain until proven otherwise and always plays well)
- Aleksa
- 1 of Oliver/Wiktor/Moritz, but a fun wild card would be Felix.
Looking at the current rankings, it is WILD to not see Albin even in the top 20.
Come one, man! You've got to let me reach for some hope!
I had been losing faith, admittedly, in FSR in 2024 and 2025. Other than winning the Peri Open in 2024, he just seemed to be always coming up short. His game seemed to flatlining. Kept wondering if he might go the way of Albin Ouschan.
He was great in last year's Mosconi, but obviously the US Open win this year was monstrous. Still, he's been really good this whole year. Lots of high finishes.
FSR is still young enough to rack up lots more big wins. More than most top players, he can get down on himself and lose confidence. But when he plays with confidence, he's a top 5 player in the world.
I'm with you on FSR. He just wasn't getting the results, but something clicked for him this August, and he has been on a tear ever since. Now that he seems to have found his 2022 form again, it makes things more exciting at the top of the pecking order for 2027.
There is hope! Still, I think we miss the boat when we look beyond the need for Shane and Fedor to show up with their "A" games. Unless they are sharp, there is probably no path to victory.
PS He missed last year's Mosconi. It was in 2024 that he shone brightly.
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The only reason this U.S. team will be heavy underdogs is because of how Shane, and to a slightly lesser extent Fedor have historically performed at the Mosconi. If we erased that from our memory, on paper this team looks pretty good. Maybe, just maybe they could get an early roll or three and get out of the gate with a lead. Some early luck could change the entire trajectory of the cup. If the pressure let up just a bit, Fedor could lead, SVB could play 2nd fiddle, and someone like Bergman could really surprise with stellar play because he's ACTUALLY capable of doing it!
Yup, that would be a rock solid team.
Last year in London, the European fans were brutal with Tyler and they were not quiet when he was down on shots, even after the referee asked them to!
The fans at the Caribe Royal need to be brutal with Europeans.
Even if the referee is asking you to be quiet, you need to continue making noise.
Treat this like a NFL game.
The fans at the Caribe Royal need to be brutal with Europeans.
Even if the referee is asking you to be quiet, you need to continue making noise.
Treat this like a NFL game.
Sorry, but this is not accurate. Taken from my trip report following the 2025 Mosconi at Alexandra Palace.
European Fans
They were enthusiastic and sometimes rowdy but, with rare exception, they kept it tasteful. They could have easily sought retribution in the wake of the pathetic behavior of American fans at the 2024 Mosconi, but did not. Whether the 2026 American fans in Orlando return to civility is to be determined, but it can no longer be suggested that the European fans are less respectful of the players than American fans. For now, the opposite is true.
Yes, I was there in 2024, and the American fans at the Caribe Royale were brutal, not to mention profane, with the Europeans and, frankly, it was pretty embarrassing and devalued the event. Though not 100% successful, the referees did what they had to in order to keep things much more civil at the 2025 event.
All that said, I'd welcome maximum fan rowdiness, as long as it's not while players are over a shot and within the boundaries of good taste. Yes, we need to get fired up!
I am sure I am biased but I thought the crowd was absolutely brutal on Tyler. The chirping that was going on over a tough 9 ball was wild.
As for 2024, two rights don’t make a wrong. And in general, fans are nastier than ever in most any sporting event. I doubt the American side will show any more or any less class than either side has shown in the last few years. It sure would be nice if they did though. The circus that is the Mosconi Cup is a major turn off for me. But I am sure I am the odd duck in that opinion.
Hoping it’s a good showing for USA. Anything can happen in a race to 5.
I agree that the European crowd got out of line once or twice, but much less than at other Mosconi Cups. Referees laid down the law early in the 2025 Mosconi, with fans who got out of line while a player was over the shot getting a reprimand. Honestly, I expected that, after the 2024 embarrassing behavior of the American fans, the European fans at Alexandra Palace would be rough, but they were surprisingly civil and, at least for the time being, are more respectful of the players than the American fans. This year .... well, we shall see.
The Mosconi is a marathon, a race to eleven matches. The anything can happen in a short match argument, to me, has never really applied.
Yes, you are correct. A race to five is a short set and anything can happen in one short set.
A race to eleven sets is a very long match and major upsets are, consequently, very rare. That's why Team USA has won just two Mosconi Cups since 2009.
Looking up the binomial probabilities, if I play someone who is a little better than me and I can, on average, win 45% of the racks, I'll win about 38% of the sets in a race to five format. Winning a match is very doable. On the other hand, the probability of my winning eleven sets before they do is quite small.
it probably also takes team europe having rookies that struggle, like kazakis and kaci in their first cups
Yes, and not like Labutis and Neuhausen, both of whom impressed at the 2025 Mosconi in their debuts.