Break Stats -- 2018 Mosconi Cup, December 2018

AtLarge

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Here are some break results for the 2018 Mosconi Cup played this week (Dec. 4 - Dec. 7) at Alexandra Palace in London, England. This event was 9-Ball racing to 11 matches, with each match being a race to 5 games. The format was one team match (everyone plays one game, then repeat until one side wins 5 games), 7 doubles matches, and up to 13 singles matches (12 were played). Team USA won 11-9, with the match scores on the 4 days being 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, and 2-3.

The players for Team USA were Shane Van Boening, Corey Deuel, Skyler Woodward, Billy Thorpe, and Tyler Styer. The players for Team Europe were Niels Feijen, Albin Ouschan, Jayson Shaw, Klenti Kaçi, and Alex Kazakis.

The conditions for this event included the following:
- Rasson Victory 9-foot table with approx. 4½" corner pockets and blue Simonis cloth;​
- Aramith Tournament balls with the measles cue ball;​
- referee racks using a triangle rack with the 1-ball on the foot spot (2-ball not necessarily in back location);​
- alternate breaks from anywhere behind the head string;​
- no illegal break rule;​
- 30-sec. shot clock (60 sec. after the break), with one 30-sec. extension per side per game;​
- foul on all balls;​
- jump cues allowed;​
- lag for the break; and​
- all slop counts.​

The 20 matches were as follows, in the order they were played. Match winners are bolded; event scores after each match are in brackets.

Tues. Dec. 4, 2018
1. Teams -- USA ... 4-5 ... Europe [0-1]​
2. Doubles -- Thorpe/Woodward ... 1-5 ... Ouschan/Shaw [0-2]​
3. Singles -- Styer... 5-3 ... Feijen [1-2]​
4. Doubles -- Van Boening/Deuel ... 5-1 ... Kaçi/Kazakis [2-2]​
5. Singles -- Van Boening ... 5-0 ... Shaw [3-2]​

Wed. Dec. 5
6. Singles -- Van Boening ... 2-5 ... Shaw [3-3]​
7. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 5-3 ... Feijen/Kazakis[/B] [4-3]​
8. Singles -- Deuel ... 3-5 ... Ouschan [4-4]​
9. Doubles -- Thorpe/Styer ... 5-2 ... Shaw/Kaçi [5-4]​
10. Singles -- Thorpe ... 5-3 ... Kaçi [6-4]​

Thurs. Dec. 6
11. Doubles -- Woodward/Styer ... 5-4 ... Feijen/Ouschan [7-4]​
12. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-3 ... Kazakis [8-4]​
13. Doubles -- Deuel/Styer ... 4-5 ... Feijen/Kaçi [8-5]​
14. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-4 ... Shaw [9-5]​
15. Doubles -- Van Boening/Thorpe ... 1-5 ... Ouschan/Kazakis [9-6]​

Fri. Dec. 7
16. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-4 ... Ouschan [10-6]​
17. Singles -- Styer ... 3-5 ... Shaw [10-7]​
18. Singles -- Deuel ... 1-5 ... Feijen [10-8]​
19. Singles -- Thorpe ... 2-5 ... Kaçi [10-9]​
20. Singles -- Van Boening ... 5-3 ... Kazakis [11-9]​

The successful-break rates (made at least one ball and did not foul) were 84% for Team USA (64 of 76) and 87% (65 of 75) for Team Europe.

Team USA won the game on 67% (51 of 76) of their own breaks, whereas Team Europe won on 67% (50 of 75) of their breaks. Some details:

Team USA broke 76 times, with the following results:
• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 46 (61%)​
• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 18 (24%)​
• Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 5 (7%)​
• Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 7 (9%)​

Team Europe broke 75 times, with the following results:
• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 47 (63%)​
• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 18 (24%)​
• Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 3 (4%)​
• Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 7 (9%)​

For the two teams combined, the breaker made at least one ball (and did not foul) 85% (129 of 151) of the time; the breaking side won 67% (101 of 151) of the games; and the breaking side won 72% (93 of 129) of the games in which the breaker made at least one ball on the break and did not foul.

Break-and-run on all breaks:
• Team USA -- 27 out of 76 (36%)​
• Team Europe -- 31 out of 75 (41%)​
• Total -- 58 out of 151 (38%)​

Break-and-run on successful breaks:
• Team USA -- 27 out of 64 (42%)​
• Team Europe -- 31 out of 65 (48%)​
• Total -- 58 out of 129 (45%)​
 
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AtLarge

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Here are some 2018 Mosconi Cup break stats for each player. [Caveat: small numbers.]

Successful breaks (made at least one ball and did not foul):
Van Boening -- 13 of 16 (81%)
Deuel -- 9 of 11 (82%)
Woodward -- 17 of 21 (81%)
Thorpe -- 12 of 14 (86%)
Styer -- 13 of 14 (93%)
Team USA Total -- 64 of 76 (84%)​

Feijen -- 15 of 15 (100%)
Ouschan -- 14 of 14 (100%)
Shaw -- 15 of 18 (83%)
Kaçi -- 9 of 13 (69%)
Kazakis -- 12 of 15 (80%)
Team Europe Total -- 65 of 75 (87%)

USA + Europe Total -- 129 of 151 (85%)​

Breaker's side won the game:
Van Boening -- 11 of 16 (69%)
Deuel -- 7 of 11 (64%)
Woodward -- 14 of 21 (67%)
Thorpe -- 9 of 14 (64%)
Styer -- 10 of 14 (71%)
Team USA Total -- 51 of 76 (67%)

Feijen -- 11 of 15 (73%)
Ouschan -- 10 of 14 (71%)
Shaw -- 13 of 18 (72%)
Kaçi -- 7 of 13 (54%)
Kazakis -- 9 of 15 (60%)
Team Europe Total -- 50 of 75 (67%)

USA + Europe Total -- 101 of 151 (67%)​

Break-and-run games, on all breaks:
Van Boening -- 7 of 16 (44%)
Deuel -- 1 of 11 (9%)
Woodward -- 8 of 21 (38%)
Thorpe -- 8 of 14 (57%)
Styer -- 3 of 14 (21%)
Team USA Total -- 27 of 76 (36%)

Feijen -- 5 of 15 (33%)
Ouschan -- 7 of 14 (50%)
Shaw -- 9 of 18 (50%)
Kaçi -- 5 of 13 (38%)
Kazakis -- 5 of 15 (33%)
Team Europe Total -- 31 of 75 (41%)

USA + Europe Total -- 58 of 151 (38%)​

Break-and-run games, on successful breaks:
Van Boening -- 7 of 13 (54%)
Deuel -- 1 of 9 (11%)
Woodward -- 8 of 17 (47%)
Thorpe -- 8 of 12 (67%)
Styer -- 3 of 13 (23%)
Team USA Total -- 27 of 64 (42%)

Feijen -- 5 of 15 (33%)
Ouschan -- 7 of 14 (50%)
Shaw -- 9 of 15 (60%)
Kaçi -- 5 of 9 (56%)
Kazakis -- 5 of 12 (42%)
Team Europe Total -- 31 of 65 (48%)

USA + Europe Total -- 58 of 129 (45%)​

[Note: A B&R in a doubles game is credited here to the breaker.]
 
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AtLarge

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Regarding Lags:

2018 -- Cup won by Team USA 11-9

• Each team won 10 lags.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 16 times (7 by USA, 9 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 15 times (8 by USA, 7 by Europe).​
• In the 5 hill/hill matches, the team that won the lag won the match 4 times (2 by each team). One of the wins for each side was by B&R in the final game.​
The team that won the first game (8 by USA, 12 by Europe) won the match 13 times (6 by USA, 7 by Europe).​


2017 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-4

• USA won 4 lags, Europe won 11.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 10 times (4 by USA, 6 by Europe).​
The team that won the lag won every match (4 by USA, 11 by Europe).​
• In the 5 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag 3 times and Europe twice. One of the wins for each side was by B&R in the final game.​
The team that won the first game (9 by USA, 6 by Europe) won the match 10 times (4 by USA, 6 by Europe).​


2016 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-3

• USA won 8 lags, Europe won 6.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 12 times (7 by USA, 5 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 7 times (2 by USA, 5 by Europe).​
• In the 3 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag all 3 times but lost the match twice. The lone win was not by B&R in the final game.​
The team that won the first game (8 by USA, 6 by Europe) won the match 7 times (2 by USA, 5 by Europe).​

2015 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-7

• Each team won 9 lags.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 9 times (4 by USA, 5 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 10 times (4 by USA, 6 by Europe).​
• In the 8 hill/hill matches, the team that won the lag won the match 6 times (3 by each team), and 4 of the 6 were by B&R in the final game.​
The team that won the first game (8 by USA, 10 by Europe) won the match 9 times (3 by USA, 6 by Europe).​

2014 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-5

• USA won 2 lags, Europe won 14.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 13 times (2 by USA, 11 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 9 times (0 by USA, 9 by Europe).​
• In the only hill/hill match, Europe won the lag and the first game (by B&R) but lost the match.​
The team that won the first game (5 by USA, 11 by Europe) won the match 6 times (0 by USA, 6 by Europe).​

2013 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-2

• USA won 4 lags, Europe won 9.​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 6 times (1 by USA, 5 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 7 times (0 by USA, 7 by Europe).​
• In the 4 hill/hill matches, Europe won all the lags and 2 of the matches (one by B&R in the final game -- 9-ball on the break).​
The team that won the first game (5 by USA, 8 by Europe) won the match 6 times (0 by USA, 6 by Europe).​

So 26 matches have gone to a hill/hill game over the past 6 years, and the breaking side (winner of the lag) won 18 of those games.
 
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AtLarge

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Regarding Fouls:

The following numbers are: Breaking Fouls + Kicking Fouls + Jumping Fouls + Other Fouls = Total Fouls

Van Boening -- 1 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 2
Deuel -- 0 + 2 + 0 + 0 = 2
Woodward -- 2 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 3
Thorpe -- 1 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 2
Styer -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 3 = 4
Team USA Total -- 4 + 5 + 0 + 4 = 13

Feijen -- 0 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 6
Ouschan -- 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 0
Shaw -- 1 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 8
Kaçi -- 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 1
Kazakis -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 1
Team Europe Total -- 2 + 9 + 3 + 2 = 16

USA + Europe Total -- 6 + 14 + 3 + 6 = 29​

The "Other Fouls" category includes:
- scratching while making a ball (1 each by Van Boening and Styer)
- scratching on a missed shot (1 by Styer)
- hitting another ball first on the way to the OB (1 by Shaw)
- missing the OB on a swerve shot (1 by Feijen)
- failing to hit a rail after contact with the OB (1 by Styer)​

The opponent's side ran out the game on the next inning for 11 of Team USA's 13 fouls and for 15 of Team Europe's 16 fouls.


Foul Rates
• Team USA's 13 fouls occurred in the 120 games in which they went to the table (151 total games less EUR's 31 B&R's), for a rate of 1 for every 9.2 games at the table. (This was an improvement from 2017's rate of 1 per 5.6 games at the table.)

• Team Europe's 16 fouls occurred in the 124 games in which they went to the table, for a rate of 1 for every 7.8 games at the table. (This was an improvement from 1 per 5.4 games at the table in 2017.)​
 
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AtLarge

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Regarding Missed Shots:

Team USA -- Missed shots averaged about 1 for every 5.2 games in which they went to the table. This is considerably better than last year's 1 for every 2.0 games at the table.

Team Europe -- About 1 for every 5.9 games at the table this year, 3.1 last year.
 
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Cuebuddy

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Not a lot of responders on this thread so far AtLarge, but your efforts don't go unnoticed. Thanks for your contributions to the stats. Very interesting:bow-down:
 

BassMasterK

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Thanks so much for all of the detailed stats! I was really hoping you would include the lag statistic and you did not disappoint. I think one of the most important stats regarding the lag was that out of 5 hill/hill matches, the team that won the lag won the set 4 times. What is interesting is that in '15 and '16 we actually lagged well. I swear every year I am complaining about how we don't win nearly as many lags and it just kills us in every hill/hill match it seemed like. This year I actually thought we won more lags and was attributing that to part of our victory but it looks like they were even this year.

The final stat shows historically (as far back as this data set) the lag winner takes the match 70% of the time, as opposed to 80% for this cup. This is a big deal. I know you can't really practice lagging for a TV table which is going to behave differently than the practice tables in the back but I have always felt like the lag is more important than a lot of the more causal fans realize it is. Your stats bear this out. 70% shows a large advantage. Thanks again for your work here.
 

AtLarge

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Regarding Balls Made on the Break:

Team USA averaged 1.3 balls per break on all breaks (98 balls on 76 breaks) and 1.5 balls per break on successful breaks (94 balls on 64 breaks).

Team Europe averaged 1.4 balls per break on all breaks (105 balls on 75 breaks) and 1.6 balls per break on successful breaks (103 balls on 65 breaks).

Distribution of balls made on the 151 breaks:
[1s here means the 1-ball in the side pocket on the opposite side of the table from the breaker;
w means the wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker, in the nearest corner pocket]

- made 1s, but no other balls -- occurred 7 times (7 balls pocketed)
- made 1s plus 1 other ball, but not w -- 2 times (4 balls)
- made w, but no other balls -- 60 times (60 balls, including 3 on fouls)
- made w and other ball or balls, but not 1s -- 28 times (60 balls)
- made both 1s and w, but no others -- 27 times (54 balls, including 2 on a foul)
- both 1s and w and 1 other ball -- 1 time (3 balls)
- made neither 1s nor w, but 1-3 other balls -- 9 times (15 balls, incl. 1 on a foul)
- dry, but no foul -- 16 times
- dry and fouled -- 1 time​
Total -- 151 breaks, 203 balls pocketed​

The 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker on 25% (37 of 151) of the breaks.

The wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the nearest corner pocket on 77% of the breaks (116 of 151).
 
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AtLarge

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...
The final stat shows historically (as far back as this data set) the lag winner takes the match 70% of the time, as opposed to 80% for this cup. ...

That last line in the lag post refers only to hill/hill matches. Winners of the lag won 18 of the 26 hill/hill matches = 69%.

For the lag winner winning the match (with any score), it's 63 times out of the 96 matches in these last 6 years = 66%.
 

BassMasterK

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That last line in the lag post refers only to hill/hill matches. Winners of the lag won 18 of the 26 hill/hill matches = 69%.

For the lag winner winning the match (with any score), it's 63 times out of the 96 matches in these last 6 years = 66%.

Understood, I didn't phrase that properly but the whole post was regarding hill/hill matches. Thanks for the clarification though, I should have had the wording right in my post.
 
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