Break Stats -- 2019 Mosconi Cup, November 2019

AtLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Here are some break results for the 2019 Mosconi Cup played this week (Nov. 25 - Nov. 28) at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 (11 were played). Team USA won 11-8, with the match scores on the 4 days being 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, and 3-1.

The players for Team USA were Shane Van Boening, Skyler Woodward, Justin Bergman, Billy Thorpe, and Tyler Styer. The players for Team Europe were Niels Feijen, Jayson Shaw, Joshua Filler, Klenti Kaçi, and Alex Kazakis.

The conditions for this event included the following:

- Rasson OX 9-foot table, said to have approx. 4¼" corner pockets and deep shelves;

- blue Simonis cloth;

- Aramith Tournament Black balls with a black measles cue ball;

- referee racks (no player inspection) 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 19 matches were as follows, in the order they were played. Match winners are bolded; event scores after each match are in brackets.

Mon. Nov. 25, 2019

1. Teams -- USA ... 5-1 ... Europe [1-0]

2. Doubles -- Van Boening/Styer ... 5-4 ... Feijen/Kaçi [2-0]

3. Singles -- Thorpe ... 0-5 ... Filler [2-1]

4. Doubles -- Woodward/Bergman ... 1-5 ... Shaw/Kazakis [2-2]

5. Singles -- Bergman ... 3-5 ... Shaw [2-3]

Tues. Nov. 26

6. Singles -- Van Boening ... 1-5 ... Filler [2-4]

7. Doubles -- Van Boening/Bergman ... 5-1 ... Filler/Shaw [3-4]

8. Singles -- Styer ... 1-5 ... Kaçi [3-5]

9. Doubles -- Woodward/Thorpe ... 5-1 ... Feijen/Kazakis [4-5]

10. Singles -- Van Boening ... 5-1 ... Kazakis [5-5]

Wed. Nov. 27

11. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 5-1 ... Filler/Kaçi [6-5]

12. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-3 ... Feijen [7-5]

13. Doubles -- Woodward/Styer ... 5-4 ... Kaçi/Kazakis [8-5]

14. Singles -- Van Boening ... 0-5 ... Filler [8-6]

15. Doubles -- Bergman/Thorpe ... 4-5 ... Shaw/Feijen [8-7]

Thurs. Nov. 28

16. Singles -- Thorpe ... 5-3 ... Shaw [9-7]

17. Singles -- Styer ... 1-5 ... Kaçi [9-8]

18. Singles -- Van Boening ... 5-3 ... Kazakis [10-8]

19. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-3 ... Filler [11-8]

The successful-break rates (made at least one ball and did not foul) were 79% for Team USA (53 of 67) and 72% (46 of 64) for Team Europe.

Team USA won the game on 55% (37 of 67) of their own breaks, and Team Europe also won on 55% (35 of 64) of their breaks. Some details:

Team USA broke 67 times, with the following results:

• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 32 (48%)

• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 21 (31%)

• Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 5 (7%)

• Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 9 (13%)

Team Europe broke 64 times, with the following results:

• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 28 (44%)

• Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 18 (28%)

• Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 7 (11%)

• Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 11 (17%)

For the two teams combined, the breaker made at least one ball (and did not foul) 76% (99 of 131) of the time; the breaking side won 55% (72 of 131) of the games; and the breaking side won 61% (60 of 99) 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 -- 18 out of 67 (27%)

• Team Europe -- 13 out of 64 (20%)

• Total -- 31 out of 131 (24%)

Break-and-run on successful breaks:

• Team USA -- 18 out of 53 (34%)

• Team Europe -- 13 out of 46 (28%)

• Total -- 31 out of 99 (31%)

AtLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Here are some 2019 Mosconi Cup break stats for each player. [Caveat: small numbers.]

Successful breaks (made at least one ball and did not foul):

Van Boening -- 14 of 18 (78%)
Woodward -- 11 of 16 (69%)
Bergman -- 10 of 11 (91%)
Thorpe -- 6 of 10 (60%)
Styer -- 12 of 12 (100%)
Team USA Total -- 53 of 67 (79%)

Feijen -- 7 of 11 (64%)
Shaw -- 12 of 12 (100%)
Filler -- 11 of 16 (69%)
Kaçi -- 10 of 12 (83%)
Kazakis -- 6 of 13 (46%)
Team Europe Total -- 46 of 64 (72%)

USA + Europe Total -- 99 of 131 (76%)

Breaker's side won the game:

Van Boening -- 12 of 18 (67%)
Woodward -- 10 of 16 (63%)
Bergman -- 6 of 11 (55%)
Thorpe -- 4 of 10 (40%)
Styer -- 5 of 12 (42%)
Team USA Total -- 37 of 67 (55%)

Feijen -- 6 of 11 (55%)
Shaw -- 7 of 12 (58%)
Filler -- 11 of 16 (69%)
Kaçi -- 7 of 12 (58%)
Kazakis -- 4 of 13 (31%)
Team Europe Total -- 35 of 64 (55%)

USA + Europe Total -- 72 of 131 (55%)

Break-and-run games, on all breaks:

Van Boening -- 6 of 18 (33%)
Woodward -- 6 of 16 (38%)
Bergman -- 4 of 11 (36%)
Thorpe -- 2 of 10 (20%)
Styer -- 0 of 12 (0%)
Team USA Total -- 18 of 67 (27%)

Feijen -- 1 of 11 (9%)
Shaw -- 5 of 12 (42%)
Filler -- 4 of 16 (25%)
Kaçi -- 2 of 12 (17%)
Kazakis -- 1 of 13 (8%)
Team Europe Total -- 13 of 64 (20%)

USA + Europe Total -- 31 of 131 (24%)

Break-and-run games, on successful breaks:

Van Boening -- 6 of 14 (43%)
Woodward -- 6 of 11 (55%)
Bergman -- 4 of 10 (40%)
Thorpe -- 2 of 6 (33%)
Styer -- 0 of 12 (0%)
Team USA Total -- 18 of 53 (34%)

Feijen -- 1 of 7 (14%)
Shaw -- 5 of 12 (42%)
Filler -- 4 of 11 (36%)
Kaçi -- 2 of 10 (20%)
Kazakis -- 1 of 6 (17%)
Team Europe Total -- 13 of 46 (28%)

USA + Europe Total -- 31 of 99 (31%)

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

AtLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Regarding Lags:

2019 -- Cup won by Team USA 11-8

• USA won 11 lags, Europe won 8.

• The team that won the lag won the first game 10 times (5 by USA, 5 by Europe).

• The team that won the lag won the match 7 times (5 by USA, 2 by Europe).

• In the 3 hill/hill matches, the team that won the lag won the match 2 times, but neither win was by B&R in the final game.

The team that won the first game (8 by USA, 11 by Europe) won the match 14 times (7 by USA, 7 by Europe).

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 29 matches have gone to a hill/hill game over the past 7 years, and the breaking side (winner of the lag) won 20 of those games, 9 by B&R.

Tin Man · Nov 28, 2019

Am I correct in understanding that last year was rack the 9 on the spot and this year was rack the 1 on the spot?

If so, I think one of the issues the US had in recent years past was not being able to keep up in the breaking department. The Europe tour has the 9 on the spot and this has been an advantage for EU players. Look at the money match Klenti played with Pagulyan a few months ago. Alex couldn't break even 25% as well and he never had a chance.

Now the US Players have had time to learn this break and it has become more mainstream. Skyler mastered it at the US International Open last year on his run to 3rd, then demonstrated it again in his DCC win.

This year the one was back on the spot I believe. But either way, their experience with the one on the spot and their newly gained skills with the 9 ball on the spot, they now have the break to compete. It definitely didn't have to go USA's way today, but at least they are generating themselves the opportunities they need to succeed.

AtLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Regarding Balls Made on the Break:

Team USA averaged 1.1 balls per break on all breaks (77 balls on 67 breaks) and 1.4 balls per break on successful breaks (72 balls on 53 breaks).

Team Europe averaged 1.0 balls per break on all breaks (66 balls on 64 breaks) and 1.4 balls per break on successful breaks (64 balls on 46 breaks).

Distribution of balls made on the 131 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 5 times (5 balls pocketed)
- made 1s plus 1 other ball, but not w -- 0 times (0 balls)
- made w, but no other balls -- 51 times (51 balls, including 4 on fouls)
- made w and other ball or balls, but not 1s -- 24 times (49 balls)
- made both 1s and w, but no others -- 7 times (14 balls)
- both 1s and w and 1 other ball -- 2 time (6 balls)
- made neither 1s nor w, but 1-3 other balls -- 15 times (18 balls)
- dry, but no foul -- 25 times
- dry and fouled -- 2 times

Total -- 131 breaks, 143 balls pocketed

The 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker on 11% (14 of 131) of the breaks.

The wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the nearest corner pocket on 64% of the breaks (84 of 131).

AtLarge · Nov 28, 2019

Tin Man said:
Am I correct in understanding that last year was rack the 9 on the spot and this year was rack the 1 on the spot?

If so, I think one of the issues the US had in recent years past was not being able to keep up in the breaking department. The Europe tour has the 9 on the spot and this has been an advantage for EU players. Look at the money match Klenti played with Pagulyan a few months ago. Alex couldn't break even 25% as well and he never had a chance.

Now the US Players have had time to learn this break and it has become more mainstream. Skyler mastered it at the US International Open last year on his run to 3rd, then demonstrated it again in his DCC win.

This year the one was back on the spot I believe. But either way, their experience with the one on the spot and their newly gained skills with the 9 ball on the spot, they now have the break to compete. It definitely didn't have to go USA's way today, but at least they are generating themselves the opportunities they need to succeed.

No, they switched to the 1-ball on the spot in 2017.

Tin Man · Nov 28, 2019

yikes

AtLarge said:
No, they switched to the 1-ball on the spot in 2017.

Yikes. Thank you for filling me in. No idea why they struggled with the break so much 1-2 years ago.

AtLarge · Nov 29, 2019

Regarding Fouls:

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

Van Boening -- 2 + 4 + 0 + 0 = 6
Woodward -- 0 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
Bergman -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 1 = 2
Thorpe -- 2 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 4
Styer -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 1
Team USA Total -- 4 + 7 + 2 + 3 = 16

Feijen -- 1 + 2 + 0 + 0 = 3
Shaw -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 1 = 2
Filler -- 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 1
Kaçi -- 1 + 2 + 0 + 0 = 3
Kazakis -- 1 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 2
Team Europe Total -- 3 + 6 + 0 + 2 = 11

USA + Europe Total -- 7 + 13 + 2 + 5 = 27

The "Other Fouls" category includes:

- scratching while making a ball (1 each by Bergman, Shaw, and Kazakis)
- scratching on a missed shot (1 by Woodward)
- scratching on a safety (1 by Thorpe)

The opponent's side ran out the game on the next inning for 11 of Team USA's 16 fouls (69%) and for 8 of Team Europe's 11 fouls (73%).

Foul Rates

• Team USA's 16 fouls occurred in the 118 games in which they went to the table (131 total games less EUR's 13 B&R's), for a rate of 1 foul for every 7.4 games at the table. This rate is midway between those for 2018 (1 per 9.2 games at the table) and 2017 (1 per 5.6 games at the table).

• Team Europe's 11 fouls occurred in the 113 games in which they went to the table, for a rate of 1 foul for every 10.3 games at the table. This rate was better than those for 2018 (1 per 7.8 games at the table) and 2017 (1 per 5.4 games at the table).

AtLarge · Nov 29, 2019

Regarding Missed Shots:

Team USA -- Missed shots averaged about 1 for every 2.8 games in which they went to the table. This is between the rates for 2018 (1 per 5.2 games at the table) and 2017 (1 per 2.0 games at the table).

Team Europe -- About 1 for every 3.5 games at the table this year, 5.9 in 2018, 3.1 in 2017.

gxman · Nov 29, 2019

How many missed shots did Filler had thru the 4 days if
you have that info or can guess at it¿

Any at all in the two matches vs Shane¿

Any vs Sky?

I watched it, but hard to recall now.

AtLarge · Nov 29, 2019

gxman said:
How many missed shots did Filler had thru the 4 days if
you have that info or can guess at it¿

Any at all in the two matches vs Shane¿

Any vs Sky?

I watched it, but hard to recall now.

There is a bit of subjectivity in counting missed shots. On a 2-way shot, was the primary objective to pocket the ball or to get safe? On a jump shot or kick shot, was the primary objective to pocket the ball, or to play safe, or to hit and hope?

I counted 3 of Filler's shots as misses:

• Match 11 (Filler/Kaçi vs. SVB/Wodward), Game 6. Filler played a 2-way cross-side bank on the 1-ball. He missed the bank but left the 7-ball between the cb and 1-ball. SVB jumped and made the 1-ball.

• Match 14 with SVB, Game 3. Filler made a ball on the break. He then made a cross-corner bank on the 1-ball but hooked himself for the 2-ball. He jumped to make the 2-ball but missed; SVB made it on his next shot.

• Match 14 with SVB, Game 4. After some safety play, Filler ran the 1, 2, and 3 but hooked himself for the 4-ball. He jumped to make the straight-in 4-ball and missed; SVB made it on his next shot.

Note: Another shot was questionable, but I counted it as a safe. In Match 7 (Filler/Shaw vs. SVB/Bergman), Game 3, Shaw made a ball on the break, but the 1-ball was near the far corner pocket in front of the 4-ball, and Filler was jacked up over the 9-ball to shoot. It's possible that he intended a very difficult cut on the 1-ball past the 4-ball or a combo on the 4-ball. But based on what I could hear of Filler's discussion with Shaw, and what it looked like Filler tried to do, I think he tried to get the 1-ball out of there off the 4-ball and leave the cb behind the nearby 2-ball. So I counted it as a safety (a poor one, leaving an easy shot on the 1-ball for SVB).

BRussell · Nov 29, 2019

No “golden breaks” from 131 breaks.

buckshotshoey · Nov 29, 2019

AtLarge said:
There is a bit of subjectivity in counting missed shots. On a 2-way shot, was the primary objective to pocket the ball or to get safe? On a jump shot, was the primary objective to pocket the ball or to play safe or to hit and hope?

I counted 3 of Filler's shots as misses:

• Match 11 (Filler/Kaçi vs. SVB/Wodward), Game 6. Filler played a 2-way cross-side bank on the 1-ball. He missed the bank but left the 7-ball between the cb and 1-ball. SVB jumped and made the 1-ball.

• Match 14 with SVB, Game 3. Filler made a ball on the break. He then made a cross-corner bank on the 1-ball but hooked himself for the 2-ball. He jumped to make the 2-ball but missed; SVB made it on his next shot.

• Match 14 with SVB, Game 4. Afte some safety play, Filler ran the 1, 2, and 3 but hooked himself for the 4-ball. He jumped to make the straight-in 4-ball and missed; SVB made it on his next shot.

Note: Another shot was questionable, but I counted it as a safe. In Match 7 (Filler/Shaw vs. SVB/Bergman), Game 3, Shaw made a ball on the break, but the 1-ball was near the far corner pocket in front of the 4-ball, and Filler was jacked up over the 9-ball to shoot. It's possible that he intended a very difficult cut on the 1-ball past the 4-ball or a combo on the 4-ball. But based on what I could hear of Filler's discussion with Shaw, and what it looked like Filler tried to do, I think he tried to get the 1-ball out of there off the 4-ball and leave the cb behind the nearby 2-ball. So I counted it as a safety (a poor one, leaving an easy shot on the 1-ball for SVB).

I would have to watch again, but I though Filler had at least two misses in the final match....one of those was in the final game.

AtLarge · Nov 29, 2019

buckshotshoey said:
I would have to watch again, but I though Filler had at least two misses in the final match....one of those was in the final game.

I know what shot you are talking about in the final game -- his shot on the 4-ball after Skyler's safety. But I'm pretty sure that was a horribly failed safety, not an attempt to cut in the 4-ball. I think he was trying to hit the rail first but swerved into the 4-ball first instead.

Perhaps the other shot you are thinking of in the final match was in Game 6. After Joshua's dry break, Skyler ran to a difficult 6/8 combo and missed. Joshua cut the 6-ball into a corner pocket and tried to hold the cb for an easy 7-ball in the side. Surprisingly, he overran position and wound up hooked by the 9-ball. He kicked 1-rail and hit the 7, but did not make it. That shot could well be counted as a miss.

Edit -- After thinking some more about that Game 6 kick on the 7 ball, I do think it should be counted as a missed shot.

AtLarge · Nov 29, 2019

BRussell said:
No “golden breaks” from 131 breaks.

Right! And, since they were using a triangle rack rather than a template, rather surprising.

7forlife · Nov 30, 2019

I was looking forward to this mostly for the lag stats, I feel we won the lag in the 90% range. Didn't notice that in the breakdown, did I miss it?

AtLarge · Nov 30, 2019

7forlife said:
I was looking forward to this mostly for the lag stats, I feel we won the lag in the 90% range. Didn't notice that in the breakdown, did I miss it?

Post #3 -- USA won 11 lags, Europe won 8.

So USA won 58% of the lags. But they won 7 of the first 9, so maybe that's what gave you the feeling that the percentage was higher.

AtLarge · Nov 30, 2019

Miscellany from the data for the 2019 Mosconi Cup

• The most balls made on a single break was 3, and that happened just 3 times -- once each by Thorpe, Van Boening, and Kazakis.

• 46% (60 of 131) of the games ended in one inning -- 24% (31) won by the breaking side (B&R) and 22% (29) won by the non-breaking side.

• The losing side won an average of 1.7 games in the 11 singles matches and 2.3 games in the 7 doubles matches.

• The longest match in elapsed time, at 64 minutes, was Woodward/Styer d. Kaçi/Kazakis 5-4. The shortest match in elapsed time, at 24 minutes, was Filler d. Thorpe 5-0. The elapsed time was measured from the lag until the winning ball was made, so it includes time for racking, timeouts, and commercial breaks (which averaged 1 per match at about 3 minutes each).

• The average elapsed time was 42 minutes per match.

• The average minutes per game was 6.1, or an estimated 5.7 not counting commercial breaks.

• Breaking fouls averaged 1 for every 18.7 games, other fouls 1 for every 6.6 games, and missed shots about 1 for every 1.8 games.

• About 43% of the games involved one or more safeties.

AtLarge · Nov 30, 2019

Thank you, Matchroom, for significantly reducing the number of commercial breaks.

Break Stats -- 2019 Mosconi Cup, November 2019

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

Tin Man

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

Tin Man

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

gxman

AzB Silver Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

BRussell

AzB Silver Member

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

7forlife

AzB Silver Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member