My Day One Recap

Here's my perspective on things from inside the ropes. First thing is they moved the MC to a new and larger venue at Mandalay Bay to accommodate the larger crowds, maybe 200 more seats than two years ago. And it's still jam packed, all the way up to the cheap seats in the rafters where the press sits. :wink:

If anything the crowd is even more raucous this year than I've seen them before.. Referee's Ken Shuman and John Leyman have their hands full keeping them in check. They appear to give the fans a little more leeway to express themselves and you hear an isolated yell or two even after players are down on the ball to shoot. It's rarely quiet at any time and the players (for both sides) do not appear fazed by it. It goes with the territory at the MC, the crowd is in near hysterics all day. There is NO atmosphere in professional pool quite like this. In fact nothing else is close. And it helps to make the MC the spectacle that it is.

(Part One -to be continued momentarily)

There is palpable tension between the teams this year. I don't see any friendly banter back and forth. They are both out for blood and even the handshakes are kind of an afterthought. Team Europe is clearly out for revenge for the whipping they endured last year on their home turf and they want badly to return the favor.

As in all years they start with the team game. Niels opens for Europe with a break and run and Shane responds in kind. I'ts 1-1. Filler breaks and has to push out. Skylar finds a shot and runs out. 2-1 USA, Justin breaks and a safety battle ensues that he ultimately wins. Now it's 3-1 USA. Justin is playing at a noticeably faster pace than he had in the past. He's not wearing down that clock and that's a good thing.

Another long game with a lot of back and forth, but Thorpe prevails for a 4-1 lead. He doesn't look too comfortable yet, still getting his sea legs under him. Tyler misses a very make able two ball but gets another chance and closes out the first match 5-1! An easy win for Team USA, which is very rare for the team match, which is normally close. USA leads the MC 1-0!

(Part Two)

Next up is doubles with Shane and Tyler versus Niels and Kaci. In game one Tyler opens with a nice shot on the one and USA completes for a 1-0 lead. Europe responds with a break and run. It's 1-1. USA returns the favor with their own break and run. 2-1 now. Niels scratches on the break but Tyler makes a bad shot and gives the table back. After some back and forth play, Tyler now has a jump shot that he scratches on with only three balls left. Europe wipes up the debris and it's 2-2. Next game Tyler misses an easy four ball and it feels like a turning point in the match. Europe wins this game for a 3-2 lead. The Rasson tables are triple tough! 4.25" corners with deep shelves. Players are going to miss balls here and they do, with increasing frequency as the day wears on.

Crises averted as Niels misses the one ball and USA makes a nice run out to tie it up 3-3. They follow with a break and run to take the lead 4-3. Niels converts a simple two-nine combo to tie the match at 4-4. Once again Niels misses on the one ball and USA makes a terrific run out under pressure to win the match 5-4. USA leads the MC 2-0. Things are looking good for the home team.

(Part Three)

First singles match is Thorp vs. Filler. Not much to say here, other than we witness a rare blow out in the MC. Filler plays a perfect match with no misses and no errors, while Thorp fails to pocket even one ball! The only balls he makes are in the final game on the break. Filler coasts 5-0. USA leads the MC 2-1 now.

More doubles, Bergman and Skylar (a great team on paper) against Shaw and Kazakis. More bad news for Team USA as Europe coasts home in this match 5-1. USA wins only the second game after a bad safe by Kazakis. From there it was all Europe. Just like that we are tied 2-2 in the overall march to the Cup.

The critical final match pits Bergman against Shaw. Game one Bergman scratches and Shaw runs out. 1-0. Game two Shaw misses a bank cross side on the two ball and lucks in the three. He gets out from there and it's 2-0. Good old "lucky" 9-Ball! Game three and a Bergman miss gives the game to Shaw. It's 3-0. Game four, more of the same. A Bergman miss and Shaw run out. It's 4-0. Looks like curtains for Justin. He shows signs of life with a break and run. Now down 4-1. Shaw misses the two ball and Berg runs out. 4-2 now. Bergman makes another break and run. It's 4-3 and he's back in it. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever come back from 4-0 to win a match in the MC. I don't remember one anyway. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

No matter. Shaw makes a sweet break, making the wing ball and all the balls are in the open. He shows his champion's heart and dusts off that rack like it's no big deal. He wins 5-3, and Team Europe will sleep good on a 3-2 lead!

Final thoughts are that Europe has the momentum now and the only player who looked solid for USA was Shane, who did not play singles on day one. Players on both teams made mistakes and missed balls, except for the aforementioned Captain America (Shane) and Mr. Invincible (Filler). Somehow I think it will be the overall performance of these two that ultimately decides this Cup. Stay tuned. It's going to be good!

Cardigan Kid said:

Jay, since you are there...is that also a new arrangement in the seating of the team and coaches? It appears they are seated behind the cameras whereas in years past they are scattered about in the stands behind the players that were playing.

I noticed Filler talking to his bench and it appears like the teams are out there except for the players warming up for the next match.

We can't really see any of them on the broadcast.

Click to expand...

The answer is yes. Each team had a designated "bench" inside the playing arena where they could sit in support of their team mates during the match. It was located near the entrance to the arena, out of camera view for the most part, unless they specifically focused on this bench to show the sitting players and coaches.

I'm fairly certain they did this so they could sell the premium seats they had used previously. Seats like these in the arena are highly valued. Kapeche?

One thing I found most baffling was the choice of balls being used in this worldwide telecast. Specifically I'm referring to their colors. Unless you were in close proximity to the tables it is virtually impossible to discern certain balls unless the camera zooms in tight. The two and five ball as well as three and four are problematic.

I fully understand the value of product placement on a show like this, but fail to comprehend anything that jeopardizes the overall value of the production. Even the live viewing audience struggled to see the layout of the balls after the break. You had to be in the front rows to be able to discern all the balls. Even with giant viewing screens it was nearly impossible to be certain of which balls were which.

I suspect the television audience had the same problem while watching at home, unless you had some super high definition screen. The argument for these balls was that you would get used to them. I never did and neither did anyone else I talked to, including some of the commentators. Hopefully this will be fixed in the future.

One other minor detail I will note is the only food option in the arena area is a small snack bar that served cold sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers. I was hungry mid day and opted for what turned out to be a mediocre burger and a bottle of water. I hadn't bothered to check the prices first and was stunned when the cashier said that will be $21.50! Gulp. I allowed myself to be gouged at the Mandalay Bay. The value of this "meal" was barely comparable to a McDonalds quarter pounder and drink, which can be had outside for $7.50. And you get fries with that!

The only other choice is to leave the arena and walk a distance to the also pricey food court outside. I won't be visiting the snack bar again thank you. Once fooled, twice shy.