My Day Four Recap

Well, this is it, D-Day! The day of reckoning. It's come down to mano a mano for all the marbles and bragging rights for the next year.

The draw seems to favor Europe, but it can only be decided out on the table, so here we go.

Billy Thorpe draws Jayson Shaw first and has to be the underdog. This will turn out to be a pivotal match in deciding the Cup.

Shaw has the first chance in game one, a relatively straightforward combination from the one to the nine. The balls are fairly close together in a near straight line and not far from the corner pocket. Jayson flubs the shot badly. An inning later Billy gets a shot on the one, which he makes. Then he can only bank the three ball, but that's not problem for the good banker that Billy is. That clears thing for a run out which a totally focused Thorpe completes without error. It's 1-0 USA.

Billy breaks empty and Shaw decides to lock him up with a safe. He does so but in the process the five falls. Jayson must shoot from here and he fouls. With BIH Billy runs the second rack. It's 2-0 USA

Jayson fights back with a nice break and run. He makes it look so easy. 2-1 now.

Billy breaks empty and Jayson punishes him again, with a perfectly executed run out. No wasted motion when Jay is at the table. 2-2.

Shaw makes two balls on the break and comes up with another little combination from the three to the four. Miss again. Thorpe fires in a superb cut shot down the rail on the three and he's off and running. He completes the rack. 3-2 USA, back in the lead.

Billy makes a ball on the break and tries a difficult rail first shot on the one. He grazes the one and it doesn't fall in. Referee Ken Shuman picks up the cue ball, thinking that he fouled. Oops! There was no foul and even Jayson said there wasn't a foul. They do a video replay and it's pretty obvious the one moved first. Just like at a basketball or baseball game they look at it several times, but the hit does not change :wink:, thank God. Finally they use the screen shot to replace the cue ball. All is well again. Jayson runs another rack to conclude that little fiasco. It's 3-3.

This game features a long series of safeties and jump shots that are well executed by both players. As in so many games the key to the rack lies with making the first ball and getting position on the second ball. Shaw gets that first shot but hangs the three ball a moment later on a shot he pounded too hard into the far corner pocket. Thorpe runs out from here. He's on the hill 4-3.

Billy breaks and makes a ball and has a shot on the one. What follows is the first pressure packed run out of day four. USA's most animated player is completely focused on the task at hand and doesn't acknowledge the crowd exhorting him or anything else for that matter, except the next ball. He makes them one by one, each shot with the fate of the MC confronting him. Only when he reaches a very make able nine ball does he allow himself to soak it all in. He shoots the nine in and releases all that energy in a huge yell. Billy Thorpe has defeated a giant and Team USA has a 9-7 lead in the race for the Cup.

(Part One)

Now we have Tyler Styer versus Eklent Kaci who also has to be the favorite on paper. This time the paper is correct as Tyler fails to put up much opposition, missing several shots and handing games to Kaci in the process. The only game Tyler wins is when Kaci misses the nine. It's a blow out 5-1 and now Team USA's lead has shrunk to 9-8.

This time USA is the paper favorite as Shane goes up against Kazakis who has had a lackluster MC so far. Shane break and runs the first rack for a 1-0 lead.

In rack two Shane comes to the table facing a tricky layout and finds an answer to the puzzle. He runs the second rack for a 2-0 lead. All good so far.

This game has it's share of errors by both players. Shane misses a long combination on the nine and Alex returns the favor by missing an easy three ball. Inexplicably Shane misses the same ball, allowing Alex to run out and get on the board, down 2-1.

Kazakis plays a safe after his break and Shane goes for a jump shot. He hits the ball but leaves an open shot. Alex capitalizes and runs out the rack. It's tied, 2-2.

After Shane's break, Kazakis gets the first crack at the rack and proceeds to scratch on the four ball. BIH to Shane and he makes quick work of the remaining balls. 3-2 USA

Kazakis breaks empty and Shane has a shot. He makes a nice table clearance here to go up 4-2.

Shane breaks for the match and a ball goes down. The rack is there for him but he decides to play shape on the three which only has half a pocket. He hits it good but the ball touches the inside rail and hangs. These are unforgiving pockets! Alex runs out from here. It's 4-3 and nervous time for the US team. They know they need this match because Killer Filler is on deck for Europe.

Kazakis scratches on the break and Shane makes a gutsy run out. You can tell he's feeling the heat as he works from ball to ball, but to his credit he holds it together to get the much needed victory. Team USA now leads 10-8 in this Race to Eleven.

(Part Two)

Skyler against Filler. Paper here goes to Filler but Skyler has matured as a man and player, and backs down from no one. He is firing away from the get go in this match, matching Filler shot for shot.

Skyler breaks first and must play a safe after breaking. Filler sees a small opening to make the one and that's enough. He's all business at the table with little hesitation between shots. See it, make it, could be his signature line. It's a very pure run out to take game one. 1-0 Europe.

More safeties after the break in game two, culminating in Filler's successful three rail kick to hit the one. But he leaves Sky an open shot. He matches Filler with a nifty run out of his own. 1-1.

Skyler makes a ball on the break and has a shot on the one. He runs out a very difficult rack showing strength in doing so. He leads 2-1.

Filler answers with one of his patented break and runs, where he stays perfectly in line all the way. This guy is some kind of pool player! 2-2 now.

Skyler breaks with a ball down. He's faced with a long hard shot down the rail on the one and he bangs it right in with authority. He's not wilting here. Sky runs out from here to lead 3-2.

Sky has a chance in the next rack as well but misses a combo with the six ball. Filler looks good to get out but makes a critical error when he lets the cue ball stray behind the nine. He makes a good kick and only leaves Skyler a long one rail bank. We all know how good Skyler banks and he fires away, but it's not to be this time. Filler gets out from there and it's 3-3.

Skyler makes a ball on his break and has a shot. He shoots a wild draw shot on the three and it works out well. He follows this with a good four-five combo. Somehow he completes this very difficult run out to grab the lead back at 4-3.

Filler is back to work in the next game and looks to be well on his way to making it hill-hill when he misses the four ball and almost makes the nine in the side! The four is hanging in the corner for Sky. If he can draw back off the ball and get lined up for the five he will have a very make able combination on the nine. He hits the four perfectly and the cue ball slowly eases into position. Skyler exalts in his success and the crowd erupts in response. Skyler downs the combo and the Mosconi Cup belongs to Team USA again, by an 11-8 score.

The players engulf Skyler and Filler sit dejectedly in his chair while he is consoled by his team mates. This has been a MC for the ages and portends well for the future. USA has found a way to field competitive teams once more and that's a good thing for this wonderful event.

Hats off to Matchroom for staging one of, if not the greatest, event in the entire Pool world, and letting the world see what a truly great game this is!

One last remark. I realized this week that playing a Race to Five is no different than a Race to Eleven that is tied at 6-6. That is when the pressure is on and we get to see who handles it best and who can't. With all the complaints about the short races and the game of 9-Ball, I will only add that most games had a lot of play to them, going several innings to decide the outcome. It was not all break and runs, although these guys are all great players and when they got an open rack they usually took advantage of it. But not always!

benjaminwah said:

And I think a pivotal moment in that last match was when it was 3/3 between racks Jayson gets in Fillers face and lectures him, you can see Fillers face/reaction. I think that shook him more than Sky’s playing.

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I noticed that too. Joshua didn't seem too happy about it either, responding like he was visibly upset. Why in the world Jayson would get in his face like that I have no idea. It couldn't have helped him.

AtLarge said:

No, Filler did miss a few shots (none in his first two singles matches). But his last shot of the event was a failed safety, not a missed shot. He was trying to kick behind the 4-ball and send it away from the foot rail. But, with the low left english he put on it, the cue ball swerved more than planned and it hit the 4-ball first, not the rail. That gave Skyler two easy shots for the Cup victory.

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I agree. It was a failed safety, not a missed ball. At that moment I didn't have a good look at the big screen as someone was standing in the aisle next to my end seat. I saw only the end of the shot when balls were rolling everywhere. It was definitely a shot gone wrong. He almost lucked in the nine on the shot. That could have changed the entire outcome of the MC.