2020 Mosconi Cup

BeiberLvr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it happening?

I keep seeing posts on FB about players getting selected, but I know a lot of major events/tours have been cancelled due to COVID.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Props to Matchroom for making this as clear as they possibly can. In every press release in which the selection of a player is announced, the following paragraph appears:

Matchroom Pool are still hopeful and determined that the partypoker Mosconi Cup will take place this year and are in constant detailed discussions with the relevant organisations and personnel to stay up to date. Our highest priority is the safety of everyone connected with the event however we are working hard to explore every avenue to making this work and will continue to do so, if it is possible.

They are hopeful, but far from certain that the event will take place. No doubt, the final decision, once made, will be announced.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This event HAS to have a full house crowd of screaming pool junkies. Anything less will not work. I seriously doubt they play this year.
 

MattPoland

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Having it without a crowd sounds like it’s an option for them. They mention the possibility of it in just about every interview.


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sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Having it without a crowd sounds like it’s an option for them. They mention the possibility of it in just about every interview.


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I'm guessing that's where it's headed.

It's quite possible they can make financial ends meet (and I suspect they'd be satisfied to break even just to maintain continuity) with stream revenue alone, and cancellation would complicate matters as far as alternating the event annually between Europe and America.

On the bright side, the European travel ban imposed on Americans doesn't apply to England, but there is the matter of mandatory quarantine. Team USA members would have to quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival, so if they'll need a few days to practice, they'll have to arrive several weeks in advance of the event date.

In the event of cancellation, will the 2021 event be in London? Is Alexandra Palace already booked solid for next December? There are major logistical issues that arise in the event of cancellation that I'm sure Matchroom can do without.

All that said, without a crowd, the event would be no more than an ad hoc exhibition, as a) the teams will not consist of players who have excelled in the period leading up to the event, b) the raucous, flag waving, patriotism will be absent, and c) the event won't have the usual buzz surrounding it.

To me, calling it the Mosconi Cup doesn't make it the Mosconi Cup. Anecdotally, US President Abraham Lincoln once offered this riddle to his party guest: "if a dog's tail were called a leg, how many legs would a dog have?" When his guest answered "five," he explained "no, it's four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." Calling this the Mosconi might be equally inaccurate.

... that doesn't mean the event wouldn't be somewhat intriguing, and I'd be glad to see the top players getting a good payday in a year that has offered them such poor earnings prospects.
 

azhousepro

Administrator
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
I did an interview with Emily late last week and this was one of the things we talked about. The interview will be an American Billiard Radio podcast later today.

Mike
 

8cree

Reverse Engineer
Silver Member
I did an interview with Emily late last week and this was one of the things we talked about. The interview will be an American Billiard Radio podcast later today.



Mike
How about for us who don't podcast?
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This event HAS to have a full house crowd of screaming pool junkies. Anything less will not work. I seriously doubt they play this year.


Agreed.

The MC is a circus. Gotta have the clowns or it’s no good.

Lou Figueroa
 

MattPoland

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would rather have the event with fans than without fans.

I would rather have it without fans than not have it at all for a full year.


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pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
For what it's worth, in a press conference held earlier today, President Trum announce a vaccine should be available in October,,,but with a priority list that has medical personnel and first responders atop the list.

Might be a while before the young and healthy Mosconi cup players are lined up.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
The two core sections of the Emily Frazer interview podcast were a consideration of Matchroom's view of pool's future and a sizing up of what to expect of the 2020 Mosconi. Emily, whom I first met at the 2018 Mosconi, and caught up with again at both the 2019 Derby City Classic and the 2019 US Open 9-ball, is somebody I deeply respect and this podcast should give those who haven't seen this vivacious and tenacious lady at work a deeper understanding and appreciation of her.

Matchroom's View of Pool's Future
As far as Matchroom's view, there wasn't much new here. Their vision, which can be summed up as some international standardization and integration of world pool, was made clear when they acquired the US Open and again when they acquired the World 9-ball Championship.

Emily reflected that control of their three longtime core events, a) Mosconi Cup, b) World Pool Masters, and c) World Cup of Pool, didn't truly give them the reins in setting the direction for the continued evolution of world pool, but that the acquisition of the US Open and the World 9-ball Championship, in their view, has changed this. Of course, this was something most of us who keep abreast of the international pool scene already knew and understood.

There was, however, one very refreshing piece of news and that was that Matchroom is committed to cleaning up the selection process for its three invitational events, with Emily admitting that favoritism had, far too often, trumped objectivity in the past, and that the result has been fields that were not as good as they might have been. She wants the best possible fields, and concedes that changes are needed if she is to get them. That's good news for certain!

The 2020 Mosconi
From Emily's words, one must presume that, unless Matchroom's hand is forced by the British government, cancellation of the 2020 Mosconi is not even viewed as an option, and that the only open major question is whether there will be fans present.

Emily suggested that some of the noisy, patriotic buzz that defines the event can be reproduced even in the absence of fans. She made it clear that she doesn't know at this point whether fans will be permitted and said she will not make an announcement until she knows for sure. Emily is doing everything she can to get clearance for having at least some fans, but offered no guidance as to how those with tickets who are ultimately denied entry will be dealt with.

All in all, a solid podcast. Great job by Mike Howerton letting Emily speak her mind and for keeping the dialogue on point.
 

MattPoland

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great summary.

I was excited to see Emily acknowledge the lack of a formal US tour and her desire to see Matchroom play a role in that. It doesn’t sound like they are waving a magic wand anytime soon but it appears they are taking steps that can potentially build in that direction. Even if for right now that means helping our athletes professionalize their personal branding so they can be poster children to attract outside sponsorship.


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ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What do you guys think about the last picks?


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Looks like team Europe is serious this year about not dropping the ball on their player selections. In 2018 they failed to include Filler and last year failed to include Ouschan - both proved to be costly mistakes.

The first 4 picks for each team appear to be no-brainers, but the final pick for each team will be a bit harder to make. Will Styer, who has been a part of the past two US winning teams despite having a losing record be picked again, or could it possibly be someone else?

The Euro team's final selection will be even tougher to make. One could make an argument for a number of players being deserving of that pick, and I don't follow their results close enough to make a guess. Will it be a proven veteran player like Feijen or might they choose another younger player such as Kaci, Chinakhov or Sanchez-Ruiz?

At any rate, with fans or not, I hope they go through with holding the event. Without fans, it will obviously be up to the team members to provide far more vocal encouragement to the currently played match participants.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm guessing that's where it's headed.

It's quite possible they can make financial ends meet (and I suspect they'd be satisfied to break even just to maintain continuity) with stream revenue alone, and cancellation would complicate matters as far as alternating the event annually between Europe and America.

On the bright side, the European travel ban imposed on Americans doesn't apply to England, but there is the matter of mandatory quarantine. Team USA members would have to quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival, so if they'll need a few days to practice, they'll have to arrive several weeks in advance of the event date.

In the event of cancellation, will the 2021 event be in London? Is Alexandra Palace already booked solid for next December? There are major logistical issues that arise in the event of cancellation that I'm sure Matchroom can do without.

All that said, without a crowd, the event would be no more than an ad hoc exhibition, as a) the teams will not consist of players who have excelled in the period leading up to the event, b) the raucous, flag waving, patriotism will be absent, and c) the event won't have the usual buzz surrounding it.

To me, calling it the Mosconi Cup doesn't make it the Mosconi Cup. Anecdotally, US President Abraham Lincoln once offered this riddle to his party guest: "if a dog's tail were called a leg, how many legs would a dog have?" When his guest answered "five," he explained "no, it's four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." Calling this the Mosconi might be equally inaccurate.

... that doesn't mean the event wouldn't be somewhat intriguing, and I'd be glad to see the top players getting a good payday in a year that has offered them such poor earnings prospects.

A dog would still have four legs and the MC would still be the MC with or without an audience present! I watched the recent U.S. Open Tennis Championships on TV the last two weeks and the level of competition was the highest you'll ever see on a tennis court. I saw many great matches and Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka are very deserving champions. There may not have been more than a handful of people present during the matches, but the television ratings were among the highest ever for a tennis tournament, with millions watching every day in all corners of the globe and at all hours of the day and night. To imply there was no audience would be absolutely false.

I suspect the same would be true for a MC with no audience in house. The TV audience (on SkySports) would probably be bigger than ever, with the streaming just a bonus. The numbers who would watch this event could well produce all time highs for a Pool event.

As far as practice time goes, I'm certain that the players could have a practice facility available wherever they are quarantined. In fact they could be quarantined in the same location, or next door to where the MC will be held, similar to what we saw at the U.S. Open tennis and currently see with the NBA basketball playoffs.

It has been argued in the past that the MC is merely a glorified exhibition, but I also disagree with that assessment both then and now. Of all the Pool events that I've been associated with, the MC is by far the most exciting one there is in our sport, and the level of competition equally exceptional. To call it an exhibition is to do injustice to a great pool competition. Only the very best players from the USA and Europe are qualified to participate in the MC. So to imply that we will not be seeing the best players is another misnomer. With almost zero events to chose from, who is to say that the same team that has successfully defended the Cup the last two years is not made up of our best players. Once again, Europe will have a wealth of talent to chose from and so far their team looks awfully strong to me. I only wish I was going to witness this great event. I'd brush the table and clean the balls if it got me there!
 
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MattPoland

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Looks like team Europe is serious this year about not dropping the ball on their player selections. In 2018 they failed to include Filler and last year failed to include Ouschan - both proved to be costly mistakes.

The first 4 picks for each team appear to be no-brainers, but the final pick for each team will be a bit harder to make. Will Styer, who has been a part of the past two US winning teams despite having a losing record be picked again, or could it possibly be someone else?

The Euro team's final selection will be even tougher to make. One could make an argument for a number of players being deserving of that pick, and I don't follow their results close enough to make a guess. Will it be a proven veteran player like Feijen or might they choose another younger player such as Kaci, Chinakhov or Sanchez-Ruiz?

At any rate, with fans or not, I hope they go through with holding the event. Without fans, it will obviously be up to the team members to provide far more vocal encouragement to the currently played match participants.


I think this years format benefits Europe. They have some talent capable of racking up points but less capable of shining under the pressure of the lights and shot clock. But they don’t have to be forced on the team. Kaci is a good idea to keep building him up but he seems to struggle under the lights. Lechner would be a fun try. But I think someone like Alcaide would be a winning pick.

For US, I think we have a solid 4 players. I don’t love my options after that. I haven’t kept up with who JJ has been working with. Styer is not a safe bet to me. The players I’d feel better with (Corey, Oscar, etc) are getting dusty. I just wish there was one more stand-out player. As I look at FatgoRate, it doesn’t seem indicative of who I’d want there.


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sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
A dog would still have four legs and the MC would still be the MC with or without an audience present! I watched the recent U.S. Open Tennis Championships on TV the last two weeks and the level of competition was the highest you'll ever see on a tennis court. I saw many great matches and Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka are very deserving champions. There may not have been more than a handful of people present during the matches, but the television ratings were among the highest ever for a tennis tournament, with millions watching every day in all corners of the globe and at all hours of the day and night. To imply there was no audience would be absolutely false.

I suspect the same would be true for a MC with no audience in house. The TV audience (on SkySports) would probably be bigger than ever, with the streaming just a bonus. The numbers who would watch this event could well produce all time highs for a Pool event.

As far as practice time goes, I'm certain that the players could have a practice facility available wherever they are quarantined. In fact they could be quarantined in the same location, or next door to where the MC will be held, similar to what we saw at the U.S. Open tennis and currently see with the NBA basketball playoffs.

It has been argued in the past that the MC is merely a glorified exhibition, but I also disagree with that assessment both then and now. Of all the Pool events that I've been associated with, the MC is by far the most exciting one there is in our sport, and the level of competition equally exceptional. To call it an exhibition is to do injustice to a great pool competition. Only the very best players from the USA and Europe are qualified to participate in the MC. So to imply that we will not be seeing the best players is another misnomer. With almost zero events to chose from, who is to say that the same team that has successfully defended the Cup the last two years is not made up of our best players. Once again, Europe will have a wealth of talent to chose from and so far their team looks awfully strong to me. I only wish I was going to witness this great event. I'd brush the table and clean the balls if it got me there!

We'll have to agree to disagree.

The Mosconi Cup is a meritocracy, until now. The only way you make your team is through playing excellence in the months leading up to the event, until now. This ensures in-form players, which thereby ensures strong play in the event, until now. The Mosconi Cup is a raucous expression of pool nationalism and patriotism, until now. The absence of a crowd compromises this.

I didn't say it won't be worth watching, but it's not the event we know and love. It is, instead, an impromptu exhibition of arbitrarily selected players that have barely played pool this year and, it can be argued, haven't earned their places on the team.
 
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