Break Stats -- 2021 Mosconi Cup, December 2021

AtLarge

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Here are some break results for the 2021 Mosconi Cup played this week (Dec. 7 - Dec. 10) 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), up to 7 doubles matches (all 7 were played), and up to 13 singles matches (9 were played). Team Europe won the Cup 11-6, with the match scores on the 4 days (Team Europe first) being 2-2, 2-3, 5-0, and and 2-1.

The players for Team USA were Shane Van Boening, Skyler Woodward, Tyler Styer, Chris Reinhold, and Jeremy Jones. The players for Team Europe were Jayson Shaw, Albin Ouschan, Joshua Filler, Klenti Kaçi, and David Alcaide. The Team Captains were Jeremy Jones (USA) and Alex Lely (EUR). The Vice Captains were Shane Van Boening (USA) and Karl Boyes (EUR). Jones became the Playing Captain for Team USA when Earl Strickland was not allowed to participate because of Covid regulations. The commentators (2 per match) were Phil Yates, Michael McMullan, Niels Feijen, and Kelly Fisher.

The conditions for this event included the following:
- Rasson OX 9-foot table with 4" corner pockets;​
- gray Simonis cloth;​
- Aramith Tournament Black balls with a black 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 in each match; and​
- all slop counts.​

The 17 matches were as follows, in the order they were played. Match winners are bolded; event scores after each match are in brackets.

Tues. Dec. 7, 2021
1. Teams -- USA ... 5-2 ... Europe [1-0]​
2. Doubles -- Styer/Reinhold ... 5-4 ... Ouschan/Kaçi [2-0]​
3. Singles -- Van Boening ... 2-5 ... Filler [2-1]​
4. Doubles -- Woodward/Jones ... 0-5 ... Shaw/Alcaide [2-2]​

Wed. Dec. 8
5. Singles -- Van Boening ... 3-5 ... Shaw [2-3]​
6. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-3 ... Ouschan [3-3]​
7. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 5-4 ... Shaw/Ouschan [4-3]​
8. Singles -- Styer ... 5-3 ... Filler [5-3]​
9. Doubles -- Reinhold/Jones ... 4-5 ... Kaçi/Alcaide [5-4]​

Thurs. Dec. 9
10. Singles -- Reinhold ... 2-5 ... Shaw [5-5]​
11. Doubles -- Woodward/Styer ... 2-5 ... Shaw/Filler [5-6]​
12. Singles -- Van Boening ... 3-5 ... Kaçi [5-7]​
13. Doubles -- Van Boening/Styer ... 1-5 ... Ouschan/Alcaide [5-8]​
14. Singles -- Jones ... 4-5 ... Alcaide [5-9]​

Fri. Dec. 10
15. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 4-5 ... Shaw/Filler [5-10]​
16. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-2 ... Shaw [6-10]​
17. Singles -- Van Boening ... 4-5 ... Filler [6-11]​

The successful-break rates (made at least one ball and did not foul) were 88% for Team USA (56 of 64) and 85% (58 of 68) for Team Europe.

Team USA won the game on 56% (36 of 64) of their own breaks, whereas Team Europe won on 66% (45 of 68) of their breaks. Some details:

Team USA broke 64 times, with the following results:
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 32 (50%)​
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 24 (38%)​
Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 4 (6%)​
Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 4 (6%)​

Team Europe broke 68 times, with the following results:
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 42 (62%)​
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 16 (24%)​
Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 3 (4%)​
Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 7 (10%)​

For the two teams combined, the breaker made at least one ball (and did not foul) 86% (114 of 132) of the time; the breaking side won 61% (81 of 132) of the games; and the breaking side won 65% (74 of 114) 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 -- 11 out of 64 (17%)​
Team Europe -- 28 out of 68 (41%)​
Total -- 39 out of 132 (30%)​

Break-and-run on successful breaks:
Team USA -- 11 out of 56 (20%)​
Team Europe -- 28 out of 58 (48%)​
Total -- 29 out of 114 (34%)​
 
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Miscellany from the data for the 2021 Mosconi Cup

• The most balls made on a single break was 5, which happened just once -- by Ouschan. He won that game by B&R.

• 45% (60 of 132) of the games ended in one inning -- 30% (39) won by the breaking side (B&R) and 16% (21) won by the non-breaking side.

• The average match score was 5-2.8, with 6 matches ending at 5-4 and one at 5-0.

• The longest match in elapsed time, at 74 minutes, was Alcaide d. Jones 5-4 on Day 3. The shortest matches in elapsed time, at about 39 minutes, were Filler d. Van Boening 5-2 and Shaw/Alcaide d. Woodward/Jones 5-0 on Day 1. 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 about 1½ per match at about 3 minutes each).

• The average elapsed time was 50 minutes per match.

• The average minutes per game was 6.4, or an estimated 6.0 not counting commercial breaks (but counting a minute for the racking that occurred during the breaks).

• Breaking fouls (which numbered just 2) averaged 1 for every 66 games, other fouls 1 for every 4.4 games, and missed shots about 1 for every 2.0 games.

• About 50% of the games involved one or more safeties.
 
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Here are some 2021 Mosconi Cup break stats for each player. [Caveat: small numbers.]

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

Van Boening -- 21 of 23 (91%)​
Woodward -- 14 of 17 (82%)
Styer -- 8 of 9 (89%)​
Reinhold -- 7 of 8 (88%)​
Jones -- 6 of 7 (86%)​
Team USA Total -- 56 of 64 (88%)​
Shaw -- 19 of 20 (95%)​
Ouschan -- 9 of 10 (90%)​
Filler -- 12 of 17 (71%)​
Kaçi -- 8 of 11 (73%)​
Alcaide -- 10 of 10 (100%)​
Team Europe Total -- 58 of 68 (85%)​
USA + Europe Total -- 114 of 132 (86%)​


Breaker's side won the game:

Van Boening -- 12 of 23 (52%)​
Woodward -- 11 of 17 (65%)
Styer -- 6 of 9 (67%)​
Reinhold -- 3 of 8 (38%)​
Jones -- 4 of 7 (57%)​
Team USA Total -- 36 of 64 (56%)​
Shaw -- 14 of 20 (70%)​
Ouschan -- 8 of 10 (80%)​
Filler -- 10 of 17 (59%)​
Kaçi -- 6 of 11 (55%)​
Alcaide -- 7 of 10 (70%)​
Team Europe Total -- 45 of 68 (66%)​
USA + Europe Total -- 81 of 132 (61%)​


Break-and-run games, on all breaks:

Van Boening -- 8 of 23 (35%)​
Woodward -- 3 of 17 (18%)
Styer -- 0 of 9 (0%)​
Reinhold -- 0 of 8 (0%)​
Jones -- 0 of 7 (0%)​
Team USA Total -- 11 of 64 (17%)​
Shaw -- 9 of 20 (45%)​
Ouschan -- 7 of 10 (70%)​
Filler -- 6 of 17 (35%)​
Kaçi -- 2 of 11 (18%)​
Alcaide -- 4 of 10 (40%)​
Team Europe Total -- 28 of 68 (41%)​
USA + Europe Total -- 39 of 132 (30%)​


Break-and-run games, on successful breaks:

Van Boening -- 8 of 21 (38%)​
Woodward -- 3 of 14 (21%)
Styer -- 0 of 8 (0%)​
Reinhold -- 0 of 7 (0%)​
Jones -- 0 of 6 (0%)​
Team USA Total -- 11 of 56 (20%)​
Shaw -- 9 of 19 (47%)​
Ouschan -- 7 of 9 (78%)​
Filler -- 6 of 12 (50%)​
Kaçi -- 2 of 8 (25%)​
Alcaide -- 4 of 10 (40%)​
Team Europe Total -- 28 of 58 (48%)​
USA + Europe Total -- 39 of 114 (34%)​


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

2021 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-6
• USA won 7 lags, Europe won 10 .​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 11 times (4 by USA, 7 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 12 times (4 by USA, 8 by Europe).​
• In the 5 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag once, and won the match by B&R in the last game. Europe won the lag 4 times (1 match loss, 3 wins), with 2 of those 3 wins by B&R in the last game.​
- The team that won the first game (7 by USA, 10 by Europe) won the match 12 times (4 by USA, 8 by Europe).​

2020 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-3
• USA won 4 lags, Europe won 10 .​
• The team that won the lag won the first game 8 times (2 by USA, 6 by Europe).​
• The team that won the lag won the match 9 times (1 by USA, 8 by Europe).​
• In the 5 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag once (but lost the match) and Europe won the lag 4 times (1 match loss, 3 wins). Two of those 3 wins for Europe were by B&R in the last game.​
- The team that won the first game (6 by USA, 8 by Europe) won the match 7 times (1 by USA, 6 by Europe).​

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 39 matches have gone to a hill/hill game over the past 9 years, and the breaking side (winner of the lag) won 27 (69%) of those games, 14 by B&R.
 
Regarding Balls Made on the Break:

Team USA averaged 1.5 balls per break on all breaks (97 balls on 64 breaks) and 1.7 balls per break on successful breaks (95 balls on 56 breaks).

Team Europe averaged 1.3 balls per break on all breaks (88 balls on 68 breaks) and 1.5 balls per break on successful breaks (87 balls on 58 breaks).

Distribution of balls made on the 132 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 11 times (11 balls pocketed)
- made 1s plus 1 other ball, but not w -- 7 times (14 balls)
- made w, but no other balls -- 38 times (38 balls, including 1 on a foul)
- made w and other ball or balls, but not 1s -- 19 times (40 balls)
- made both 1s and w, but no others -- 13 times (26 balls, including 2 on a foul)
- both 1s and w and other ball or balls -- 12 times (38 balls)
- made neither 1s nor w, but 1-2 other balls -- 16 times (18 balls)
- dry, but no foul -- 16 times
- dry and fouled -- 0 times​

Total -- 132 breaks, 185 balls pocketed

The 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker on 33% (43 of 132) of the breaks.

The wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the nearest corner pocket on 62% of the breaks (82 of 132).
 
Here are some break results for the 2021 Mosconi Cup played this week (Dec. 7 - Dec. 10) 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), up to 7 doubles matches (all 7 were played), and up to 13 singles matches (9 were played). Team Europe won the Cup 11-6, with the match scores on the 4 days (Team Europe first) being 2-2, 2-3, 5-0, and and 2-1.

The players for Team USA were Shane Van Boening, Skyler Woodward, Tyler Styer, Chris Reinhold, and Jeremy Jones. The players for Team Europe were Jayson Shaw, Albin Ouschan, Joshua Filler, Klenti Kaçi, and David Alcaide. The Team Captains were Jeremy Jones (USA) and Alex Lely (EUR). The Vice Captains were Shane Van Boening (USA) and Karl Boyes (EUR). Jones became the Playing Captain for Team USA when Earl Strickland was not allowed to participate because of Covid regulations. The commentators (2 per match) were Phil Yates, Michael McMullan, Niels Feijen, and Kelly Fisher.

The conditions for this event included the following:
- Rasson OX 9-foot table with 4" corner pockets;​
- gray Simonis cloth;​
- Aramith Tournament Black balls with a black 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 in each match; and​
- all slop counts.​

The 17 matches were as follows, in the order they were played. Match winners are bolded; event scores after each match are in brackets.

Tues. Dec. 7, 2021
1. Teams -- USA ... 5-2 ... Europe [1-0]​
2. Doubles -- Styer/Reinhold ... 5-4 ... Ouschan/Kaçi [2-0]​
3. Singles -- Van Boening ... 2-5 ... Filler [2-1]​
4. Doubles -- Woodward/Jones ... 0-5 ... Shaw/Alcaide [2-2]​

Wed. Dec. 8
5. Singles -- Van Boening ... 3-5 ... Shaw [2-3]​
6. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-3 ... Ouschan [3-3]​
7. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 5-4 ... Shaw/Ouschan [4-3]​
8. Singles -- Styer ... 5-3 ... Filler [5-3]​
9. Doubles -- Reinhold/Jones ... 4-5 ... Kaçi/Alcaide [5-4]​

Thurs. Dec. 9
10. Singles -- Reinhold ... 2-5 ... Shaw [5-5]​
11. Doubles -- Woodward/Styer ... 2-5 ... Shaw/Filler [5-6]​
12. Singles -- Woodward ... 3-5 ... Kaçi [5-7]​
13. Doubles -- Van Boening/Styer ... 1-5 ... Ouschan/Alcaide [5-8]​
14. Singles -- Jones ... 4-5 ... Alcaide [5-9]​

Fri. Dec. 10
15. Doubles -- Van Boening/Woodward ... 4-5 ... Shaw/Filler [5-10]​
16. Singles -- Woodward ... 5-2 ... Shaw [6-10]​
17. Singles -- Van Boening ... 4-5 ... Filler [6-11]​

The successful-break rates (made at least one ball and did not foul) were 88% for Team USA (56 of 64) and 85% (58 of 68) for Team Europe.

Team USA won the game on 56% (36 of 64) of their own breaks, whereas Team Europe won on 66% (45 of 68) of their breaks. Some details:

Team USA broke 64 times, with the following results:
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 32 (50%)​
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 24 (38%)​
Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 4 (6%)​
Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 4 (6%)​

Team Europe broke 68 times, with the following results:
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 42 (62%)​
Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 16 (24%)​
Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 3 (4%)​
Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 7 (10%)​

For the two teams combined, the breaker made at least one ball (and did not foul) 86% (114 of 132) of the time; the breaking side won 61% (81 of 132) of the games; and the breaking side won 65% (74 of 114) 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 -- 11 out of 64 (17%)​
Team Europe -- 28 out of 68 (41%)​
Total -- 39 out of 132 (30%)​

Break-and-run on successful breaks:
Team USA -- 11 out of 56 (20%)​
Team Europe -- 28 out of 58 (48%)​
Total -- 29 out of 114 (34%)​
AtLarge, nice work. Do you this this for yourself or for some company? If for yourself, that's amazing because of the dedication it takes.

You have Sky playing Kaci on Thursday whereas it was Shane. Hope it just a typo here and not in your database also.
 
AtLarge, nice work. Do you this this for yourself or for some company? If for yourself, that's amazing because of the dedication it takes.

You have Sky playing Kaci on Thursday whereas it was Shane. Hope it just a typo here and not in your database also.
Thanks; I do it just for myself and other AzB members who might be interested.

And thanks for the correction. That was just a typing "mindo," as I correctly have SBV in that match for all the stats.
 
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Thank you AtLarge,
again, for the great Stats. I love them!
These two facts might have been important for the european win:

Lags: 2021 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-6
• USA won 7 lags, Europe won 10 .

B&R: on all Breaks
Shaw -- 9 of 20 (45%)
Ouschan -- 7 of 10 (70%)
Filler -- 6 of 17 (35%)

;-)

1984
 
The break results differed substantially between Day 1 and the other days (both teams combined here):

Successful breaks:
Day 1 -- 68% (19 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 91% (95 of 104)​

Breaks on which the 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker:
Day 1 -- 11% (3 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 38% (40 of 104)​

Breaks on which the wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the nearest corner pocket:
Day 1 -- 14% (4 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 75% (78 of 104)​

Average balls per break on all breaks / on successful breaks:
Day 1 -- 0.9 / 1.3​
Days 2-4 -- 1.5 / 1.7​
 
The break results differed substantially between Day 1 and the other days (both teams combined here):

Successful breaks:
Day 1 -- 68% (19 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 91% (95 of 104)​

Breaks on which the 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker:
Day 1 -- 11% (3 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 38% (40 of 104)​

Breaks on which the wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the nearest corner pocket:
Day 1 -- 14% (4 of 28)​
Days 2-4 -- 75% (78 of 104)​

Average balls per break on all breaks / on successful breaks:
Day 1 -- 0.9 / 1.3​
Days 2-4 -- 1.5 / 1.7​
Do you think that players were learning how the table played or that the table was playing differently. From what I've heard it seems like the fresher cloth on day one would be faster and the pockets would be more forgiving so I suspect the players were adjusting to the table.
 
Do you think that players were learning how the table played or that the table was playing differently. From what I've heard it seems like the fresher cloth on day one would be faster and the pockets would be more forgiving so I suspect the players were adjusting to the table.
I imagine it was some of both. Sometimes tables really do play differently from one day to the next, or even at different times of the same day.
 
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