Break Stats -- 2023 Mosconi Cup, December, 2023

AtLarge · Dec 9, 2023

Here are some break results for the 2023 Mosconi Cup played December 6-9, 2023 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. This event was 9-Ball racing to 11 match wins, 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 (6 were played), and up to 13 singles matches (7 were played). Team Europe won the Cup 11-3, with the match scores on the 4 days as follows (Team Europe's score first):

Day 1 -- 4 - 0
Day 2 -- 3 - 1 (2-day total 7 - 1)
Day 3 -- 2 - 1 (3-day total 9 - 2)
Day 4 -- 2 - 1
Total -- 11 - 3

Players for Team USA -- Shane Van Boening, Skyler Woodward, Tyler Styer, Fedor Gorst, and Shane Wolford
Players for Team Europe -- Jayson Shaw, Albin Ouschan, Joshua Filler, David Alcaide, and Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz
Team Captains -- Jeremy Jones (USA) and Ralph Eckert (EUR)
Team Vice Captains -- Skyler Woodward (USA) and Jayson Shaw (EUR)
Commentators (2 per match) -- Phil Yates, Karl Boyes, Michael McMullan, and Scott Frost
Referees -- Marcel Eckardt, Desislava Bozhilova, and John Leyman
Interviews+ -- Hannah Wilkes and Ashley Wilmot
Master of Ceremonies -- Tahir Hajat

The conditions for this event included the following:

- Rasson OX 9-foot table with 4" corner pockets;

- Simonis 860 Shark Grey cloth;

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

- referee racks using a triangle rack with the 9-ball on the foot spot (2-ball not necessarily in back location);

- alternate breaks from behind the head string in a box approximately 8" to each side of the long 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;

- all slop counts; and

- lag for the break in each match.

The 14 matches were as follows, in the order they were played. Match winners are bolded; total Cup scores are after each match in brackets.

Wed. Dec. 6, 2023

1. Teams -- USA ... 4-5 ... Europe [0-1]

2. Doubles -- Van Boening/Styer ... 2-5 ... Shaw/Ouschan [0-2]

3. Singles -- Woodward ... 0-5 ... Filler [0-3]

4. Doubles -- Gorst/Wolford ... 3-5 ... Alcaide/Sanchez-Ruiz [0-4]

Thurs. Dec. 7

5. Singles -- Gorst ... 2-5 ... Filler [0-5]

6. Singles -- Gorst ... 4-5 ... Sanchez-Ruiz [0-6]

7. Doubles -- Van Boening/Gorst ... 5-4 ... Filler/Sanchez-Ruiz [1-6]

8. Singles -- Styer ... 0-5 ... Ouschan [1-7]

Fri. Dec. 8

9. Doubles -- Woodward/Wolford ... 2-5 ... Shaw/Alcaide [1-8]

10. Singles -- Woodward ... 1-5 ... Shaw [1-9]

11. Doubles -- Woodward/Gorst ... 5-3 ... Shaw/Sanchez-Ruiz [2-9]

Sat. Dec. 9

12. Singles -- Van Boening ... 5-2 ... Filler [3-9]

13. Doubles -- Woodward/Styer ... 3-5 ... Filler/Ouschan [3-10]

14. Singles -- Wolford ... 4-5 ... Alcaide [3-11]

Overall results

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

Team USA -- 62% (34 of 55)

Team Europe -- 78% (38 of 49)

Total -- 69% (72 of 104)

Breaker won the game:

Team USA -- 40% (22 of 55)

Team Europe -- 63% (31 of 49)

Total -- 51% (53 of 104)

Break-and-run games on all breaks:

Team USA -- 20% (11 of 55)

Team Europe -- 35% (17 of 49)

Total -- 27% (28 of 104)

Break-and-run games on successful breaks (made at least one ball and did not foul):

Team USA -- 32% (11 of 34)

Team Europe -- 45% (17 of 38)

Total -- 39% (28 of 72)

Here's a further breakdown of the 104 games played in the Cup.

Team USA broke 55 times, with the following results:

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 14 (25%)

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 20 (36%)

Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 8 (15%)

Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 13 (24%)

Team Europe broke 49 times, with the following results:

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 29 (59%)

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 9 (18%)

Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 2 (4%)

Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 9 (18%)

Totals for both teams on all 104 breaks:

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and won the game -- 43 (41%)

Made at least one ball (and did not foul) and lost the game -- 29 (28%)

Broke dry or fouled but won the game -- 10 (10%)

Broke dry or fouled and lost the game -- 22 (21%)

Therefore, whereas Team USA won 40% (22 of 55) of the games on their own break,

They won 41% (14 of 34) of the games in which their break was successful.

They won 38% (8 of 21) of the games in which their break was unsuccessful (fouled or dry).

And whereas Team Europe won 63% (31 of 49) of the games on their own break,

They won 76% (29 of 38) of the games in which the break was successful.

They won 18% (2 of 11) of the games in which their break was unsuccessful (fouled or dry).

Balls Pocketed:

Team USA -- 56 on the break, 317 not on the break, 373 in total (includes 8 balls made on breaking fouls and 2 balls made on other fouls)

Team Europe -- 64 on the break, 439 not on the break, 503 in total (includes 1 ball made on a breaking foul and 2 balls made on other fouls)

Average number of balls made on the break:

Team USA -- 1.0 on all breaks, 1.4 on successful breaks

Team Europe -- 1.3 on all breaks, 1.7 on successful breaks

Total -- 1.2 on all breaks, 1.5 on successful breaks

Alternate-break packages (break-and-run games on a player's or team's own successive breaks)

Team USA's 11 B&R games consisted of 1 2-pack (by Van Boening against Filler) and 9 singles.

Team Europe's 17 B&R games consisted of 2 2-packs (one by Filler against Woodward and one by Alcaide/Sanchez-Ruiz against Gorst/Wolford) and 13 singles

9-Balls on the break -- The 28 break-and-run games included 3 9-balls on the break (2.9% of all breaks) -- one by Ouschan (against Gorst in the Teams match) and two by Woodward (one against Shaw and one with Gorst against Shaw/Francisco-Ruiz).

AtLarge · Dec 9, 2023

Miscellany from the data for the 2023 Mosconi Cup

• The most balls made on a single break was 4, by Styer on a fouled break leading to loss of game. Three balls on the break happened 5 times. The breaking side won all 5 of those games, but only 1 was a B&R (9-ball on the break).

• 55% (57 of 104) of the games ended in one inning -- 27% (28) won by the breaking side (B&R) and 28% (29) won by the non-breaking side.

• The average match score was 5-2.4, with 2 matches ending at 5-0, 1 at 5-1, 4 at 5-2, 3 at 5-3, and 4 at 5-4.

• The longest match in elapsed time, at about 74 minutes, was Sanchez-Ruiz d. Gorst 5-4. The shortest match in elapsed time, at about 26 minutes, was Filler d. Woodward 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 occurred after every third game for about 3 minutes each).

• The average elapsed time was 50 minutes per match.

• The average minutes per game was 6.8, or an estimated 6.3 not counting commercial breaks (but counting a minute for the racking that occurred during the breaks).

• Breaking fouls averaged 1 for every 14.9 games, other fouls 1 for every 6.1 games, and missed shots about 1 for every 1.7 games.

• About 41% of the games involved one or more safeties.

AtLarge · Dec 9, 2023

Here are some 2023 Mosconi Cup break stats for each player. [Caveat: small numbers.]

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

Van Boening -- 7 of 9 (78%)

Woodward -- 8 of 12 (67%)

Styer -- 4 of 8 (50%)

Gorst -- 9 of 16 (56%)

Wolford -- 6 of 10 (60%)

Team USA Total -- 34 of 55 (62%)

Shaw -- 9 of 9 (100%)

Ouschan -- 6 of 7 (86%)

Filler -- 9 of 14 (64%)

Alcaide -- 7 of 8 (88%)

Sanchez-Ruiz -- 7 of 11 (64% )

Team Europe Total -- 38 of 49 (78%)

USA + Europe Total -- 72 of 104 (69%)

Breaker's side won the game:

Van Boening -- 7 of 9 (78%)

Woodward -- 4 of 12 (33%)

Styer -- 2 of 8 (25%)

Gorst -- 5 of 16 (31%)

Wolford -- 4 of 10 (40%)

Team USA Total -- 22 of 55 (40%)

Shaw -- 7 of 9 (78%)

Ouschan -- 6 of 7 (86%)

Filler -- 8 of 14 (57%)

Alcaide -- 4 of 8 (50%)

Sanchez-Ruiz -- 6 of 11 (55% )

Team Europe Total -- 31 of 49 (63%)

USA + Europe Total -- 53 of 104 (51%)

Break-and-run games, on all breaks:

Van Boening -- 3 of 9 (33%)

Woodward -- 2 of 12 (17%)

Styer -- 1 of 8 (13%)

Gorst -- 2 of 16 (13%)

Wolford -- 3 of 10 (30%)

Team USA Total -- 11 of 55 (20%)

Shaw -- 3 of 9 (33%)

Ouschan -- 4 of 7 (57%)

Filler -- 4 of 14 (29%)

Alcaide -- 4 of 8 (50%)

Sanchez-Ruiz -- 2 of 11 (18% )

Team Europe Total -- 17 of 49 (35%)

USA + Europe Total -- 28 of 104 (27%)

Break-and-run games, on successful breaks:

Van Boening -- 3 of 7 (43%)

Woodward -- 2 of 8 (25%)

Styer -- 1 of 4 (25%)

Gorst -- 2 of 9 (22%)

Wolford -- 3 of 6 (50%)

Team USA Total -- 11 of 34 (32%)

Shaw -- 3 of 9 (33%)

Ouschan -- 4 of 6 (67%)

Filler -- 4 of 9 (44%)

Alcaide -- 4 of 7 (57%)

Sanchez-Ruiz -- 2 of 7 (29% )

Team Europe Total -- 17 of 38 (45%)

USA + Europe Total -- 28 of 72 (39%)

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

AtLarge · Dec 9, 2023

Regarding Lags:

2023 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-3

• USA won 11 lags, Europe won 3.

• The team that won the lag won the first game 6 times (3 by USA, 3 by Europe).

• The team that won the lag won the match 6 times (3 by USA, 3 by Europe).

• In the 4 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag all 4 times but won the match just once (not by B&R in the last game).

- The team that won the first game (3 by USA, 11 by Europe) won the match 12 times (2 by USA, 10 by Europe).

2022 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-7

• Each team won 9 lags.

• The team that won the lag won the first game 15 times (8 by USA, 7 by Europe).

• The team that won the lag won the match 12 times (5 by USA, 7 by Europe).

• In the 2 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag once and won the match by B&R in the last game. Europe won the lag once but lost the match.

- The team that won the first game (10 by USA, 8 by Europe) won the match 11 times (5 by USA, 6 by Europe).

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 45 matches have gone to a hill/hill game over the past 11 years, and the breaking side (winner of the lag) won 29 (64%) of those games, 15 by B&R.

AtLarge · Dec 9, 2023

Regarding Balls Made on the Break:

Team USA averaged 1.0 balls per break on all breaks (56 balls on 55 breaks) and 1.4 balls per break on successful breaks (48 balls on 34 breaks).

Team Europe averaged 1.3 balls per break on all breaks (64 balls on 49 breaks) and 1.7 balls per break on successful breaks (63 balls on 38 breaks).

Distribution of balls made on the 104 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 29 times (29 balls pocketed, including 2 on fouls)

- made 1s plus 1 or 2 other balls, but not w -- 20 times (44 balls)

- made w, but no other balls -- 1 time (1 ball)

- made w and other ball or balls, but not 1s -- 3 times (8 balls, including 4 on a foul)

- made both 1s and w, but no others -- 8 times (16 balls)

- both 1s and w and other ball or balls -- 1 time (3 balls)

- made neither 1s nor w, but 1-2 other balls -- 16 times (19 balls, including 3 on fouls)

- dry, but no foul -- 25 times

- dry and fouled -- 1 time

Total -- 104 breaks, 120 balls pocketed

The 1-ball was pocketed on 62% (64 of 104) of all breaks, and 89% (64 of 72) of the successful breaks, in either:

- the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker -- 56% (58 of 104), or

- the head corner pocket on the breaker's side of the table -- 6% (6 of 104).

The wing ball on the same side of the table as the breaker was pocketed in the corner pocket nearest to it on 13% (13 of 104) of the breaks.

DeadStick · Dec 10, 2023

AtLarge said:
2023 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-3
• USA won 11 lags, Europe won 3.

Didn’t someone say the contest would boil down to who could win the lags? lol

stewie · Dec 10, 2023

AtLarge said:
Regarding Lags:

2023 -- Cup won by Team Europe 11-3

• USA won 11 lags, Europe won 3.
• The team that won the lag won the first game 6 times (3 by USA, 3 by Europe).
• The team that won the lag won the match 6 times (3 by USA, 3 by Europe).
• In the 4 hill/hill matches, USA won the lag all 4 times but won the match just once (not by B&R in the last game).
- The team that won the first game (3 by USA, 11 by Europe) won the match 12 times (2 by USA, 10 by Europe).

So, whoever won the first game, won the match. Almost always.

DeadStick · Dec 10, 2023

stewie said:
So, whoever won the first game, won the match. Almost always.

Makes perfect sense, in a short race.

AtLarge · Dec 10, 2023

DeadStick said:
Makes perfect sense, in a short race.

Seemingly so, but not for Team USA. For the 11 years, combined, shown in Post #4 above, the team that won the first game won 60% of the matches. But USA was below 50% and Europe well above 50%:

USA -- 44% (34 of 77)

Europe -- 72% (73 of 101)

Both -- 60% (107 of 178)

Team USA was at or below 50% in match wins after winning the first game of the match in 8 of those 11 years whereas Team Europe was always above 50%.

Jeepturner · Dec 11, 2023

Thank you for the stats. It looks like a lot of work. If you have it on a spread sheet would I be out of line asking for screen shots of it?

I've got to run. I will look for a reply later, Thanks!

AtLarge · Dec 11, 2023

Jeepturner said:
Thank you for the stats. It looks like a lot of work. If you have it on a spread sheet would I be out of line asking for screen shots of it?

I've got to run. I will look for a reply later, Thanks!

Sorry, no software.

Break Stats -- 2023 Mosconi Cup, December, 2023

AtLarge

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DeadStick

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