Could This Debacle Kill the Mosconi Cup

D

dnschmidt

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Competition is what drives sport. Clearly, there isn't any of this happening in London. Do you think the future of the Mosconi Cup is in question? Who wants to watch one side kill the other year after year. The sport could lose this important event if this wipe out every year continues and I see no reason for it not to. Pool is dead in America and we simply cannot compete against the Europeans. We will not be able to develop any world class players in the future since all we play on is 7 foot bar tables.

It occurs to me that this could be the final or nearly final Mosconi Cup.
 
Well for a long time when the series for started, USA dominated. This Cup was the largest attended event live in it's history, so I doubt it's going anywhere. It might need some tweaking such as expanding the field of players to include Canada.
 
dardusm said:
Well for a long time when the series for started, USA dominated. This Cup was the largest attended event live in it's history, so I doubt it's going anywhere. It might need some tweaking such as expanding the field of players to include Canada.
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Europe against the World. Except there's no Americans that would qualify.
 
It definitely isn't helping anything to see our team folding. I'm sure Barry Hearn and the people at Matchroom are wincing while they watch this year's debacle. We need to shake things up and do it fast. Otherwise this event will decline in importance, lose the television audience and come to an end, or be shown in a more limited fashion (online only) with lesser prize money.

That's how television networks operate. If your ratings go too low, you're off the air. It may end up being a solely online event in the future with much lower production costs. I watched the first two days on ESPN3 and there were just as many commercials as a regular telecast. So someone (sponsors) is buying that time as well.
 
EXPAND!!

The Americas
Europe
The Pacific Islands (includes Japan & Taiwan)
Asia

Draw for semi-final opponent

" Mosconi World Cup"
 
It could be that this is mostly watched by Europeans, and they love watching their guys win.
 
This annual debacle hasn't turned Matchroom off yet, so I think we're safe.

The real problem is that Europe is so far ahead of America in quality of play that this no longer qualifies as a rivalry. It is, at this point, an annual celebration of European superiority and that seems to be enough to keep the passionate European fans, who make the Mosconi what it is, excited about the event.
 
I like Justin, but he said something on his American Billiard Radio interview a few weeks ago that shocked me. He said "I'm not used to practicing my break."

I don't know the practice habits of the Euros, but that statement just seems unprofessional to me. How can we compete if our pro players have anything less than a world class work ethic?
 
The people who own the brand are probably considering the full history of the event. It is 11-11. They got one more: the final battle, the one that will end the tie. The natural climax. Everyone loves climax.

Changes cum in 2018. Women will shake, their mouths cold...and men will say they are going to the bathroom and walk out the front door.
 
jeffj2h said:
I like Justin, but he said something on his American Billiard Radio interview a few weeks ago that shocked me. He said "I'm not used to practicing my break."

I don't know the practice habits of the Euros, but that statement just seems unprofessional to me. How can we compete if our pro players have anything less than a world class work ethic?
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To this point, I've personally watched both Dennis O. and Shane (on separate occasions) practice their break for 3-4 hours at a time. The entire day's practice for them was regularly 10-12 hours! Yes you heard me right, 10-12 hours per day on the table! They both felt like they needed it to stay on or near the top of the pool world.

These are two guys who when they go to a major event, they are trying to win it! I know Dennis was never satisfied finishing second to Shane two years in a row at the U.S. Open, even though he made a big payday each time.
 
dnschmidt said:
Competition is what drives sport. Clearly, there isn't any of this happening in London. Do you think the future of the Mosconi Cup is in question? Who wants to watch one side kill the other year after year. The sport could lose this important event if this wipe out every year continues and I see no reason for it not to. Pool is dead in America and we simply cannot compete against the Europeans. We will not be able to develop any world class players in the future since all we play on is 7 foot bar tables.

It occurs to me that this could be the final or nearly final Mosconi Cup.
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May not have killed it but it definitely is on life-support. Since BetFair is major sponsor maybe they could come up a spot for the U.S. We need weight for sure.
 
garczar said:
May not have killed it but it definitely is on life-support. Since BetFair is major sponsor maybe they could come up a spot for the U.S. We need weight for sure.
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I say next year all the Euros have to shoot opposite handed. That way the U.S. might have a chance.
 
Black-Balled said:
The people who own the brand are probably considering the full history of the event. It is 11-11. They got one more: the final battle, the one that will end the tie. The natural climax. Everyone loves climax.

Changes cum in 2018. Women will shake, their mouths cold...and men will say they are going to the bathroom and walk out the front door.
Click to expand...

They could have a big Grand Final next year to settle it all once and for all - winners get $100K each/ Losers get $50K. Have it over 2 legs in USA and Europe- each lasting 4 days. 20 selected players for each team will play qualifier events Mosconi Cup style ( race to 5, ref rack,9 ft tables ) with top 5 making the team. This will generate lots of moolah for Matchroom to cover big $750K prizemoney

Or they could just stop it here this year tied at 11-11 so everyone is happy
Then tweak rebrand next year's inaugural event as World Mosconi Cup or something with new composition of teams :)
 
spartan said:
They could have a big Grand Final next year to settle it all once and for all - winners get $100K each/ Losers get $50K. Have it over 2 legs in USA and Europe- each lasting 4 days. 20 selected players for each team will play qualifier events Mosconi Cup style ( race to 5, ref rack,9 ft tables ) with top 5 making the team. This will generate lots of moolah for Matchroom to cover big $750K prizemoney

Or they could just stop it here this year tied at 11-11 so everyone is happy
Then tweak rebrand next year's inaugural event as World Mosconi Cup or something with new composition of teams :)
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Better yet $100,000 fot winning and $5,000 for losing. Races to 7, alt break, first to 11 matches.

Better yet play 21 matches with each match being worth whatever $$$ amount( say half the prize pool total split into 21) and the winners recieve the other half of the prize pool on top of whatever they win with each match.
 
There's too little interest in pool in the US to attract and produce the level of talent that Europe has right now. I don't see this changing any time soon.

Team USA was completely outclassed at almost every turn. I would honestly bet that Europe could field two full teams that could beat this year's US team (think of the EU guys who didn't make it like Ekonomopolis, Thorsten, Boyes, etc.)

Guys like Skylar, Justin, etc. (and like Oscar who didn't make it) are great players, but IMHO they are not at the level of anybody on the EU team, who are all past or present champions on the world stage.

I can't see a team USA winning a Cup anytime in the near future.

And as much as I love my country (Canada) the only player we have who could compete on that stage would be Alex P.
 
Well..,

MuchoBurrito said:
There's too little interest in pool in the US to attract and produce the level of talent that Europe has right now. I don't see this changing any time soon.

Team USA was completely outclassed at almost every turn. I would honestly bet that Europe could field two full teams that could beat this year's US team (think of the EU guys who didn't make it like Ekonomopolis, Thorsten, Boyes, etc.)

Guys like Skylar, Justin, etc. (and like Oscar who didn't make it) are great players, but IMHO they are not at the level of anybody on the EU team, who are all past or present champions on the world stage.

I can't see a team USA winning a Cup anytime in the near future.

And as much as I love my country (Canada) the only player we have who could compete on that stage would be Alex P.
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I understand your position and I don't disagree completely but..., Do we all believe that we cant win a race to 5!!!!! This is not the insane races to 100 that everybody on this form thinks you have win to prove your the best. Its not even a Professional level race to 9 or 11, its a amateurish race to 5!!! Anybody can win a race to 5 against anybody, right? That's whats always stated, that the short race favors the weaker player..., so are the Europeans the weaker players or is the short race argument BS?
 
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