Dynamite rates the Americans
- Thread starter JD_Hogg
- Start date
Stu is truly one of a kind, a wealth of knowledge. Hearing Stu's match-up and shot analysis at the 2013 Mosconi cup was the deciding factor for me going again this year.
Don't get me wrong seeing the M-cup in Vegas is a hoot by itself but seeing old friends and making new ones is.....as good as it gets.
First of all, I could care less about gambling results and summarily dismiss bar table results as irrelevant as a measure of Mosconi Cup readiness. Mosconi is about succeeding in multiple short-race matches against a variety of opponents on big tables.
Justin skipped all the WPA events overseas. In America, through September, the three toughest fields Bergman faced in 2015 on the big tables were at the DCC 9-ball (14th), Super Billiards Expo (17th) and Turning Stone (17th). Of late, however, he beat Shaw in a long set and came 9th in the US Open 9-ball against what was surely the toughest ever field in that event.
He has peaked at the right time, that's for sure. Justin is a very fine player.
I have no doubt, that the players will treat our team fairly, and I hope the fans in the stand are really vocal for our team, just the way their fans were over there. Darren seems to think all our guys will be under a lot of pressure, hell it seems like a lot of people don't think USA has a chance, I think this team is going to prove them wrong. And Corey's break ? How about Darren's break ?
Darren brings up an interesting point, which Stu already mentioned partly in Shane's losing record in singles: Darren is always capable of digging deep and playing his A game against Shane and I don't think Darren is the only one as Shane is the man to beat in team America. It's tough to win matches if you are struggling a bit and your opponents are playing stellar. On the other hand Darren has not been in top form lately and Shane has polished his armor in 2015 international tournaments. Considering the fact that there is only one rookie in team America and I'm not sure of the entire team Europe can perform 100% plus the venue is in Vegas, I'd say team Europe is the marginal underdog this year.
Personally I'd love to see Mika playing for team Europe. Go Europe!
Not according to the bookies (Sky Bet, Europe 1.57, USA 2.25), so if you feel that way there's money to be made :thumbup:
A lot of what you say is true, but where you've missed the boat is in the area of pedigree.
Team Europe members, with few exceptions, all play the full WPA calendar and, other than Appleton, the full Eurotour event schedule, too. They play in the World Pool Masters and the World Cup of Pool, too. And, yes, they played the biggest event in America, as all five of them were at the US Open nine ball in October. In fact, two of the four players reaching the final day were European, and not one was American.
The European pedigree has been and will remain stronger than that of the American pedigree because Team Europe members play in premier pool events far more often than Team USA members. For this reason, they are better at dealing with late match pressure than Team USA, and late match pressure is a frequent thing in the race to five Mosconi Cup matches.
Team USA has some fine players and, unlike a year ago, this year it consists entirely of guys who are playing well right now, so Team USA definitely has a definite shot here, but Europe is a deserving favorite. On paper, it seems close, but competitive pedigree isn't something found on paper or, for that matter, in Fargo ratings. European pros seek out and frequently compete against the most elite fields in the world, while among Americans, only Shane does. Big difference!
We all have opinions...
Can't agree with all of the comments. Shane does not need "rolls" to beat any one. He just needs to be on his game when he plays. At the level the most of the Cup players are capable of playing, any one of them can beat any other player in those short races. Who you betting on if it is one on one and winner breaks with a neutral racker in a long race. I will take Shane.
Corey is weak at breaking? LOL
Can't agree with all of the comments. Shane does not need "rolls" to beat any one. He just needs to be on his game when he plays. At the level the most of the Cup players are capable of playing, any one of them can beat any other player in those short races. Who you betting on if it is one on one and winner breaks with a neutral racker in a long race. I will take Shane.
Corey is weak at breaking? LOL
We all have opinions...
Can't agree with all of the comments. Shane does not need "rolls" to beat any one. He just needs to be on his game when he plays. every one expects him to hit a Grand Slam every time he shoots, talk about pressure.
Does Shane really need to travel the world to prove how good he is, I think not.
Do World Titles determine who the best player is in that game? Or is it just another tournament with a World Title?
Speaking of pressure. I remember watching Darren looking like he was having a break down because of the pressure in a match. No one is immune to it.
At the level most of the Cup players are capable of playing, any one of them can beat any other player in those short races. Who you betting on if it is one on one and winner breaks with a neutral racker in a long race. I will take Shane.
Corey is weak at breaking? LOL
I enjoy watching Darren play and he is one of the greats, right behind Shane. How come he lives in America, but jumps across the pond for the Cup? Just kidding, we all know this is a great place to live. His buddy is very good too, I wish him and Hatch could meet up again.
I look forward to watching the Cup again. Go USA !!!
Can't agree with all of the comments. Shane does not need "rolls" to beat any one. He just needs to be on his game when he plays. every one expects him to hit a Grand Slam every time he shoots, talk about pressure.
Does Shane really need to travel the world to prove how good he is, I think not.
Do World Titles determine who the best player is in that game? Or is it just another tournament with a World Title?
Speaking of pressure. I remember watching Darren looking like he was having a break down because of the pressure in a match. No one is immune to it.
At the level most of the Cup players are capable of playing, any one of them can beat any other player in those short races. Who you betting on if it is one on one and winner breaks with a neutral racker in a long race. I will take Shane.
Corey is weak at breaking? LOL
I enjoy watching Darren play and he is one of the greats, right behind Shane. How come he lives in America, but jumps across the pond for the Cup? Just kidding, we all know this is a great place to live. His buddy is very good too, I wish him and Hatch could meet up again.
I look forward to watching the Cup again. Go USA !!!
I don't think Shane needs any 'rolls' either...but he needs an attitude change.
Shane thinks like a marathoner...and the Mosconi is for dashers.
He needs to get this straight in his mind...and break out of the gate fast.
....every game is like hill/hill
No, but he needs to travel the world and play in all the big events to stay at his sharpest. A year ago, the All-Japan Championships were just a couple of weeks before the Mosconi, and Shane skipped the event. I think it was a missed opportunity and that it hurt him. This year, Shane went to the All-Japan Championships in November and won a bronze medal against a field of world beaters. I think that it's going to help him.
Sorry, I just don't follow the European players closely enough to be able to
analyse them at length.
I think Darren did a great job of describing Corey's current game.
I think he did a great job in a lot of things in that article. If I was Mark Wilson I would do everything in my power to make sure not a single one of my players reads that prior to the match...
For Shane I think the every game is hil/hill mentality might be detrimental. That thought process can cause some to try too hard. There is a fine balance in the amount of effort needed for peak performance... dont try enough and you make mistakes... try to hard and you do the same. When Shane has that effort dialed in he is 1 of if not the best.
Shane plays long sets great and imo it is because he gets dialed in on the amount of effort. The best way to diall in on effort is to forget about the outcome and focus on the process. When Shane plays the long sets he flows as if his thoughts are break and run, break and run, break and run. It seems to me that he can fall prey sometimes to outcome thinking when things get close aka hill/hill thinking and he might be trying a little to hard at times. My advice would be to forget about short races and outcomes and accept that what happens happens and Im not going to worry about it. Its just this rack this moment... break and run, break and run... or keep control... or whatever thoughts he has in those long sets that allow him to focus on the process and not worry about ths outcome.
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Agree 100%. Good analysis and some good info in there for anyone who wants to play their best in short race competitive situations, which I think is just about everyone on this forum.