Imagine how grim it will be when Shane retires.
MOSCONI CUP 2023 AZB Watch Party / Master Thread
- Thread starter DeadStick
- Start date
It also doesn't help that SVB, who may be the greatest US player of all time -- is below average at best in the Mosconi Cup. If Shane could have performed like Filler the US would have had a fighting chance the past 10 years.
People aren't going to like it -- but Matchroom's last ditch effort at keeping this thing competitive may be giving Shaw a gentle nudge towards switching sides.
I actually have grown to like him over the past few years so I wouldn't have a problem with it.
1000% this. In the first game the announcer was talking about how relaxed Shane was, how he was smiling for the first time at a Mosconi, and how free he was playing. When he missed the first ball that all changed.
He set the tone.
"Population should be considered - Change my mind"
USA has roughly 340M and Europe has roughly 750M. So the USA is spotting Europe over 2 to 1 on population to draw from.
Team USA should be expanded to include all of North America. We'd still be spotting Europe 170 million.
Or why not expand the USA to all of The Americas 1B?
USA is country
Europe is a continent
So I dont' understand the logic......it should be
North America (continent)
Vs
Europe (continent)
It really should be. I agree with the post above.
Another rant.
1. Fedor Gorst (Using new cue) you can never use new cue on an event as big as Mosconi cup, there's zero chance that you're going to perform well, you need time to adjust to that new cue. I've heard snooker players they stick to one cue for their lifetime and some of them when they switch, they need at least a year to adjust.
2. Tyler Styler, I don't understand why they keep bringing this guy back...to me he's useless, sorry no offense but he's just subpar player compared to other pro's (Not compared to me, inbe4 someone with "go beat him").
3. Europe gets most of the rolls, its truth..... go check it back! Whenever they make mistakes, 80% of the times they come out as roses even with mistakes, we go into a kick battle until the unlucky (usually americans) give the europe the easy shot. And please dont come at me with the "Kicking balls require skills to get safe", trust me this is only for easy kicks, like 90% of the time its about how lucky you will be after the kick so you can go back to all the misses, europe usually gets lucky twice. Because they miss and it goes safe, then the kicking battle & europe at the end will get easier shot to be back at the rack which means their mistakes usually don't cost much. He makes a mistake and miss, then come back and takes the game again.
Europe is a continent
So I dont' understand the logic......it should be
North America (continent)
Vs
Europe (continent)
It really should be. I agree with the post above.
Another rant.
1. Fedor Gorst (Using new cue) you can never use new cue on an event as big as Mosconi cup, there's zero chance that you're going to perform well, you need time to adjust to that new cue. I've heard snooker players they stick to one cue for their lifetime and some of them when they switch, they need at least a year to adjust.
2. Tyler Styler, I don't understand why they keep bringing this guy back...to me he's useless, sorry no offense but he's just subpar player compared to other pro's (Not compared to me, inbe4 someone with "go beat him").
3. Europe gets most of the rolls, its truth..... go check it back! Whenever they make mistakes, 80% of the times they come out as roses even with mistakes, we go into a kick battle until the unlucky (usually americans) give the europe the easy shot. And please dont come at me with the "Kicking balls require skills to get safe", trust me this is only for easy kicks, like 90% of the time its about how lucky you will be after the kick so you can go back to all the misses, europe usually gets lucky twice. Because they miss and it goes safe, then the kicking battle & europe at the end will get easier shot to be back at the rack which means their mistakes usually don't cost much. He makes a mistake and miss, then come back and takes the game again.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
I agree with you to some extent.
North America V Europe
Winner vs Asia (Asia should have it's own event to determine who qualifies for that team - Philippines Vs ROA or something to that affect)
Perhaps there could be room for a ROW team (South America, Africa, Oceania)
Certainly is room for development and growth, without disturbing the current rivalry/banter
Or each captain gets two picks from the other side, after he picks his top three.Gotta text Emily an idea of Mosconi Cup reform: players on both teams are selected on rankings, and when time to play comes, ten players blindly pick a jersey to play in
That way team USA might be composed of Filler and Shaw and alikes.
Asia vs RoW would be closer
While I’ve also maintained for years it should be North America vs Europe, the rest of your 3 rants I disagree with.
1) Fedor is a beast and can adjust very quickly. He carried SVB over the finish line for their sole point.
2) Tyler has had some errors in past Mosconi’s but also some magical moments. While he may not be on par with the Euro 800 Fargo players, who else from USA is? Bergman, but he shows no interest in the Mosconi event. Gotta play with the cards your dealt.
3) While it is uncanny sometimes it seems Europe ends up on the rolls department (there may be a little truth on that) , they do kick better with better speed than the Americans (could be 3 cushion billiards knowledge?).
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1. Absolutely agree.
2. EFFING THIS!!! He's trying to have his fundamentals so pitch-perfect, which is great, because his fundamentals are excellent but you GOTTA MAKE THEM BALLS AND RUN OUT! You can't beat them if you dog the shots that I, an amateur, miss. That being said, the day everything will click for him...we all better watch out! He just needs to believe and be confident.
Sadly, I think the ship may have sailed on Canadian pool too. For years we've all commented on what it would be like if the US side added Alex and maybe John Morra, but actually they aren't exactly top tier players now either. I don't think Alex's game would hold up under the MC lights at this point, and he's one of my all-time favorites. Where's the next generation of Canadian players???
Not sure the population difference is the biggest driver. USA dominates the world golf scene. Euros have been holding their own on home soil in the Ryder cup, but otherwise the US has been kicking butt for a long, long time. A big driver is the money and college scholarship programs.
Golf has a huge junior scene in the US. Pool might have a dozen or so junior prospects here at any one time. Pool is dying out here. Most of us on this forum are old.
How do we make pool cool/respectable/rewarding for kids?
Bahhhaahahhhaaaa!!! Bhaahahahaa!!! Thank you O'wise one. Let me buy your Girl Scout cookies for $20.
From which continent?
Umm, Asia?
I think the junior pool scene in the US is stronger than it’s been in several years. Hopefully the money will increase to the point it’s actually a viable career. I’m hopeful.
Lol...umm, MOSCONI CUP! I swear, everyday I feel like woke up living in the Idiocracy movie.
That’s good to hear. Where are you seeing that uptick? I have to admit I haven’t looked at the junior scene since, like, forever. Mainly because it doesn’t cross my radar.
I've always thought pool would be awesome in middle school and/or high school. If every high school had a four table billiards room and a billiards club that competed with other schools kind of like Lindenwood University had with Mark Wilson in Missouri pool could stand a chance in USA. That's never going to happen though apparently. Pool teaches a lot of great lessons which would be very valuable to youth if presented properly and you don't have to be a muscle bound jock to succeed and learn.
So few kids get a proper introduction to pool. Most of us first introduction to pool seemingly is on a crappy bar box, drunk in college with a crooked stick and flat tip, ha. Those type of settings are not conducive to training and topics like deflection and throw, ha. The number of pool halls are dwindling also which doesn't help unlike in Vietnam, for example. I was stunned and impressed when Tyler shared a visit on FB I believe to a 73 full sized table pool hall, PACKED, in Hanoi. That hall is one of many like that in Hanoi alone. Pool is dying in this country which saddens old guys like me but not the end of the world. If all it ever is here is a social drinking game of sorts on bar boxes in bowling alleys and bars so be it I guess.
I believe there’s more high level junior tournaments happening not just in the US but in multiple countries. An example in the US is the International 9-Ball that Pat Fleming hosts. He has a junior tournament running in conjunction with the pro tournament and there’s some strong kids coming up. That has not been the case past years.
It’s also a huge plus these kids get to watch and interact with the top professionals.