Mosconi Cup Breaking News (Literally)

9 ball

9 ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Taken From Pro9.co.uk:

Soft Break Set To Go

Matchroom Sport can announce that they have imposed some new rules on the break shot for the 14th annual PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup which takes place at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas from Thursday 13 ? Friday 16 December.

With the soft break starting to dominate under present racking conditions, it was felt that a change was required in order to bring back the power break, for so long one of the biggest and best parts of the game.

After consultation with both teams, the following conditions will apply on all break shots in all matches at the Mosconi Cup:

1. The balls will be racked higher up the table with the 9 ball resting on the spot.

2. The cue ball must be struck from within a break box in the centre of the table.

3. On completion of the break shot, three balls must pass the headstring. This does not include the cue ball. Pocketed balls count, therefore if a breaking player made one ball on the break, only two would be required to pass the headstring. Balls are not required to come to rest past the headstring so a ball that strikes the rail and returns across the head string back down table would be a legal ball.

4. The rack will be lightly tapped in as per WPA guidelines.

The penalty for not making a legal break shot under the above conditions will be loss of visit with the incoming player or team playing the table as it lies.

Commented a spokesman for Matchroom Sport, ?All the players are in favour of this development as it will bring back more skill and power to the break.

?The soft break itself is highly skillful but a little too predictable to give fans and viewers the true 9 ball experience.

?With tight pockets too, an automatic ball on the break will be no certainty. I?m sure all the players will be studying the best way to break and some will be more successful than others.?

The PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup features two five-man teams representing the USA and Europe doing battle in a Ryder Cup-style series of singles and doubles matches to determine the destination of the historic trophy.
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FANTASTIC!!! Thanks to the Mosconi promoters for LISTENING and to AZ for providing a means of communication that they could listen to!! I would have preferred 3 balls going past the center string but the other adjustments will likely sound the death knell for the soft break.
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Right that joke it just threw me cos jam had put in quotes Taken from pro9.co.uk
 
9 ball said:
Right that joke it just threw me cos jam had put in quotes Taken from pro9.co.uk
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I meant to quote your whole "QUOTE," but I didn't realize the way you quoted it, that it would come out with only the one-liner.

Bravo to Mosconi Cup rule-makers :D

JAM
 
9 ball said:
(Mosconi Cup breaking rules) ...
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In perhaps a related move, the WPA has decided to adopt an official set of rules for ten ball.
 
Klopek said:
In the true spirit of Mr. Mosconi, I say the game of choice should be straight pool. Does anyone believe if Willie had a say he'd vote 9-ball?.
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Short of Straight Pool I know what he would have done I shared a link recently of him playing 9 ball where he made the rules.

call shot
all balls dropped on break are spotted
------
called balls dropped in the wrong pocket are spotted
if you scratch all dropped balls are spotted

see for yourself it starts choppy but gets better

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3109100860459966589

I think the Mosconi cup should be played by His rules.
 
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I think they could do without rule 3. I think it is a bit too much. After all they have not tried this before so too much changes may not be a good thing. No point making the participants of the Mosconi cup guinea pigs.

I think so long as the wing ball is not makable automatically, it would be insane to attempt a soft break at that level of play.
 
The coffee hasn't kicked in yet. I thought this was going to be about the trophy getting dropped and breaking into pieces! This is good news, but I think my story would have been more interesting!;-)
 
Klopek said:
In the true spirit of Mr. Mosconi, I say the game of choice should be straight pool. Does anyone believe if Willie had a say he'd vote 9-ball?.
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Willie detested 9 ball and called it junk pool. He believed that 9 ball was for guys that needed to depend upon luck instead of skill. I do not believe that Willie would be happy about his name being used to promote anything 9 ball related.
 
Three ball must pass the headstring is all they needed. Putting the 9 on the spot seems excessive, but whatever.

I'd rather see a rule banning jump cues.
 
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