Mosconi Cup week 2018
- Thread starter strmanglr scott
- Start date
Skyler has one of my favorite strokes in pool. I hope he won MVP and that long stroke never broke down under the bright lights this time. Am I allowed to say he's about to pass SVB cause he is...much sooner than later.
Now THAT it's a touché if I ever saw one. Well played, Joe. And another Euro goes down swinging today.
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Not sure if you all heard, USA won the Mosconi Cup! :thumbup:
USA USA USA
We’re not dead yet, Next the Atlantic Cup
We’re not dead yet, Next the Atlantic Cup
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If they had you on the team...they would’ve had a lock.
As a neutral im glad USA won
Really didn't like this Europe team, with no Appleton, Boyes or Melling, didn't really like any of the players except for Shaw
Kaci and Kazidis just shouldn't have been in the team
rankings mean jack in pool because of the number of tours in the world
Alex Kaz isn't the best in the world, he knows it, everyone knows it
Melling and Appleton instead of the two Ks would have been a winning European team
USA deserved the win and played well
Happy for SVB
Really didn't like this Europe team, with no Appleton, Boyes or Melling, didn't really like any of the players except for Shaw
Kaci and Kazidis just shouldn't have been in the team
rankings mean jack in pool because of the number of tours in the world
Alex Kaz isn't the best in the world, he knows it, everyone knows it
Melling and Appleton instead of the two Ks would have been a winning European team
USA deserved the win and played well
Happy for SVB
Congratulations USA Mosconi Cup Team...
You made America Great Again in pool. You should all be invited to the Whitehouse
You made America Great Again in pool. You should all be invited to the Whitehouse
Kazakis lost both of his single matches and won 1 out of 3 double matches.
Kaci won 1 out of 2 of his single matches and 1 out of 3 double matches.
Statistically Kazakis had the poorest performance followed by Corey Duell.
No one else was close to these 2 statistically.
Europe would still be looking for 5 players. :grin:
The successful break rates for the full event, by referee, were:
91% for Nigel Rees
79% for Brendan Moore
86% for Desislava Bozhilova
85% in total
Kaci won a single singles match more than Kazakis...
Yes, they are both newbies to MC. However, one was heralded constantly as World #1, the other came in as a substitute for Mario.
In the singles matches of the last day...
Kaci played Thorpe.
Kazakis had to face SVB.
No disrespect to Thorpe, but Kazakis had it much worse against SVB.
Europe goes by rankings, and Kazakis was the next highest ranked player. He's no slouch, he's won some tournaments and has beaten some strong players. Not sure why he's having to take so much heat/blame and negativity for being substitute....
There's a lot of blame to go around. Feijen vs Styer? This is a point that one wouldn't expect Feijen to lose.
How about Feijen / Ouschan losing to Woodward / Styer? These were the two most solid for Europe.
How about Kaci / Shaw losing to Thorpe / Styer?
No excuses there...those are two very big names these days.
Let's bust out some FargoRates...
Kaci: 804 #11
Shaw: 814 #3
Thorpe: 763 #97
Styer: 729 I have to use the search feature, because he's no where near the top 100. He is #56 on the USA only list. A USA list that has dozen semi-retired or retired pros above him...some regional pros etc.
I'm not bashing Styer. He punched wayyyy above his weight. But the EU should have taken advantage.
Albin was the best for Europe. Plain and simple. If you look at the losses Albin took, none of them were ugly, none of them were blow outs. Both were on the hill. Opponents had to play near-perfect to beat him whether singles or in doubles. I don't remember Albin ever looking like he was struggling, never looked weak, and I don't remember him really botching anything up badly. He made some errors, but they were reasonable and controlled. They weren't outlandish like the balls missed by Thorpe or Styer for example.
Yes, they are both newbies to MC. However, one was heralded constantly as World #1, the other came in as a substitute for Mario.
In the singles matches of the last day...
Kaci played Thorpe.
Kazakis had to face SVB.
No disrespect to Thorpe, but Kazakis had it much worse against SVB.
Europe goes by rankings, and Kazakis was the next highest ranked player. He's no slouch, he's won some tournaments and has beaten some strong players. Not sure why he's having to take so much heat/blame and negativity for being substitute....
There's a lot of blame to go around. Feijen vs Styer? This is a point that one wouldn't expect Feijen to lose.
How about Feijen / Ouschan losing to Woodward / Styer? These were the two most solid for Europe.
How about Kaci / Shaw losing to Thorpe / Styer?
No excuses there...those are two very big names these days.
Let's bust out some FargoRates...
Kaci: 804 #11
Shaw: 814 #3
Thorpe: 763 #97
Styer: 729 I have to use the search feature, because he's no where near the top 100. He is #56 on the USA only list. A USA list that has dozen semi-retired or retired pros above him...some regional pros etc.
I'm not bashing Styer. He punched wayyyy above his weight. But the EU should have taken advantage.
Albin was the best for Europe. Plain and simple. If you look at the losses Albin took, none of them were ugly, none of them were blow outs. Both were on the hill. Opponents had to play near-perfect to beat him whether singles or in doubles. I don't remember Albin ever looking like he was struggling, never looked weak, and I don't remember him really botching anything up badly. He made some errors, but they were reasonable and controlled. They weren't outlandish like the balls missed by Thorpe or Styer for example.
Congrats to both teams !!! European team fought the good fight and never gave up as attributed to their final day and congrats to the American team for showing a lot of grit those first 3 days.
And congrats to Skyler..... what a mosconi cup he had !!! The kid is a badass.
And congrats to Skyler..... what a mosconi cup he had !!! The kid is a badass.
Skyler's performance helped SVB tremendously. Took pressure off of him. SVB was not the mule for the USA carrying the team on his back.
Styer...if it wasn't for Skyler's powerful singles matches wins - Styer would be the story for the USA. Sure, he fell apart in his last match - but the rest of the days he was strong and really contributed a lot in the doubles and in his win against Feijen. Which is huge considering he basically came out of nowhere.
Thorpe did well too. He had a successful tournament.
Deuel was the weakest for the USA. But for whatever reason, it worked out. Corey just doesn't look as focused or competitive as the others. We know he is past his prime, but he's not old either. But he competes like he's old. If that makes sense. He doesn't project the image of strength out there on the table. Deuel was at one time a guy who never feared a shot, and would pull off some serious shots when needed. Where nothing felt safe on the table against him. Aggressive, fearless. Saw zero of that. He's much more timid, less confident. Maybe it's that Moochi he's playing with lol JK
Styer...if it wasn't for Skyler's powerful singles matches wins - Styer would be the story for the USA. Sure, he fell apart in his last match - but the rest of the days he was strong and really contributed a lot in the doubles and in his win against Feijen. Which is huge considering he basically came out of nowhere.
Thorpe did well too. He had a successful tournament.
Deuel was the weakest for the USA. But for whatever reason, it worked out. Corey just doesn't look as focused or competitive as the others. We know he is past his prime, but he's not old either. But he competes like he's old. If that makes sense. He doesn't project the image of strength out there on the table. Deuel was at one time a guy who never feared a shot, and would pull off some serious shots when needed. Where nothing felt safe on the table against him. Aggressive, fearless. Saw zero of that. He's much more timid, less confident. Maybe it's that Moochi he's playing with lol JK
So it is over...and I have to admit, I didn`t expect USA to win this year.
We saw a very strong rookie performance, but not like the last years were Ouschan and Filler made brilliant debuts for Team Europe. It was US boy Styer, who was a key player in this years cup. His performance in the warm up against England was promising, but managing to stand your ground at the MC is on another level and I think, that this young man has a bright future in pool in front of him.
Mr. Woodward had a shaky start and it looked like he again couldn`t fulfill his potential. Well it turned out that he could. He was a bit lucky at some points, but he was strong-nerved while someone like Shaw crumbled under the pressure, while he was busy overacting his tenseness.
Running out the final rack against Ouschan may be the finest mental performance of Skyler`s career so far.
It may look like a team win, but in the end it was a two man show. Thorpe and Deuel tried hard, but they are a level beyond the best MC players. Shane and the MC is a never ending story and even if he did perform better this year, he, for reasons someone can only speculate, may never be able to dominate a MC.
From paper form, Team Europe might be the strongest losing team in MC history, but their performance was nowhere near their usual level.
Ouschan was the only one who was at his best, which makes Skyler`s win even more impressive.
Feijen and Shaw underperformed, but at least Nils has avoided to embarrass himself, his team and European pool. New nickname: "Jayson Eagleass Shaw".
Kaci never felt comfortable and his own team/ coach played a big role to keep him out of his comfort zone.
Albin Ouschan said in an interview, that Darren Appleton was like a father to him while playing his first Cup. Kaci was missing such a figure and even had to team up with Eagleass.
In general I think Chamat didn`t make the best decisions when it came to the doubles matches, while Johann`s tactic and timing was up to the task.
I think Kazakis actually didn`t play that bad, he tried very hard, but I think he is on the same level as Deuel or Thorpe. Hard workers, but not the top of the tops.
So see you in 2019, where the Europeans will hopefully correct this little slip-up. :wink:
We saw a very strong rookie performance, but not like the last years were Ouschan and Filler made brilliant debuts for Team Europe. It was US boy Styer, who was a key player in this years cup. His performance in the warm up against England was promising, but managing to stand your ground at the MC is on another level and I think, that this young man has a bright future in pool in front of him.
Mr. Woodward had a shaky start and it looked like he again couldn`t fulfill his potential. Well it turned out that he could. He was a bit lucky at some points, but he was strong-nerved while someone like Shaw crumbled under the pressure, while he was busy overacting his tenseness.
Running out the final rack against Ouschan may be the finest mental performance of Skyler`s career so far.
It may look like a team win, but in the end it was a two man show. Thorpe and Deuel tried hard, but they are a level beyond the best MC players. Shane and the MC is a never ending story and even if he did perform better this year, he, for reasons someone can only speculate, may never be able to dominate a MC.
From paper form, Team Europe might be the strongest losing team in MC history, but their performance was nowhere near their usual level.
Ouschan was the only one who was at his best, which makes Skyler`s win even more impressive.
Feijen and Shaw underperformed, but at least Nils has avoided to embarrass himself, his team and European pool. New nickname: "Jayson Eagleass Shaw".
Kaci never felt comfortable and his own team/ coach played a big role to keep him out of his comfort zone.
Albin Ouschan said in an interview, that Darren Appleton was like a father to him while playing his first Cup. Kaci was missing such a figure and even had to team up with Eagleass.
In general I think Chamat didn`t make the best decisions when it came to the doubles matches, while Johann`s tactic and timing was up to the task.
I think Kazakis actually didn`t play that bad, he tried very hard, but I think he is on the same level as Deuel or Thorpe. Hard workers, but not the top of the tops.
So see you in 2019, where the Europeans will hopefully correct this little slip-up. :wink:
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yeh, this is also the answer to the question that i ask myself a dozen times each year "how could he miss that shot?". the pressure must be sick out there
i do think that neither kaci or kazakis are suited for this kind of tournament. they are slow and deliberate players but unlike ralf they don't convert to the shot clock
Jayson Shaw was definitely a negative to the european team this year
Great player, but acted just a jackass
Thrusting his chest out like a pootus when he won a frame (not a match, a frame)
Bobbing his head along when the crowd were being rowdy like a bad billy ray cyrus concert
Next year's cup in Vegas should be epic. The US needs just to replace Corey
Europe should totally revamp their team
Great player, but acted just a jackass
Thrusting his chest out like a pootus when he won a frame (not a match, a frame)
Bobbing his head along when the crowd were being rowdy like a bad billy ray cyrus concert
Next year's cup in Vegas should be epic. The US needs just to replace Corey
Europe should totally revamp their team
That damned data! It keeps getting in the way of perfectly good opinions.