Forgettable start for Team USA, but things got interesting in a hurry in the opening five on five match. The general level of play was fairly forgettable, but not unexpected for players that haven't competed this year. The match ended up being a dandy, though, and an unexpected moment of mastery by a Mosconi Cup rookie provided the decisive blow.
Filler fluked bank the six in rack 1, and rightfully apologized to his opponent.
SVB then broke dry but Shaw had to push out. In my opinion, his pushout wasn't very good, leaving a relatively simple and low-risk safety. I was astonished when SVB gave it back, and not surprisingly, Shaw hooked him, won the race to the shot and then ran out.
In rack 3, Ouschan broke dry and left a two way bank for Robinson, which, to his credit, he found. It seemed a free chance to win control of the rack, but Chris hit it too hard, failing to snooker Ouschan on the miss, and Ouschan ran out for 3-0.
Kaci was in the giving mood in rack four, committing a clothing foul as he lined up the six ball, so Thorpe got ball in hand on the six, running out for 3-1. Kaci, I suspect, will get the bridge next time. This seemed to play Team USA back into a match that already looked lost.
In rack 5, the first shot Fedor Gorst ever played at the Mosconi was exceptional, a slight masse to pocket the one ball rail first, but he then missed the long two into half a pocket, giving Corey Deuel an opening, upon which he capitalized, to bring it to 3-2.
Skyler broke wet in rack six, but had to push out. Quite reasonably, he pushed into a tough cross-side bank, predictably given back, and Skyler missed it. Filler had a tough layout and had a bad miss on the six, enabling Skyler to tie up that team match at 3-3, exacting a loud cheer from the non-existent fans.
Shaw broke dry in rack seven, and SVB made quick and efficient work of the rack, giving Team USA its first lead of the team match at 4-3. Well played!
In rack eight, Chris Robinson broke dry but only left a chancy combo. Ouschan missed it, leaving a long kick, which Chris hit fairly well, leaving Ouschan a tricky one ball in which he'd have to develop the two with inside english. Ouschan hit it like a champion, setting up a runout, but Albin missed the five. Mosconi rookie Robinson made a nice five ball, but failed on a six-seven combo, and Alibn also missed a six-seven combo. Then, Robinson made the shot of the match, pocketing a long bank of the six ball, a shot you'd never expect of a Mosconi Cup rookie. This set up the runout that won the match 5-3 and put Team USA ahead 1-0 in the 2020 Mosconi Cup.
Great drama for sure, but hardly great pool.