Mosconi Cup: Day 1

Nine-Ball Pool's answer to the Ryder Cup started yesterday in the York Hall, Bethnal Green. The 17th annual Mosconi cup sees the five best Americans take on the five best Europeans in a four day event. Matches are first to six racks and the team that gets eleven points first become champions. USA won the Mosconi Cup last year with a 11-7 victory.

Opening match of the tournament saw all five members of each team take on each other in the baker match. Nick Van Den Berg of Holland broke the first rack after captain Souquet of Germany won the lag, he potted two from the break but the one ball was unpottable. This lead to a defensive battle which the German captain Souquet finished by banking it. USA went onto take the initiative but Hatch missed the four ball, from there Europe cut and run with Van Den Berg potting the nine to give Europe a 1-0 lead.
The breaking format is alternate so Rodney 'Rocket' Morris broke for USA in the second rack, he potted a ball but the team elected for a push out. Souquet stepped up and made a snooker which Johnny Archer re-made and Mika 'Iceman' Immonen of Finland escaped it. Shane Van Boening as next to provide a snooker which Souquet escaped. Englishman Karl Boyes turned the tables on his Mosconi Cup debut with a snooker of his own which Morris escaped. Corey Deuel finally potted the one ball but Archer missed the two. Englishman Darron Appleton potted it and Europe cut and run with Immonen potting the nine ball to make it 2-0.
Souquet broke in the third and potted a ball but a defensive encounter ensued. Van Den Berg misses the two which Dennis Hatch potted. Morris followed with a nice carom off the three ball to pot the eight and USA cleared up with Deuel potting the nine to make it 2-1.
Archer potted two balls in his break and USA were looking like they were going cut and run before Van Boening missed the eight. Appleton potted it and Immonen potted the nine to make it 3-1.
Souquet broke again in the fifth and potted a ball but snookered his teammate on the two ball and elected to push out. Hatch missed his pot but luckily got a snooker. Van Den Berg replaced the snooker but because no ball touched a cushion it was deemed a foul and USA were awarded a ball in hand. USA cut and run with Deuel potting the nine ball again to make it 2-3.
Archer pulled a dry break on his second attempt in the match. Appleton missed the one ball which Van Boening potted. Morris then missed the three ball which Immonen potted to allow Europe to cut and run with Souquet potting the nine. 2-4.
Boyes broke in the seventh rack and Van Den Berg produced a snooker. Deuel escaped and Archer went onto pot the two ball. Deuel made a snooker on the six ball which Immonen scratched from to allow USA to cut and run. Morris potted the nine ball to make it 3-4.
Deuel then broke dry and Souquet potted the one but snookered teammate Boyes on the two. Boyes' attempt saw the two finish in the jaws of the pocket leaving Archer an easy pot. Van Boening then left the three open allowing Van Den Berg to pot it. Appleton applied pressure with a snooker on the four but Hatch escaped. Morris went onto pot the four but Deuel missed the five. Souquet then potted the five before a safety duel occurred. Van Boening went onto bank the seven to allow Hatch to pot the eight and Morris the nine to level the score at 4-4.
Immonen made the first illegal break of the night, he potted a ball but two others failed to pass the head string. Deuel missed the one though and Souquet punished him. Archer made a pot on the three which allowed USA to cut and run with Van Boening potting the nine ball to give USA the lead for the first time.
Hatch broke for the win and potted a ball but USA elected for a push out which the Europeans decided to give back. Van Den Berg applied pressure with a snooker but Deuel replaced it and Appleton escaped . Archer then made a 1-3 combination shot before Immonen made a snooker. Hatch managed to fluke the one but Morris missed the two, leaving Souquet to snooker. Boyes went onto pot the two before Van Den Berg missed a 4-6 combination. Morris fouled on the eight ball leaving Appleton to pot it and Immonen to pot the nine to make it 5-5.
The final rack was broke by Souquet and he potted a ball. Deuel missed the one which Van Den Berg potted to allow Europe to cut and run, Immonen potted the nine and Europe won the first point with a 5-6 victory.
The second game saw a doubles match between Hatch & Morris against Souquet & Van Den Berg. Morris broke first after winning the lag but came up dry and it was also illegal. Van Den Berg missed a early carom onto the nine and Hatch made a snooker from it. Souquet escaped it but Morris potted the one to allow them to cut and run with Morris finishing what he started. 1-0.
Van Den Berg broke in the second and potted a ball. Hatch potted the two after a mistake and he went onto finish what he started to give them a 2-0 lead.
Hatch potted three balls off his break but they still elected to push out. It was given back and Morris made a snooker. Souquet fouled to allow Morris to snooker again on the four. Van Den Berg escaped and Souquet managed to pot the four before he scratched on the nine ball. Morris did the honours to make it 3-0.
Souquet potted a ball of his break but it scratched and nine ball also went down. With the nine ball re-spotted Hatch and Morris cut and run to make it 4-0.
Morris potted two balls from his break in the fifth but Hatch played safe on the three. It didn't work as Van Den Berg fluked the three but Souquet missed the easy four. Morris punished The Kaiser but missed the six after a poor positional finish from Hatch. Van den Berg potted the six but again over-ran for position which Souquet went onto miss the seven. The Americans finished it off and made 5-0.
Van Den Berg broke to keep his partner and himself in the game, he made a ball. Van Den Berg went onto produce a snooker which Morris escaped from. Souquet potted the five to allow the Europeans to cut and run to pull a leg back, 5-1.
Hatch made a ball in the seventh but Morris elected for a push out which was given back. It was the right choice as Souquet potted the one to allow the cut and run to make it 5-2.
Souquet broke dry in the eighth but Hatch could only provide a snooker. Van Den Berg replaced it but Morris chip potted the one ball before Hatch missed the two. Souquet then produced a snooker which Morris escaped but left the two on. Van Den Berg potted it to cut and run to make it 5-3.
Morris broke and potted the one ball to give himself and Hatch a great opportunity to cut and run. Hatch however missed the eight ball after bad position from Morris to allow the Europeans to pull it back to 5-4.
Van Den Berg broke in the tenth and made two balls. But Van Den Berg went onto miss a reverse bank shot on the four to allow the Americans to cut and run and win the game 6-4. Making the overall score 1-1.
The third game saw a singles match between Corey Deuel and Mika Immonen. The American won the lag and potted two off his opening break. He played safe on the two but Immonen was able to bank it and clear up to take a 0-1 lead.
Immonen made the first cut and run straight form the break to double his lead before Deuel scratched his break in the third. This gave The Iceman the chance to make a 1-9 combination and he didn't disappoint. 0-3.
Immonen made another three balls from his second break and potted the four in off the seven. But he missed a safety shot on the six allowing Deuel to cut and run and put a rack on the board. 1-3.
It was soon 2-3 when Deuel made two balls of the next break leaving him a 3-9 carom. The American took it to go within one of his opponent.
Immonen carried on the fine breaking form with another two balls. He snookered Deuel on the two before going onto pot it. Deuel then made a snooker on the three before scratching. Immonen potted the four before then scratching as well, leaving Deuel to clear up and equalise, 3-3.
Deuel made the first illegal break of the game despite potting a ball. Deuel then missed an inventive 2-9 combination which left the same combination on for Immonen. The Finn didn't miss and restored his lead. 3-4.
Immonen made another three ball on his break before playing safe on the three. Deuel went onto pot it and clear up to level again at 4-4.
Deuel also potted three balls from his next break in the ninth. Immonen potted the two ball before missing the six but getting a snooker. Deuel returned the favour which left Immonen to scratch the cue ball, allowing Deuel to take the lead for the first time, 5-4.
Immonen made two balls in the tenth rack before producing a snooker on the two ball. Deuel again returned the favour which Immonen intentionally fouled from to tie up some balls. What he didn't count on was for Deuel to make a 2-9 combination to win the game 6-4.
There was supposed to be another doubles match but it was getting late so the referees decided to leave it until tomorrow. This meant that after day one of the 17th Mosconi Cup USA lead 2-1.