Team Europe 9-5 Team USA
Jayson Shaw 5-2 Chris Reinhold
Shaw/Filler 5-2 Woodward/Styer
Eklent Kaçi 5-3 Shane Van Boening
Ouschan/Alcaide 5-1 Van Boening/Styer
David Alcaide 5-4 Jeremy Jones
Team Europe puts in a dominant display to thump the USA 5-0 on the third day of 2021 Mosconi Cup to take a 9-5 lead going into the final day of action at Alexandra Palace, London, and only two away from retaining the title.
2020 Mosconi Cup MVP, Jayson Shaw kept up his 100% record in singles action bybeating the USA’s Chris Reinhold 5-2 to open the session. A break and run in the first rack set the tone of the match the him display his Pool mastery thereby building up steam and pull Europe back level at 5-5 eliminating USA early day 2 lead.
Joining Germany’s Joshua Filler, Shaw played the first doubles match of the evening against the USA’s two stars of day two in Skyler Woodward and Tyler Styer. Shaw and Filler have become a formidable duo over the years as a doubles pairing and it was no different as they ran out 5-2 winners to put Europe back in the lead. Styer struggled at times as Filler went on to break in the last rack as Europe ran the rack to take control of the cup.
Former World no 1, Eklent Kaçi delivered a huge European point against Shane Van Boening coming from 3-1 down to defeat the USA vice captian 5-3. The Albanian scratched in the fifth rack but within a few shots he was back at the table in what was ultimately the tide turning in the contest as Van Boening left the five hanging in the pocket gifting Kaçi his second rack. Van Boening got his angles wrong in the following rack with only three balls left on the table scratching as he cut the seven ball in for Kaçi to pull level. From there, the 2021 Mosconi Cup marks the fourth edition for Kaçi, won the next two racks to seal victory with a fluke 3 9 combo in the last rack.
Van Boening’s luck on day three was summed up in the opening rack of his doubles encounter with Styer against Albin Ouschan and David Alcaide as he played the six ball down the rail only for it to rattle back and put the USA 1-0 down. The fans had yet to see much of World Champion Ouschan and Alcaide, but they put on the performance of all performances clearing up for a 5-1 win and put Europe 8-5 up and three away from the title.
2019 World Pool Masters Champion Alcaide completed the whitewash session for Europe against the USA’s captain Jeremy Jones to wrap up the evening in dramatic fashion. Jones led Alcaide at 4-3 when the Spaniard forced a final rack which is when one of the racks of a generation unfolded. Jones and Alcaide were locked in an intense safety battle with the experience of one pocket and three-cushion on strong display from both players when a fatal error was made by Jones. The American had already used his extension earlier in the rack when with only four balls left on the table, he asked for the cue ball to be cleaned, only to run out of time and give Alcaide ball in hand to secure Europe’s 5-0 session win.
“The first two days were rough. We got schooled. They showed us how to play smart and how to play with heart, so we had two reality checks on day one and that wasn’t enough. On day two, we got away with it by winning the last match. From there, we took over momentum, we are very relieved and very proud,” said Alex Lely, Europe’s captain.
“The commitment and not taking anything for granted. There was a realisation that the Mosconi Cup is a different atmosphere. It’s about bottle, heart, and courage and doing it when you’re out there and being ready to get out in the arena. And if you’re not ready, everyone can get caught by the pressure.”
“I was lying awake until 5 am, which doesn’t usually happen, I had so many things to think about and maybe some things I started out telling the guys this morning I felt like I had made a mistake. I spoke out about some things where I felt we lacked and where I felt America was showing us how to do it. I said all that. I said listen, if we talk about going to war, if you really go to war, you look into each other’s eyes, Karl and I left the room and we expected them to talk. That helped. They spoke amongst each other; the leadership is now inside the group and not outside it.”
“It was a beautiful rack. There was a lot to learn in just that one rack. JJ has been around the block a couple of times; he made some great shots but Alcaide responded brilliantly.”
“I want them to be clinical and disciplined and get the job done.”
The 2021 Mosconi Cup organized by Matchroom Multi sport UK is the largest Pool’s rivalry as Europe and the USA meet over four days in a race to 11 points
In a build up to the commencement of the 2021 Mosconi Cup, Idada Joachim, President of the Snooker and Pool Players Alliance and guest analysis on Cuesport, Nigeria’s premier TV programme on Billiard, Snooker Pool had predicated that Europe would successfully defend their title at the end of this years event.
asentv.tv brings to you up-to-date news and happening in sports and entertainment. Subscribe to our YouTude channel for interest program and videos
