2021 Mosconi Cup
| 2021 Mosconi Cup | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7–10 December 2021 |
| Venue | Alexandra Palace |
| Location | London, England |
| Captains | Alex Lely (EU) Jeremy Jones (US) |
| MVP | Jayson Shaw |
 11 – 6  Europe retains the Mosconi Cup | |
The 2021 Mosconi Cup (officially the 2021 Cazoo Mosconi Cup)[1] was the 28th edition of an annual nine-ball pool tournament between teams representing Europe and the United States. It took place between 7 and 10 December 2021 at the Alexandra Palace in London, marking the second consecutive year that the tournament had been staged in England, and the first time since 2002 that the event did not alternate annually between the US and Europe. Sponsored by British online car retailer Cazoo, it was broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and on networks worldwide.[2]
Team Europe were the defending champions, having won the previous year's tournament by a scoreline of 11–3. Alex Lely and Karl Boyes again served as Team Europe's non-playing captain and vice-captain, while Jeremy Jones again captained Team USA, with Shane Van Boening promoted to playing vice-captain.[3] Earl Strickland, selected to play on Team USA for the first time since 2013,[4] was forced to withdraw after he came into close contact with a case of COVID-19 on his flight to the UK.[5] Jones, who had intended to act as non-playing captain, came out of retirement to take Strickland's place on the players' roster.[6]
The teams were level at 2–2 after the first session. Team USA won three of the first four matches in the second session to lead 5–3, and looked likely to extend their lead when Jones and Chris Reinhold won four of the first five racks against Europe's Eklent Kaçi and David Alcaide. However, the Europeans fought back to win the match with four consecutive racks, leaving Team USA with a 5–4 overnight lead.[7] Team Europe surged ahead in the third session, winning all five matches. In the final match of the session, with Jones and Alcaide locked in an intense safety battle in the deciding rack, Jones asked referee Marcel Eckardt to clean the cue ball with 12 seconds remaining on his shot clock, mistakenly believing that the clock would be stopped while the ball was cleaned. With no extensions remaining, Jones incurred a time foul, giving Alcaide ball in hand to run out the rack for a session whitewash.[8] Leading 9–5 going into the final day, Team Europe won two of the last three matches to retain the Mosconi Cup by a scoreline of 11–6, giving Europe the overall series lead at 14–13, with one tie.[9] Jayson Shaw was Most Valuable Player, making him only the third player in Mosconi Cup history to be MVP for two consecutive years.
Teams
[edit]| Team Europe[10]
| ||
| Name | Nationality | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| David Alcaide |  Spain
|
|
| Joshua Filler |  Germany
|
|
| Jayson Shaw |  Scotland
|
Most Valuable Player |
| Albin Ouschan |  Austria
|
|
| Eklent Kaçi |  Albania
|
|
| Alex Lely |  Netherlands
|
Non-playing Captain |
| Karl Boyes |  England
|
Non-playing Vice-captain |
| Team USA[10]
| ||
| Name | State of birth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Earl Strickland |  North Carolina
|
Withdrew |
| Skyler Woodward |  Kentucky
|
|
| Chris Reinhold[a] |  California
|
|
| Tyler Styer |  Wisconsin
|
|
| Jeremy Jones |  Texas
|
Playing Captain |
| Shane Van Boening |  South Dakota
|
Playing Vice-captain |
Results
[edit]Tuesday, 7 December
[edit]|
|
Results[11] |
|
|---|---|---|
| Teams Team Europe |
2–5 | Teams Team USA |
| Doubles
Ouschan & Kaçi |
4–5 | Doubles
Styer & Reinhold |
| Singles
Joshua Filler |
5–2 | Singles
Shane Van Boening |
| Doubles
Alcaide & Shaw |
5–0 | Doubles
Woodward & Jones |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 2 | Overall | 2 |
Wednesday, 8 December
[edit]|
|
Results[12] |
|
|---|---|---|
| Singles
Jayson Shaw |
5–3 | Singles
Shane Van Boening |
| Singles
Albin Ouschan |
3–5 | Singles
Skyler Woodward |
| Doubles
Ouschan & Shaw |
4–5 | Doubles
Van Boening & Woodward |
| Singles
Joshua Filler |
3–5 | Singles
Tyler Styer |
| Doubles
Alcaide & Kaçi |
5–4 | Doubles
Reinhold & Jones |
| 2 | Session | 3 |
| 4 | Overall | 5 |
Thursday, 9 December
[edit]|
|
Results[8] |
|
|---|---|---|
| Singles
Jayson Shaw |
5–2 | Singles
Chris Reinhold |
| Doubles
Shaw & Filler |
5–2 | Doubles
Styer & Woodward |
| Singles
Eklent Kaçi |
5–3 | Singles
Shane Van Boening |
| Doubles
Ouschan & Alcaide |
5–1 | Doubles
Styer & Van Boening |
| Singles
David Alcaide |
5–4 | Singles
Jeremy Jones |
| 5 | Session | 0 |
| 9 | Overall | 5 |
Friday, 10 December
[edit]|
|
Results[13] |
|
|---|---|---|
| Doubles
Shaw & Filler |
5-4 | Doubles
Woodward & Van Boening |
| Singles
Jayson Shaw |
2–5 | Singles
Skyler Woodward |
| Singles
Joshua Filler |
5–4 | Singles
Shane Van Boening |
| 2 | Session | 1 |
| 11 | Overall | 6 |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Reinhold competed for Team USA in 2020 under the name Chris Robinson. He adopted his stepfather's last name in the interim.
References
[edit]- ^ "Cazoo title sponsor 2021 Cazoo Mosconi Cup". Matchroom Pool. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "TEAM EUROPE AND USA READY FOR 2021 CAZOO MOSCONI CUP". Matchroom Pool. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Mosconi Cup: The annual nine-ball pool tournament returns to Alexandra Palace in December". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Mosconi Cup: Jayson Shaw claims Earl Strickland selection wrong for Team USA but still expects fireworks". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Mosconi Cup: Earl Strickland out of annual 9-ball pool event due to possible exposure to COVID-19". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Early shock at the Mosconi Cup as Earl Strickland withdraws due to 'possible covid exposure'". PlanetSport. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Mosconi Cup: Team USA leading Europe heading into day three of 9-ball tournament in London". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Team Europe Runs Rampant and Closes In On Victory Over Team USA". AzBilliards. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Mosconi Cup: Team Europe defeat USA to retain trophy at Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Mosconi Cup". Matchroom Pool. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "FINELY POISED AFTER DAY 1 OF 2021 CAZOO MOSCONI CUP". Matchroom Pool. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "USA Take Slender Lead At 2021 Cazoo Mosconi Cup". AzBilliards. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ "Europe Win 2021 Cazoo Mosconi Cup". AzBilliards. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
External links
[edit]