King: It's USA all the way
AHEAD of the 2008 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup, we will be hearing from respected pool journalists on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
First up is Mason King explaining why it's USA all the way...
By Mason King
Managing Editor, Billiards Digest
THE
global balance of power in pool has shifted decidedly to Europe this year, as almost every major event has ended with some ridiculously fit, disciplined and mentally vigorous European lifting a Volkswagen-sized trophy next to his toothy grin.
So, on paper, Team Europe would appear the prohibitive favourite against the USA at the 2008 Mosconi Cup. Highly decorated teammates Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, Niels Feijen, Tony Drago and Mark Gray have been in the habit of collecting hardware for their bulging trophy cases all year long.
Truth be told, nobody is playing stronger, sharper or smarter than these guys.
Too bad for Team Europe that the Mosconi Cup isn't about who's playing the best pool.
The Mosconi Cup isn't a tournament. It's a pool crucible. A super-heated and pressurized environment of TV lights and short races and alternate breaks and interpersonal chemistry where the normal laws of pool no longer apply.
It's not about individual achievement. It's about momentum. It's about mojo. It's about emotion. It's about talent, trust and togetherness.
You can't quantify this stuff. And this year, America has assembled Team Intangible.
This is, without a doubt, the most tight-knit, tough-minded and battle-tested team that the U.S. has ever offered at the Cup. And, still smarting from Europe's 11-8 smack-down in 2007, they're motivated to kick some European butt.
The 2007 team was scattered and distracted. They weren't sure what to expect from rookie Shane Van Boening. Caught off-guard by Europe's charge on Day 2, they allowed a sense of panic to settle in the practice room. They obsessed about little things. And they fell apart.
This year's group is all glue, starting with skipper Nick 'The Kentucky Colonel' Varner, the universally respected Hall-of-Famer and one of the game's best minds for match-ups. Then add Jeremy Jones, the steady Texan who's everybody's buddy and a six-time Cup veteran. These guys provide Southern comfort to Team USA's cocktail.
The still-hungry Johnny Archer has settled into a title-hording groove this year and is playing some of his most lethal pool. He's also been spending quality time on the two-man "Legends & Champions" exhibition tour with Team USA's most potent weapon and biggest question mark - the combustible Earl Strickland.
A stable and well-insulated Strickland, who has won 66 percent of his matches over 12 years at the Cup, is bad news for Team Europe. And if he wigs out, this group can reel him back in.
Rodney Morris is the bellowing heart of this team, and he's bonded with young gun Van Boening (who ended up the team's top performer in 2007). Together, they won the World Cup of Pool in October by displaying the kind of cohesiveness, single-mindedness and team spirit that the USA must harness to swipe the Mosconi Cup this year.
And they will. On Malta's foreign soil, captain Varner will tap the us-against-the-world bunker mentality that always seems to inspire the Americans. They know each other and what they're capable of. Europe won't be able to knock these guys off-stride or on their heels.
If you look at it on an individual basis, it's hard to argue with Souquet, Feijen and Immonen - this year's world 8-ball, world straight-pool and U.S. Open 9-Ball champs. But I'll take Archer, Morris and Van Boening in short races.
That leaves Strickland and Jones against EuroTour ace Gray - an untested rookie - and erratic speedster Drago, who isn't likely to repeat the emotion-fuelled 4-0 singles run from 2007.
The Mosconi Cup isn't a race, so forget about Europe's thoroughbreds. In the searing heat of transatlantic battle, I'll take America's tight team of warhorses.
