Wow, what a great Mosconi Cup for Team Europe, who succeeded in battering Team USA three days in a row.
After two breath-taking days of consistent game play, the Europeans were 8-2 up and needed only three points to claim the silverware with a day to spare.
A doubles game kicked off the day with Earl Strickland and Dennis Hatch against German player Ralf Souquet and our very own Darren Appleton. The Americans had a great start, going 2-0 up after a golden break from Hatch, but the Europeans soon retaliated with four frames in a row, eventually leading them to a 6-3 victory.
Next up was a singles match between the British Karl Boyes and the well established American player Earl Strickland. This was a difficult match, with Strickland clearly trying to prove his status as the best player on the team, as he had stated in a controversial televised interview yesterday.
He got off to a bad start, going 2-0 down and was constantly talking and complaining. But he managed to up his game and bring it back to 3-5. Both players missed some keys shots, but Strickland looked like a man on the edge, talking incessantly to himself, moaning about the Europeans luck, slamming his cue down to the point of bending it and verbally abusing Boyes’ appearance.
Umpire Ken Schuman had to ask Strickland to be quiet more than once and the European’s non-playing captain Johan Ruijsink wasn’t happy with how Earl was being aloud to carry on, having a word with the umpire during a break at 3-5, ‘some of the language, a little abusive’ as described by the commentators. Boyes has seen this behavior from Strickland before in a tournament previously, as he says in the below interview.
But Boyes managed to compose himself and win the well deserved point, after a tough last frame, leaving Team Europe with only one point away of claiming the silverware.
The Last match was a doubles affair with Morris and Hatch defending America’s last chance of staying in this year’s Mosconi Cup. The game came to a level 4-4, with Team USA putting up a decent fight, but it was all in vein as Feijen and Immonen jumped in to win the last two racks, claiming the tournament-winning point.
Team Europe were delighted, especially those players who were hammered by Team USA in previous years. The Europeans were all very praising of their captain Ruijsink, who is well practiced in motivating teams and bringing individual players together to work as a team.
Many pool fans were upset by Strickland’s conduct, making their views known on various social networks, expressing their embarrassment and saying that he is a disgrace to the sport. What do you think about Strickland’s conduct? Should his opposition be able to carry on and play regardless of his conduct? Or is this the kind of bad sportsmanship that shouldn’t be tolerated at this level? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below, or via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Written By: Abi Ponton