The 2001 Mosconi Cup                   The Teams - Time Table - Past Results
Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Final Match

SIX YEAR’S IS A LONG TIME TO WAIT but there is a very strong feeling within European pool that the Mosconi Cup is finally coming home after such a long period of total American domination. Taking place at the fabled York Hall, Bethnal Green from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd December, the Mosconi Cup pits six-man teams from the USA and Europe in what is the world of pool’s answer to golf’s Ryder Cup.

Televised live by Sky Sports, the Mosconi Cup will also be watched across the country by millions of pool fans in homes, pubs and clubs. In addition, promoters Matchroom Sport subsequently syndicate the event as 20 one-hour programmes to over 70 countries across the globe.

The American team sees two changes to the side that won last year. Out go the nervy Michael Coltrain and out-of-form Shannon Daulton to be replaced by rising star >Charlie Williams and Nick Varner who has twice lifted the Mosconi Cup as captain in 1997 and ’98. Earl Strickland will again be in charge of the team and he will be joined by US Open champion Corey Deuel, four-time Mosconi veteran Johnny ‘the Scorpion’ Archer, and the rock-solid Jeremy ‘Double J’ Jones.

The American team sees two changes to the side that won last year. Out go the nervy Michael Coltrain and out-of-form Shannon Daulton to be replaced by rising star Charlie Williams and Nick Varner who has twice lifted the Mosconi Cup as captain in 1997 and ’98. Earl Strickland will again be in charge of the team and he will be joined by US Open champion Corey Deuel, four-time Mosconi veteran Johnny ‘the Scorpion’ Archer, and the rock-solid Jeremy ‘Double J’ Jones.

In the blue corner for the Europeans will be captain Ralf ‘the Kaiser’ Souquet making his seventh Mosconi Cup appearance. Steve Davis and Steve Knight will be carrying British hopes and back in the team is Marcus Chamat (Sweden) who proved a real hit with the Bethnal Green fans last year. Reigning World Champion Mika ‘the Iceman’ Immonen of Finland plays and the new kid on the block is the Terminator Niels Feijen (Holland) who has had a fantastic season, winning big money around the world.

Now in its fifth year in East London, the packed, boisterous crowds at the York Hall have always played a part and this year it could be crucial. Commented Euro-skipper Ralf Souquet, “ I have played in tournaments all over the world; the United States, Europe and the pool-crazy countries of the Far-East but the atmosphere at the York Hall is quite unbelievable. The crowds are passionate about the game and for players it can be tough. I know of one player whose nerves have been shot to pieces by two appearances at the York Hall. This year, though, we are all confident that it will be a glorious Sunday night for the Europeans and I feel sure that the crowds will play their part.”

Once again, tickets for the event are free and available from the York Hall or Matchroom Sport

For further information contact:
LUKE RICHES - 01708 782212 / 0385 395688
luke.riches@matchroom.com

The TeamsTop

The 2001 Mosconi CupTop

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1994    Rollerbowl, Romford

USA  16 - 12  EUROPE
Ralf Souquet (Germany), Steve Davis (UK), Lee Tucker (UK), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Tom Storm (Sweden), Jimmy White (UK), Franziska Stark (Germany), Allison Fisher (UK)

Lou Butera, Paul Gerni, Bobby Hunter, Dallas West, Mark Wilson, Mike Gulyassy, Jeanette Lee, Vivian Villarreal

EUROPE  16 - 15  USA
Daryl Peach (UK), Steve Davis (UK), Alex Higgins (UK), Lee Kendall (UK), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Tom Storm (Sweden), Jimmy White (UK)

Lou Butera, Mike Massey, Robert Hunter, Dallas West, Mark Wilson, Mike Gulyassy, John DiToro

1996   Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham

USA  15 - 13  EUROPE 
Steve Davis (UK), Vincent Facquet (France), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Oliver Ortmann, (Germany), Mika Immonen (Finland), Ronnie O’Sullivan (UK), Andy Richardson (UK)

Earl Strickland, Mike Massey, CJ Wiley, Roger Griffis, Shannon Daulton, Allen Hopkins, Danny Harriman

1997     York Hall, Bethnal Green

USA  13 - 8  EUROPE
Steve Davis (UK), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Mika Immonen (Finland), Ronnie O'Sullivan (UK), Tommy Donlon (UK)

Earl Strickland, Kim Davenport, Johnny Archer, Jim Rempe, Nick Varner, Reed Pierce

1998      York Hall, Bethnal Green

USA  13 - 9  EUROPE
Ralf Souquet (Germany), Steve Knight (UK), Mika Immonen (Finland), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Steve Davis (UK), Fabio Petroni (Italy)

Kim Davenport, Johnny Archer, Earl Strickland, Reed Pierce, Nick Varner, Jim Rempe

1999      York Hall, Bethnal Green

USA  12 - 7  EUROPE
Steve Knight (UK), Mika Immonen (Finland), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Alex Lely (Holland), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Steve Davis (UK)

Johnny Archer, Kim Davenport, Jeremy Jones, Jim Rempe, Earl Strickland, Michael Coltrain

2000      York Hall, Bethnal Green

USA  12 - 9 EUROPE
Steve Knight (UK), Mika Immonen (Finland), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Thomas Engert (Germany), Marcus Chamat (Sweden), Steve Davis (UK)

Johnny Archer, Shannon Daulton, Jeremy Jones, Corey Deuel, Earl Strickland, Michael Coltrain

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Europe 1 - 2 USA

Team Europe drew first blood in the Daily Star-sponsored 2001 Mosconi Cup at the York Hall, Bethnal Green as the pairing of Dutch Terminator Niels Feijen and London-born World Champion Mika Immonen overcame the US pairing of Johnny Archer and Nick Varner in front of a noisy full-house at the York Hall.

Crowd noise though was the least of Immonen's problems as he had to ask the American duo to keep their talking to a minimum while he was at the table. However, some errors from the American and good safety from the Europeans saw Mika and Niels run into an early 3-0 lead.

With pool's ultimate team prize on offer, the gum chewing veteran Varner and Archer rallied after their nervy start to square it up to 3 racks each after some errors from the Europeans gave them the necessary opportunities.

When the crunch came though the European pair played some match-winning shots under pressure and the final rack was a cue for some heroics from Feijen and he clinched the winning 9-ball.
Commented Feijen, " That was awesome out there. I felt good coming into the arena but that soon turned to nerves when the match started. I made a great safety shot though and that settled me down. We both felt really confident out there and I think I did really good for a first timer!"

In the second match of the evening America squared the match as World No.1 Cory Deuel and debutant Charlie Williams easily overcame the pairing of Marcus Chamat and Londoner Steve Knight. Both Europeans made the kind of mistakes that the likes of Cory Deuel feast on and the 5-1 scoreline was a fair reflection.

In the final match of the evening the United States moved into a 2 - 1 lead as the US captain Earl Strickland and Jeremy Jones made light work of Euro skipper Ralf Souquet and crowd favourite Steve Davis. Double J was his usual solid self, confidently running out when the opportunity arose and helping a sub-par Earl along. Indeed, Strickland was suffering from jet lag as he missed his Monday night flight and only arrived in London at 9.00 this morning.

By contrast, the Euro pairing were woeful as they presented the Americans with all the chances they needed.
Commented Steve Davis after the match, " We're going to have to do better than that if the Mosconi Cup is coming home. To be fair to Ralf, I committed worse sins than him and as we are usually the stronger team in the doubles we will need to pull our collective fingers out tomorrow."

Play continues tomorrow with three doubles matches in the afternoon, followed by three singles games in the evening.

Full Results ( Europeans first )

Friday 21^st December – Day 2Top

Europe 1 - 8 USA

The United States increased their lead in the Daily Star-sponsored Mosconi Cup as the combination of Earl Strickland and Jeremy Jones repeated their victory of yesterday over a lacklustre Ralf Souquet and Steve Davis. The match was a replica of Thursday night's match with Jones dominating throughout and Strickland looking a little out of sorts. In the European corner, neither player looked good and the low point came when Steve Davis
missed a straight 9-ball to make the score 3 - 2. Play continues this afternoon with two more doubles matches.

The following match-up continued the gloom for Europe as Mika Immonen and Niels Feijen threw away a 4 -2 lead to lose 5 - 2 to the US pairing of Nick Varner and Johnny Archer. The match was marred by controversy as Johnny Archer was called for a foul by referee Michaela Tabb after feathering the cue ball while making his break shot. Europe went on to win that rack but mistakes by Feijen and Immonen gave the Americans the chances they required.

The United States completed a clean sweep of this afternoon's doubles matches to lead the 2001 Mosconi Cup by four points.With just two of the seven sessions completed, things are looking ominous for the European team as a succession of poor performances let the Americans take control. In the final match of the evening Steve Knight and Marcus Chamat made a fist of it in the early stages before falling away to Charlie Wiliams and Cory Deuel by a margin of 5 - 2. With three singles matches this evening, the Europeans really need to win all of them in order to mount any sort of meaningful challenge at the weekend.

Johnny Archer turned the screw tonight at the York Hall as he cast aside the challenge of World Champion Mika Immonen to give the United States a 6 - 1 lead in the 2001 Mosconi Cup. In one of the better games of the tournament so far, Immonen played well but was hampered by one or two bad runs. Archer, however, who has not had his greatest season played his best game so far to take the point. The situation now looks extremely bleak for the Europeans.

All the European anticipation of Thursday afternoon has all but evaporated as the USA made it seven wins from eight matches as Jeremy Jones put in a flawless performance to coast past Euro skipper Ralf Souquet in front of an increasingly subdued York Hall crowd. For all Jones' finesse and skill, Souquet made the kind of unforced errors that have characterised the entire European side over the last two days. With Cory Deuel a heavy favourite over Steve Davis in the last match of the evening, the prospect of an early finish look more and more likely.

13 racks to 30. That's the massive drubbing the USA inflicted on the Europeans in today's 6 - 0 whitewash at the York Hall in the 2001 Mosconi Cup. They now need just four more matches to take the trophy and the prospect of no play on Sunday looks ever likely. Tonight it was Cory Deuel's turn in the final match as he hammered Bethnal Green favourite Steve Davis 5 - 1 to increase the misery in the European team room. With the crowd vocally pro-Davis, Deuel even apologised to them at the close for blitzing their man. With three singles matches tomorrow afternoon, it would be realistic to say that Europe now need a miracle.

Results (Europeans first)

Davis / Souquet     2 - 5  Strickland / Jones
Immonen / Feijen  4 - 5  Varner / Archer
Knight / Chamat   2 - 5   Deuel / Williams
Mika Immonen      3 - 5  Johnny Archer
Ralf Souquet          1 - 5  Jeremy Jones
Steve Davis             1 - 5  Cory Deuel

Saturday 22^nd December – Day 3Top

Europe 1 - 11 USA

Charlie Williams, the 24 year-old from Orlando, Florida, continued his superb Mosconi Cup debut with an easy 5 - 2 win over Marcus Chamat as the American procession continued at the York Hall. Chamat looked extremely
nervous and that told as a succession of poor shots made easy work for Williams, who took his chances well.
Commented Williams, " Wow! I've got a 100% record and I came over here thinking 'just don't lose every match'! There's so much pressure out there, I've seen the tapes with guys missing easy shots but the guys have been a great support to me. Earl has been a really commanding captain, really taking care of us."

US captain Earl 'the Pearl' Strickland inflicted further humiliation on the European side at the Mosconi Cup as he added yet another comfortable win to his record, beating Niels Feijen 5 - 2. It now seems impossible that the event will last to Sunday as the USA now need two points from today's four matches to clinch the trophy. The match was the same old story with the edgy Dutchman handing enough opportunities to the solid American for him to win.
Commented Earl, " I had to work on a few things before I came over to make sure I contributed as a player as well as captain. Today I played all the percentages, safeties and kick shots that I needed and managed to tie him up a few times. I've been working the guys on the practice table, making sure that we all do the simple things right and that is what has happened."

The greatest comeback since Lazarus will be required if Europe are to win the Mosconi Cup for the first time since 1995 as the USA completed a 3 - 0 whitewash of this afternoon's matches to leave themselves needing just one point to put them over the winning line. In the final match it was Nick Varner's turn as he came from 3 -1 down to beat Steve Knight, just one of four European players to remain pointless in the event. Tonight sees a potential three doubles matches but the way the event has panned out only one may be needed.

Marcus Chamat 2 - 5  Charlie Williams
Niels Feijen        2 - 5  Earl Strickland
Steve Knight       3 - 5  Nick Varner

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Europe 1 - 12 USA

In the most one-sided Mosconi Cup of its eight year history, the United States lifted the trophy after hammering the Europeans 12 -1 to leave the event finishing a day early. In the final match Johnny Archer and Nick
Varner, who ironically were the only US losers of the tournament, dispensed with the World Champion and European No.1, Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet 5 - 1 to leave the sizeable US contingent in the crowd chanting the familiar York Hall refrain of 'USA, USA!'

Commented winning captain Earl Strickland, who hoisted the coveted Mosconi Cup for the second time in his illustrious career, " I'm very aware of the fact that we had a lot of the breaks over the last three days and the
Europeans didn't but that is the nature of the game and I make no excuses. I'm honored to be captain again because this is really the only team event when you represent your country. My players were outstanding throughout and full praise to them. I'm sure I've got a few more good years left in me but I hope that when I'm old and grey and watching the Mosconi Cup, I'll be thinking that I was part of that great event."

Johnny Archer, who shot the winning 9-ball for the third time said, "That was the best team ever; we really stuck together and Earl's captaincy spoke for itself."

The final word went to the oft-defeated Euro skipper Ralf Souquet; "Winning the Mosconi Cup is my target in life.That's my dream having been defeated seven times. Despite our poor performance I'd like to thank my team mates and congratulate the Americans. One year we've got to win the Mosconi Cup."

Souquet / Immonen 1 - 5 Archer / Varner