And then there was one. Final day of the Steve Mizerak Championship and after all the chalk dust settled, it was who was crowned the new Seminole Pro Tour champion.

The day stared with a thrilling match between Alex Pagulayan and Donny Mills. Both players played cautious, as to not make a costly mistake that would put their opponent any advantageous position on the table. The score reached hill hill and it was Mills would send Pagulayan to a fourth place finish and a $6,000 prize.

Up next was the hot seat match between Shane Van Boening and Hunter Lombardo. Both players had been playing superbly all weekend. Shane Van Boening got up 2-0 early. Lombardo tied it up at 2 games a piece. After that it was all Shane Van Boening, as he didn’t let his foot off of the accelerator and took the rest of the racks to win the hot seat by a score of 8-2.

Mills, Van Boening and Lombardo

Hunter Lombardo would go on to face Mills in the third place match. This would be yet another match for the ages. Mills would go up by 2 then Lombardo tied the score and went up by 1 himself. Mills would then tied it back up and go up again. Mills would reach the hill first to Lombardo’s 6. Of course, Lombardo would tie it up hill hill and set up one final rack to advance to the finals. Mills got a bad roll after sinking the 8 ball and left himself a very difficult shot on the none ball. Mills’ only option was a tough 9-10 combination in the corner pocket. The crowd held their breath as Mills lined up the shot and cheered loudly when he nailed the shot and sank the 10 ball to win and advance to the finals. Lombardo would finish in third place and claim the $9,000 prize.This would set up the final between Shane Van Boening and Donny Mills.

Shane Van Boening would strike first and go up 2-0. Mills, not wanted to let it get too far out of reach tied it up at 2. Shane Van Boening then went up 8-3. Mills stormed back to win the next two racks to make the score 8-5. Shane Van Boening seemed like he was going to go up 9-5, but rattled the 7 and allowed Mills to get one step closer at 8-6. Mills then broke and ran the next rack to make it 8-7 and win the following rack too to finally make it square at 8. The finals would come down to a race to 3 for the crown and the $17,000 first place finish.

View the Steve Mizerak Championship tournament brackets

Shane Van Boening finally got an open shot on the next rack. He would make the most of it by sinking a sick 1-10 combo to go up 9-8. Shane Van Boening would win the next rack to go on the hill and be on the brink of the championship. The next rack would seal the deal for Shane Van Boening and he would win the 2011 Seminole Pro Tour Steve Mizerak Championship. Donny Mills would get second place and the $12,000 prize.

The Seminole Pro Tour would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the season.

The match of the tournament, one that had everyone on their feet, took place today between Dennis Orcullo and Jiaqing Wu. Orcullo appeared to have things well in hand, leading 7-0, when Wu caught fire and brought the match to double hill. Wu had the table but had a jump shot on the four ball. He made the table-length jump and then had to long-rail bank the five ball. That done, the rest of the table was his for the taking. But he missed a routine shot on the six ball that left Orcullo an opening. But the shot was tough and he missed it. He left no cherries however. Again, the only choice left for Wu was a table-length bank. When he missed it Orcullo came to the table to the roars of the crowd and cleaned up to take the win and gain his entry to the round of the great eight.

The first player to make it through to the final four was Huidji See.

He was joined there by the man he would face next, Carlo Biado. Biado had just destroyed Daryl Peach 9-1 and came to the table full of confidence. Our other two match-ups were Tony Drago (who had just beaten Jason Klatt 9-5) and Huidje See who had just gotten past Ko Pin-Yi 9-6 and Chris Melling (who beat Yu Lun Chang from the hill 9-8) and Yukio Akakariyama who had eliminated Tomoo Takano 9-5.

The first of these to make it through to the final four was Huidji See. See took control of the match early and never let go as he cruised to his 9-4 win over one of the best-loved players in the world, Tony Drago. The man that the odds-makers have to love best in this tournament is Carlo Biado. He showed no weakness as he galloped away from Dennis Orcullo to win 9-4. The third man to make it to the last day was Jianbo Fu. Corteza had been down in their match 7-4 when he began a charge that soon found him leading 8-7. But Fu came back to win the next rack and take us to double-hill. Fu then held on through a tough rack to win 9-8 and claim his seat. Our last man to make it to the semi-finals was Yukio Akakariyama when he took down Chris Melling 9-6.

The initial match-ups for the final day will be Akakariyama VS See and Biado VS Fu. One of these four will end the day by hoisting the crown of World Champion high above their head.

There have been a lot of rumors as to why Earl Strickland was disqualified from the Diamond Open 10-Ball Professional Players Championship, so InsidePOOL went to tournament director Frank Del Pizzo and asked for his side of the story.

“There were three separate incidents with Earl,” Del Pizzo began. “He played the match with Jose Parica and he was being loud and sharking other players on other tables, so I had to ask him to stop yelling to the crowd … He’s playing Jose Parica, who’s a gentleman in there. So I asked him to stop talking to the crowd—we’re not allowing it, it’s something we went over in the players’ meeting … I said to him to stop, and he gets up and he says, ‘You’re a fool. You’re a fool. You have no idea what you’re doing.’ I said, ‘You’re warned.’ And then I told him, ‘Don’t ruin your day, Earl. You’re warned.’

Frank Del Pizzo is in the center of controversy after expelling Strickland from the Super Billiards Expo Diamond Professional 10-Ball Championships.

Del Pizzo continued, “And then he got a couple different little things where I had to tell him to calm down, and he made it through the entire set after that … He won, and then playing Alex, he immediately started in on Alex, on the rack. The rack was sideways, so he came over and said, ‘The rack’s sideways.’ So I went over and looked, and it was sideways, so I helped Alex fix it. He racked and then ran out, and then Earl ran out, and then back and forth, and then Alex started to pull away from him and the antics got worse and worse and worse.

“He [Earl] was yelling at the crowd, yelling at Alex, telling Alex not to do certain things, just sharking, constantly sharking. I warned him again, and it got to the point where he was losing at this point now. It was the first shot on the table. It was the one ball, he was going to bank the one so he took the cue and went whack whack whack whack whack on the side pocket like ‘It’s going in here!’ and he was whacking the side of the table.

“I went out and told him [Earl] to stop and that was when he called me a clown,” Del Pizzo recalled. “He said, ‘You’re a clown.’ And I asked him to stop and said, ‘You can either stop or you can go.’ He said, ‘Well, I’ll go then.’ I said, ‘Then go then. You’re all done. Just go.’ And he said, ‘I’ll execute my second option.’ I said, ‘Which is?’ He said, ‘I’ll finish.’ I said, ‘Okay, then keep your mouth shut and finish. There are other players in this poolroom. There are other players in here that are playing. Keep your mouth shut and finish. This is your final warning. That’s it. There will be no other warnings.’

“When it came to his match later in the evening, the matches, because they’re races to ten, they go a little long sometimes. One was about fifteen to twenty minutes late, which is not really bad, if you think about it, considering it went hill-hill. He is standing out [in the hallway] pacing and people wanted to take pictures with him, and I was standing over there by the water, and these people want to take a picture with him. He goes, ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you?’

“These are fans,” Del Pizzo explained. “[Earl says] ‘Why would I want to take a picture with you? What am I, a clown? Am I funny to you? Is that why you want to take a picture?’ He says to the people, ‘Why don’t you take a picture with the tournament director? He’s a fool. Why don’t you take a picture with him?’ So I said, ‘Earl. Don’t come in here like that. Don’t start like that.’

“The table finally cleared off that I could put him on, and I said, ‘Come on Earl.’ He followed me in, and as he’s walking in he’s yelling and talking to the people, and I said, ‘Earl, just knock it off, we’ve got players playing here. Just stop.’ I finally got him down to the table, and he said, ‘Where’s my opponent? He should be here.’ I said, ‘Well, he has fifteen minutes, from the time I call his name, to get here.’

“‘Call him? You gotta call him?’

“‘No, Earl. From the time I call him. You know what, Earl? You’re done. You’re just all done. Winner by default, Hancock. You know what else? Your behavior is unbecoming of a professional. You’re an embarrassment to this tournament and to this business, and you’re done. Winner by default, Hancock. Disqualified. Ladies and Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/billiards-referee-tells-his-side-of-story.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/fuller-finishes-first-in-goldsboro-billiards-event.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiards/fuller-finishes-first-in-goldsboro-billiards-event.html#comments Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:59:00 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=14761 Fuller Finishes First in Goldsboro Billiards Event
Great Southern Billiard Tour / Goldsboro, NC

by InsidePOOL Staff

Mike Fuller rebounded from a late loss at the January 15-16 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour to snap off the event in the finals against the undefeated Danny Mastermaker. The $1,500-added amateur event was hosted by Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill in Goldsboro, NC, and drew a crowd of 39 players.

Mike Fuller rebounded from a late loss at the January 15-16 installment of the Great Southern Billiard Tour to snap off the event in the finals against the undefeated Danny Mastermaker.

Fuller first collided with Mastermaker in the final four of the winners’ side, where Mastermaker dealt him a convincing 9-3 loss and sent him to the one-loss side of the chart. Advancing to the hot seat to meet Mastermaker was Mike Staubes, who whitewashed Chris Vollmar 9-0. Staubes put up a fight, but still Mastermaker overcame him easily to take the hot seat 9-5.

Once on the west side of the chart, Vollmar foundered, and though he and Mac Herrell had a close match, Vollmar ended up in fifth place 9-7. An even closer match saw Sam Monday tie with Vollmar, as he came out on the wrong end of a double-hill match with Fuller that saw Fuller move on 11-10.

View the brackets

Now on a serious roll, Fuller made quick work of Herrell 11-2, sending him home in fourth place and advancing to the semifinals to face Staubes. It was yet another hill-hill match for Fuller as he prevailed 11-8 to move on to the double-elimination finals and have his rematch with Mastermaker. Fuller fought to earn his revenge against the player who had sent him to the west side—he won the first set 11-5, and in the second set he only allowed Mastermaker two racks before winning the final set 11-2 to take his first Great Southern Billiard Tour title.

Matches for this event will be available at the Inside POOL Youtube Channel later this week.

Results:
1st Mike Fuller $750
2nd Danny Mastermaker $500
3rd Mike Staubes $350
4th Mac Herrell $250
5th Chris Vollmar $125
Sam Monday
7th David King $85
Larry Faulk

by InsidePOOL Staff

Jasmin Ouschan swept through the 48-player field at the inaugural WPBA Masters tournament held January 6-9 to defeat the tour’s number-three-ranked player, Karen Corr, in the finals in a close 7-6 victory. The event was hosted by the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, MI.

Ouschan swept through the 48-player field at the inaugural WPBA Masters tournament held January 6-9 to defeat the tour’s number-three-ranked player, Corr, in the finals in a close 7-6 victory.

Corr went undefeated into Sunday’s matches after having dispatched the tour’s former number one, Ga Young Kim, in a delicate hill-hill match the evening before. In her semifinal match against Monica Webb, the score seesawed to 2-all in the short race to 7. Despite the crowd’s hopes of a close battle, it was all Corr as Webb was forced to sit in her chair and watch “The Irish Invader” run out time and again. The final score was 7-2 in Corr’s favor.

View the tournament brackets

The other semifinal match featured Ouschan going up against Kelly Fisher, the other undefeated player among the four. An unexpected scratch by Fisher gave Ouschan the first rack, and the Austrian ran with that momentum until she reached a 4-0 lead. But Fisher dug deep and fought her way back into the match, and soon the score was knotted at the hill 6-all. Despite that, though, it was Ouschan who advanced to the finals against Corr with a 7-6 win.

A cloud of tension surrounded the final match. Corr broke and ran out the first two racks to make her presence known. Ouschan countered by taking the next two—one after a miss by Corr on a 3-9 combo and one after Corr scratched on the 7 ball. They split the next two games, and then Corr took another two-rack lead after a couple of errors by Ouschan, making it 5-3. Another error by both players led to the score moving to 6-4 in Corr’s favor. At that point, though, Ouschan bore down. When Corr scratched on her next break, Ouschan swiftly dished up to draw within a game. She then broke and ran out to make it a hill-hill encounter. In the final rack, Ouschan smashed the rack and pocketed three balls on the break. Coolly she ran the remaining balls in under a minute to win the match 7-6 and take the title. With this victory Ouschan clinched the tour’s number-one spot on the rankings as well.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

USA 8 – 11 Europe

Shane Van Boening 2 – 6 Darren Appleton

Corey Deuel 4 – 6 Ralf Souquet

EUROPE are the 2010 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup champions after Darren Appleton and then Ralf Souquet took the requisite two points to see their side over the line for their third triumph in four years.

It was Souquet who downed the winning 9 ball – a repeat of the 2007 event when he beat Rodney Morris for an 11-8 win. This time his victim was Corey Deuel and the York Hall erupted as the German’s team mates charged into the arena for some wild celebrations.

“This is the greatest feeling on earth to make the final 9-ball and make us win, “said a jubilant Souquet.

EUROPE are the 2010 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup champions after Appleton and then Souquet took the requisite two points to see their side over the line for their third triumph in four years.

The MVP Award went to Darren Appleton who won the hearts of the crowd with a string of marvellous performances filled with superb shot making under pressure. His record of two singles and two doubles points with a single defeat was unmatched by any other player in the event.

“You can’t win the Mosconi Cup without playing like a team and the lads have been amazing,” said Appleton.

“I played really well but a massive part of it has been down to the crowd and it was very easy to feed off the crowd – the bigger the crowd the better I play.

“We had a lead overnight and that set us up for today and the guys played awesome. The emotion is just crazy. We had a great spirit in the camp, the crowd were fantastic and were our sixth man.

“When we came here you just think about playing well for the team and win it for your team and your nation. You don’t think about yourself but obviously it’s a great bonus to win the MVP so I’m very happy with how I played.

“It’s really difficult to get into the European team as there are that many great players. It’s really hard to make the team but hopefully winning the MVP gives me a chance of getting in next year’s event as well.”

For captain Johan Ruijsink, it was his third Mosconi Cup following a win in Vegas in ’07 and a draw in Rotterdam in ’06.

For captain Johan Ruijsink, it was his third Mosconi Cup following a win in Vegas in ’07 and a draw in Rotterdam in ’06.

“I haven’t lost one yet and it’s an honour to be the European captain, but I would like to thank Matchroom for staging such a great event again and thank you to the opponents.

“If they weren’t such worthy opponents it wouldn’t have been such a great Mosconi Cup. Last of all I would like thank my team. They stuck to the plan and we did it.”

England’s Karl Boyes, who was the only rookie in the event, completely dispelled any doubts about his ability to handle it with a string of match-winning performances.

“I’ve watched a lot of Mosconi Cups being a sports fan and everyone has always said Bethnal Green is the place it should be. On the first night I saw the crowd Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/europe-storm-to-mosconi-cup-triumph.html/feed 0 http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/usa-and-europe-knotted-at-mosconi-cup.html http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/usa-and-europe-knotted-at-mosconi-cup.html#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:56:59 +0000 Pool and Billiards News http://www.insidepoolmag.com/?p=14362 USA and Europe Knotted at Mosconi Cup

USA 5 – 5 Europe

Hatch/Archer 1 – 5 Immonen/Boyes

Archer/Deuel 5 – 2 Immonen/Souquet

Rodney Morris 2 – 5 Karl Boyes

KARL BOYES was the man at the Partycasino.com Mosconi Cup on Saturday afternoon as he got Europe on level terms twice; first with a 5-1 win in the company of Mika Immonen over Dennis Hatch and Johnny Archer and then a 5-2 victory over Rodney Morris in the singles.

That made the overall score a finely-poised 5-5 as the action moves into the Saturday evening session. Boyes was clearly motivated by Dennis Hatch’s earlier claims that he was the weak link in the European line-up.

BOYES was the man at the Partycasino.com Mosconi Cup on Saturday afternoon as he got Europe on level terms twice.

“It’s unbelievable. That’s for Dennis Hatch. If he’s about or listening, that’s for you, pal!

“I was in the practice room and watched the match before where Mika and Ralf had some bad rolls but I just tried to block everything out in my match.

“The team is playing well, it’s only 5-5 and we’re fighting. The crowd are behind us so let’s kick on from here now.

“Everyone is shouting for us and that makes you feel alive. We’re relaxed and having a good laugh!” he added.

Boyes, in the company of Mika Immonen, helped Europe level things in the opening match of the session, beating Hatch and Archer 5-1.

With the races reduced from six to five due to time constraints, the pressure was even more intense for the players. Add to that the full-to-the-rafters crowd and the scene was set for a test of nerves.

It was the Europeans who won that particular battle as the Americans, particularly Hatch, struggled.

Boyes and Immonen were flawless though and they ran out easy 5 – 1 winners to make it 4-4.

“It’s a good win and there was a lot of pressure on us as we didn’t want to go 5-3 down. But obviously we played really well and the crowd was different class,” said Boyes.

“Practising on the table upstairs it’s getting battered so every time you have to hit hard but out here you just have to play a bit softer.

“This is the first time I’ve played at the York Hall and when you walk down the stairs into the arena, the atmosphere is so good you think you’ll fall down the stairs,” he added.

“Mika believes in me as do all the team and we have a great spirit so let’s hope we can win it.”

Archer had the opportunity to redeem himself in the second match and he enjoyed some huge slices of luck as he and his partner Corey Deuel beat Souquet and Immonen 5 – 2.

“We’re keeping the pressure on them and just played solidly so we will just keep the heat on them.”I remember when I was the rookie and it’s a shock. I know Dennis has said Karl Boyes (who will be playing next) would be the weak link but I think he’s a good player. But Rodney is playing great so Karl will have a tough match.”

“I was very lucky and missed a couple of shots. We had a few rolls that went against us yesterday but got lucky today,” said Archer.

“I would rather be seven up but leading is much better than losing. But this is going to be a dog fight and I expect it to go to the end.”

It was Boyes though who dented those hopes in the final match of the session as he beat Rodney Morris against the odds. That made it three wins from three matches for Boyes.

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,000 hours of original programming across a range of nine sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the Mosconi Cup is one of a stable of pool events that include the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters.

The 2010 Mosconi Cup is sponsored by PartyCasino.com, the world’s leading online casino. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.

USA 2 – 1 Europe

USA 5 – 6 Europe

Hatch/Morris 6 – 4 Souquet/Van den Berg

Corey Deuel 6 – 4 Mika Immonen

TEAM AMERICA took the early lead at the 2010 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup as Corey Deuel and earlier Dennis Hatch and Rodney Morris gave them two points after Europe had won the earlier team match.

It was solid start from Nick Varner’s men but with only three of the four scheduled matches played, due to the length of the opening match, there is everything to play for.

Deuel pulled off a 6-4 victory over Immonen to give the USA team the lead, 2-1.

It was an excellent win for Deuel over Mika Immonen as he had trailed 3-0 and with a big first day crowd getting increasingly exuberant, he did well to take the match 6-4.

Earlier, Europe got off to the perfect start as they inflicted a come-from-behind win over the Americans to draw first blood at the 2010 Partycasino.com Mosconi Cup. It was the opening five man team match and America looked favourites for the point with a 5-4 lead but with two balls left on the table, Dennis Hatch left Rodney Morris hooked behind the 9 ball and the Hawaiian failed to make contact. With ball in hand the Europeans levelled it.

Having lead 4-2 this was a great chance for Europe and it was Karl Boyes who made the critical shot after Souquet had left him with a tough one on the green six. He made it rail first to set Europe up for a 6-5 victory, with Mika Immonen downing the final 9.

“When they announced Team Europe I walked up the stairs and nearly fell over. But the atmosphere and to win a point like that is absolutely awesome,” said Boyes.

“There was definitely pressure on the final 9-ball and you don’t want to take anything for granted. I felt like we came from nowhere as they had it all in their hands but then that one shot from Dennis Hatch put them in the dark,” added Immonen.

Hatch recovered from his gaffe in the second match as he and Morris looked the business as they overcame Nick Van Den Berg and an out-of-sorts Ralf Souquet to level the score at 1-1.

The American pair were clearly enjoying every minute of it as they moved into a convincing 5-0 lead. That lead began to evaporate as the European pair clawed back the racks assisted by a bit of luck. They reduced the deficit to 4-5 before a failed cross table bank by Van den Berg let the Americans in and they ran out for the win.

“It was great to win coming off a loss and you have to show a lot of heart. But as I’ve said we’ve got more heart and we’re going to show it, “said Morris.

“I like the crowd and it’s a different atmosphere to last year as they’re not for us but against us. I can’t be as emotional as I was in Las Vegas but I’m still not going to sink back into my chair. I’m still going to try to get my team riled up,” added Hatch.

USA 2 – 1 Europe

USA 5 – 6 Europe

Hatch/Morris 6 – 4 Souquet/Van den Berg

Corey Deuel 6 – 4 Mika Immonen

TEAM AMERICA took the early lead at the 2010 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup as Corey Deuel and earlier Dennis Hatch and Rodney Morris gave them two points after Europe had won the earlier team match.

It was solid start from Nick Varner’s men but with only three of the four scheduled matches played, due to the length of the opening match, there is everything to play for.

Deuel pulled off a 6-4 victory over Immonen to give the USA team the lead, 2-1.

It was an excellent win for Deuel over Mika Immonen as he had trailed 3-0 and with a big first day crowd getting increasingly exuberant, he did well to take the match 6-4.

Earlier, Europe got off to the perfect start as they inflicted a come-from-behind win over the Americans to draw first blood at the 2010 Partycasino.com Mosconi Cup. It was the opening five man team match and America looked favourites for the point with a 5-4 lead but with two balls left on the table, Dennis Hatch left Rodney Morris hooked behind the 9 ball and the Hawaiian failed to make contact. With ball in hand the Europeans levelled it.

Having lead 4-2 this was a great chance for Europe and it was Karl Boyes who made the critical shot after Souquet had left him with a tough one on the green six. He made it rail first to set Europe up for a 6-5 victory, with Mika Immonen downing the final 9.

“When they announced Team Europe I walked up the stairs and nearly fell over. But the atmosphere and to win a point like that is absolutely awesome,” said Boyes.

“There was definitely pressure on the final 9-ball and you don’t want to take anything for granted. I felt like we came from nowhere as they had it all in their hands but then that one shot from Dennis Hatch put them in the dark,” added Immonen.

Hatch recovered from his gaffe in the second match as he and Morris looked the business as they overcame Nick Van Den Berg and an out-of-sorts Ralf Souquet to level the score at 1-1.

The American pair were clearly enjoying every minute of it as they moved into a convincing 5-0 lead. That lead began to evaporate as the European pair clawed back the racks assisted by a bit of luck. They reduced the deficit to 4-5 before a failed cross table bank by Van den Berg let the Americans in and they ran out for the win.

“It was great to win coming off a loss and you have to show a lot of heart. But as I’ve said we’ve got more heart and we’re going to show it, “said Morris.

“I like the crowd and it’s a different atmosphere to last year as they’re not for us but against us. I can’t be as emotional as I was in Las Vegas but I’m still not going to sink back into my chair. I’m still going to try to get my team riled up,” added Hatch.

Fighting Talk From US Open Champ

Darren Appleton believes Europe has the best pool players in the world and that will lead to a home victory in this year’s PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup.

Appleton is part of the European side aiming to retain the trophy this week after slumping to a disappointing 11-7 defeat in Las Vegas in 2009.

However, Appleton believes that loss will serve as a ‘reality check’ and claims his side were complacent and not motivated enough last year.

Appleton believes Europe has the best pool players in the world and that will lead to a home victory in this year’s PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup.

“The problem last year was we all expected to win and that’s the wrong attitude to have, especially in pool as the game requires luck at the right time,” said Appleton.

“Last year Mika was winning everything and went there confident, but arrived late and was suffering with flu.

“We had all done a lot of travelling, a lot more than the US players, and maybe we weren’t motivated enough.

“Last year I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was a great experience. At the time I was upset but not really sick about losing but a couple of weeks afterwards I realised it’s a bigger event than you think.

“As we got beaten it has given us a reality check and playing at home makes a massive difference. From what I’ve been told the York Hall is the best place to play for atmosphere.

“The crowd will be our sixth man and it’ll be interesting to see how the likes of Dennis Hatch cope with the crowd against them.”

Appleton clinched his place in this year’s Mosconi Cup with victory in October’s US Open. It is a reverse of two years ago when he looked likely to be picked but then missed out due to Mika Immonen’s success in the same tournament.

The Mosconi Cup will be staged from Thursday to Sunday at London’s York Hall for the first time since 2002 and Appleton joins close friend and countryman Karl Boyes in the European side.

Europe have only won once in six times when the event has been staged in the bear-pit atmosphere of York Hall, but Appleton believes that will soon change.

“Maybe in the first six or seven years of the competition the European team wasn’t as good as it is now – I think they could’ve picked a better team,” added Appleton, who also won recently on the Euro Tour in Spain.

“That’s not knocking the players that played but for seven or eight years it was about getting television involved. Some of the British players were Steve Davis and Steve Knight but better players were missing out because of that.

“The US in the 90s were the best in the world but in the last six or seven years the Europeans have got a lot better at safety play and are travelling and playing a lot now.

“In the last three or four years we’ve now become the best in the world but back in the 90s it was the US and the Philippines.

“The Europeans on paper have better players than the US and if you look at the major events, that proves it, so we’ve definitely levelled the playing field.

“I really believe the US has the best team they’ve ever had – on paper – but we’re a lot more determined.”

In the build-up to this year’s four-day event, which will be screened live in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports, American Rodney Morris questioned Europe’s desire.

He said the European side had the individual titles but USA’s greater heart was the reason they were successful in the past and why they would win it again.

However, 34-year-old Appleton, a former World 10-Ball Champion and a member of the Great Britain team that won the World Team Championship earlier this year, strongly disagrees.

“Maybe in the past Rodney was right but in the last five years Europe has only lost once,” argued Appleton.

“He thinks the US has more heart but I disagree and if you look at our team and our players then I don’t think you get more heart than from us.

“He’s trying to put some pressure on us. Rodney is a very passionate guy and has a lot of heart but overall we have a lot more and we’ll do our talking on the table.”

The Mosconi Cup is known for being tight and tense and sometimes the emotions can boil over in heated exchanges.

Last year Dennis Hatch got aggressive with < Read more ...]]> http://www.cuesandpool.com/billiard-news/appleton-claims-europe-superior-to-americans.html/feed 0