The Mosconi Cup Just a Few Days Away - Anticipation Builds Around the Historic Event

Once again, the Mosconi Cup is upon us, this year being held at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting on the 10th of December and coming to its as-yet-unknown conclusion on the evening of Saturday the 13th.The prestigious event is sponsored by PartyPoker.net and is produced by Matchroom Sport.

This tournament, which is the “Ryder Cup” of pool, sees the clash of the pool titans fighting it out for the honor of taking home the Mosconi Cup to their respective time zone. There are two teams: one five-man team from Europe and one five-man team from the USA.

The prestige that goes along with being selected, let alone being on the winning team, is indescribable.

The format of the event is 9-ball in conventional form, and Scotch doubles. During the course of the event, players will be matched in different pairings, and not all players will participate in every round, for tactical reasons.

This year. for the first time ever, the final player on the five-man USA Team was selected by an online voting process entitled the “Mosconi Cup Idol,” which was the brainchild of Matchroom Sport, the UK company that produces the event.

After ten days of furious voting, pool fans from not only the USA, but from all over the world, made a resounding statement to put Dennis Hatch in the fifth man position, giving him 26%  of the vote, while Rodney Morris received 20% of the vote. To read the story Click Here.

Read the below story for more details, as well as to check out the Mosconi Cup Promo Video

Here is the complete lineup for the 2009 Mosconi Cup:

Team USA:

Johnny Archer

Oscar Dominguez

Shane Van Boening

Corey Deuel

Dennis Hatch

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Team Europe:

Mika Immonen - Finland (Mika is currently the Worlds Best Pool Player, to read the story Click Here!)

Ralf Souquet - Germany

Thorsten Hohmann - Germany

Darren Appleton - England

Niels Feijen - Netherlands

The camaraderie that is formed between the team members of each side cannot be emphasized enough. It is absolutely an honor for these players to be selected, and each team member plays his heart out for his respective team.

Check out the ‘09 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup Promo Video:

This is one of the times that you say I would play even if I wasn’t being paid and mean it. I have watched previous Mosconi Cups on TV or on video after the event, but this year, I am going to be there in person to bring you the action as it happens, here on NYCgrind.com.

In anticipating this event, I am filled with both excitement and trepidation at the same time. I have seen the buzz that exudes from the fans of both sides, and being English, I am wondering just where my allegiance will lie come the day of the event. Having resided in the States for twenty-two years, I feel that they are all my boys. (More on this subject when we get to day four of this thrill-packed adventure)

Whether you are a die-hard pool fan or just starting to get hooked into this alluring sport, we will endeavor to not only bring you the results as they happen, but will share with you the excitement of the matches. After each day’s action has concluded, we will be able to see how the teams, as well as the individual players, performed on this oversized stage called the Mosconi Cup.

In the last two years, the Cup went to Europe, so all eyes are on the strength of team USA this year… and there will doubtlessly be plenty of drama.

Be sure to stay plugged into NYCgrind.com for coverage of the event.
-Geoff Conway