Europe completed a clean sweep on the opening day of the Mosconi Cup at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace, setting their quest for a fourth consecutive title into motion in sensational style on home soil.
Ralph Eckert’s debut campaign as European captain commenced in more than ideal fashion as all five champions came together and equally produced to see their team into a comfortable lead.
Europe had failed to win the opening teams match in each of the last four years but they received their fair share of fortune as the Americans crumbled and gifted their rivals first blood.
Shane van Boening was in stroke and looking comfortable as he knocked in the opening eight balls, before the legendary American tried rolling in the nine ball and caught it too thick to gift Jayson Shaw the opening rack.
Van Boening soon had the chance to make amends and level the match at three apiece, although a similar shot saw him catch the rail way too much on the seven ball and that summed up his disappointing evening.
The American team potted 50 balls compared to Europe’s 23 and only missed five attempted pots, though, two of those were excruciatingly crushing and set them off on the wrong foot.
Having produced a well-struck golden break in the teams match, Albin Ouschan executed some trademark safety play during his doubles win alongside Alexandra Palace favourite Jayson Shaw.
A Van Boening scratch and an unfortunate missed seven ball from Tyler Styer proved costly for the Americans, with Ouschan and Shaw working well together as a pair and doubling the European’s advantage.
Afterwards, Joshua Filler put on a clinic as he whitewashed Skyler Woodward in emphatic fashion, before former World Cup of Pool champions Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide defeated Shane Wolford and Fedor Gorst.
Wolford and Gorst impressed on their American debuts and their performances provided some form of encouragement for the Americans, with Sanchez Ruiz and Alcaide needing to ground out a hard-fought victory.
The Mosconi Cup continues on Thursday evening as the Americans attempt to battle back following a disastrous start to their campaign away from home.
