2018 Mosconi Cup
# 2018 Mosconi Cup

The 2018 Mosconi Cup, (also known as Mosconi Cup XXV) was the 25th edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States. It took place between 4–7 December 2018 at the Alexandra Palace in London, England and was sponsored by partypoker.

The reigning champions were team Europe, who had won the last eight cups, including the 2017 Mosconi Cup 11–4. The event was played with teams of 5, decided by captains, and also performances in the tour. The team's non-playing captains were the same as the previous year: Marcus Chamat for Europe and Johan Ruijsink for the United States. Ruijsink, who had won the Cup as captain with team Europe seven times, was assisted by vice captain Jeremy Jones.

The United States won the Mosconi Cup for the first time since 2009, defeating Europe 11–9, ending an 8-year losing streak for the USA.

## Teams

Sources:

The European qualification process saw players play to be picked in the top three places in the European rankings. This initially resulted in the selection of Eklent Kaçi, Mario He and Niels Feijen to Team Europe, who were subsequently joined by the wildcard picks of Albin Ouschan and Jayson Shaw. However, a statement released on 21 November 2018 announced that Mario He had stepped down from the side following a failed drugs test and would be replaced by the next highest-ranked player on the Euro Tour, Alexander Kazakis.

Team Europe :

| Name | Nationality | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| Eklent Kaçi | Albania | |
| Alexander Kazakis | Greece | |
| Niels Feijen | Netherlands | |
| Albin Ouschan | Austria | |
| Jayson Shaw | United Kingdom | |
| Marcus Chamat | Sweden | Non-playing captain |

Team USA :

| Name | State of birth | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| Skyler Woodward | Kentucky | Most Valuable Player |
| Shane Van Boening | South Dakota | |
| Billy Thorpe | Ohio | |
| Tyler Styer | Wisconsin | |
| Corey Deuel | California | |
| Johan Ruijsink | Netherlands | Non-playing Captain |
| Jeremy Jones | Texas | Non-playing Vice captain |

## Results

### Tuesday, 4 December

| | Results | |
| - | - | - |
| Teams Team Europe | 5–4 | Teams Team USA |
| Doubles Albin Ouschan Jayson Shaw | 5–1 | Doubles Billy Thorpe Skyler Woodward |
| Singles Niels Feijen | 3–5 | Singles Tyler Styer |
| Doubles Eklent Kaçi Alexander Kazakis | 1–5 | Doubles Shane Van Boening Corey Deuel |
| Singles Jayson Shaw | 0–5 | Singles Shane Van Boening |
| 2 | Session | 3 |
| 2 | Overall | 3 |

### Wednesday, 5 December

| | Results | |
| - | - | - |
| Singles Jayson Shaw | 5–2 | Singles Shane Van Boening |
| Doubles Niels Feijen Alexander Kazakis | 3–5 | Doubles Skyler Woodward Shane Van Boening |
| Singles Albin Ouschan | 5–3 | Singles Corey Deuel |
| Doubles Eklent Kaçi Jayson Shaw | 2–5 | Doubles Billy Thorpe Tyler Styer |
| Singles Eklent Kaçi | 3–5 | Singles Billy Thorpe |
| 2 | Session | 3 |
| 4 | Overall | 6 |

### Thursday, 6 December

| | Results | |
| - | - | - |
| Doubles Niels Feijen Albin Ouschan | 4–5 | Doubles Skyler Woodward Tyler Styer |
| Singles Alexander Kazakis | 3–5 | Singles Skyler Woodward |
| Doubles Eklent Kaçi Niels Feijen | 5–4 | Doubles Tyler Styer Corey Deuel |
| Singles Jayson Shaw | 4–5 | Singles Skyler Woodward |
| Doubles Alexander Kazakis Albin Ouschan | 5–1 | Doubles Shane Van Boening Billy Thorpe |
| 2 | Session | 3 |
| 6 | Overall | 9 |

### Friday, 7 December

| | Results | |
| - | - | - |
| Singles Albin Ouschan | 4–5 | Singles Skyler Woodward |
| Singles Jayson Shaw | 5–3 | Singles Tyler Styer |
| Singles Niels Feijen | 5–1 | Singles Corey Deuel |
| Singles Eklent Kaçi | 5–2 | Singles Billy Thorpe |
| Singles Alexander Kazakis | 3–5 | Singles Shane Van Boening |
| 3 | Session | 2 |
| 9 | Overall | 11 |
