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Inside Sport

You are in: Lancashire > Features > Inside Sport > Europe outpot stars and stripes!

Team Europe

Europe outpot stars and stripes!

Blackpool's Daryl Peach has helped bring home the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup back to Europe - twelve years on from his last appearance. After a disastrous first day, Europe won ten of the last 14 matches to win 9 Ball's Ryder Cup equivalent 11-8.

It has been quite a month for Peach who had his mum Betty and dad Rob furiously cheering him on at the MGM, Las Vegas.

Peach was crowned World Champion just last month and now he has aided Europe to a second Mosconi win.  Europe have only won the event three times - with Peach playing his part in their victory twice.

It looked like Peach was going to get the honour of clinching the Cup when he took to the table on the hill against Earl Strickland. However, Strickland played some superb safety to beat Peach 6-3 and keep the USA's hopes alive - but the game was marred by the infamous Strickland's antics.

Referee Michaela Tabb had to step between the two players after Peach finally snapped at Strickland's outbursts and asked him to step outside after the match.

Peach said when he first started playing he said he had massive respect for Strickland because of what he could do on the table but he described him as "scum of the earth".

"Not one player can win the Mosconi Cup, only the team and the coach can win it."

Ralf Souquet, Europe captain

Peach said he was trying to put him off as he constantly moved and talked when he was at the table, and following a warning from Tabb, the American went off the rails.

With the score at 10-8, Europe's captain Ralf Souquet was thus handed the opportunity to win the 2007 Mosconi.

Souquet, who played in the first ever Mosconi Cup back in 1994, came back from behind to beat Rodney Morris 6-4 and secure an 11-8 victory for Europe.

Germany's Souquet said: "I'm very, very proud of the team. Not one player can win the Mosconi Cup, only the team and the coach can win it."

After a poor showing on the opening Day, Maltese snooker player Tony Drago who the USA's Corey Deuel described as 'the weakest player' became Europe's Most Valuable Player with a total of four wins in the Singles.

Drago said: "Obviously, I was the weakest link in the tournament! To win this cup is an honour. Hopefully I will be in the team again next year and I can't wait to welcome our US friends to Europe next year.

"We had the best coach in Johan Ruijsink, the World Champion in Daryl, the most dedicated player in Niels, a great future player in Konstantin, the scariest player that ever lived in me and the best player in the world in Ralf.

"It was so easy for us to come here motivated and we were playing the strongest team ever to play for the Mosconi Cup and it was in America."

Results:

Day 4:
Shane Van Boening 6 – 4 Konstantin Stepanov
Johnny Archer 3 – 6 Tony Drago
Earl Strickland 6 – 3 Daryl Peach
Rodney Morris 4 – 6 Ralf Souquet   

Day 3:
Deuel/Archer 2 – 6 Stepanov/Feijen
Corey Deuel 4 – 6 Tony Drago
Archer/Van Boening 6 – 3 Peach/Souquet
Rodney Morris 4 – 6 Niels Feijen
Earl Strickland 4 – 6 Ralf Souquet

Day 2:
Strickland/Van Boening 0 – 6 Peach/Souquet
Rodney Morris 5 – 6 Tony Drago
Deuel/Archer 1 – 6 Stepanov/Feijen
Shane Van Boening 2 – 6 Tony Drago
Morris/Strickland 6 – 5 Peach/Souquet

Day 1:
USA Team 6 – 4 Europe Team
Archer/Morris 4 – 6 Feijen/Souquet
Shane Van Boening 6 – 2 Daryl Peach
Strickland/Deuel 6 – 5 Drago/Stepanov
Rodney Morris 6 – 1 Niels Feijen

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last updated: 29/01/2008 at 15:08
created: 14/12/2007

Have Your Say

What do you think of the new breaking system?

The BBC reserves the right to edit comments submitted.

Belfast
Pool is a grannys game , when u can hit numerous hundred breaks on a snooker table come back to me !!

Gareth
I think that the average snooker player will be a good-very good pool player but the average pool player would be a below average snooker player. But snooker players couldn't just go to 9 ball and win, they would need a bit of practice first. Having said that, There is no 9 ball player that will ever compete in snooker. If there is, it would have happened by now.

Van Boening
If every average snooker play can compete with the best pool players then why didn't Ronnie O'Sullivan achieve anything in Pool? He played in the IPT and the Masters where he got beat by a 17 year old.I also believe Daryl Peach was an average snooker player, yet it took him about 10 years to become World Champion 9-Ball.Pool and snooker are just two completely different games.

Andrew Milliard
I know that pool players try to portray pool as a complex, mind bending feat of intelligence. The truth is that its a mickey mouse game and

chris robson
The 9 ball game is surrounded by the eternal problem of the break......when the tables are tapped, it allows a slow break to operate, with devastating results, as shown in the World Championships.......and when the balls are moved further up the table and a break box is imposed, it makes the break more of a lottery.We as players and spectators like to see big breaks; the best solution to meet both the players' and the spectators wants and needs is to incorporate what the EPBF (or Euro tour)have; tapped tables, but 3 balls must go beyond the headstring (balk line) after the break (not counting balls pocketed from the break).

Mal
Excellent achievement by the European players. Any 'average' snooker player cannot compete with the best pool players. Don't make the usual snooker players' mistake of thinking 9-ball is easy. At the highest level the players are extremely skilled and it would take a decent pro snooker player with a lot of hard work to get to the top of the pool game. Drago being a case in point.The BBC should give pool more coverage, the game is more widely played around the world and is better suited for TV.We have the current world champ - we should be proud and get behind him!!

yes a lot better
well done europe to beet the yanks wll done so pleased

Ade
Thank you BBC Lancashire for providing *some* coverage of the event. Now how about renaming snooker to 'cue sports' or providing a pool section on bbc.co.uk/sport so pool enthusiasts aren't crowded out by snooker?

A Higgins
Any average snooker player can compete with the best pool player. It is rare for a pool player to switch to snooker with much success. More likely a snooker player will be able to play pool at the highest level.

ASH NAWAB
NOT SO SURE ABOUT IT........THINK THERE'S TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON 'DEFENSIVE' SIDE AS OPPOSED TO 'ATTACKING' GAME........CERTAINLY SEEMED TO WORK AGAINST AMERICANS IN MOSCONI CUP! STILL, ME & MILNER WILL STICK TO THE 'OLD RULES' WHEN PLAYING DOWN HUSTLERS, I NEED TO GET HIM BACK CUS HE STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS WHEN I WAS GOING FOR FIVE IN A ROW!!!

a .vella
proud Tony Drago was part of the team that won this cup i think he can be up there with the best if he could remain a bit more calm

dave the rave
pool is a pub game !!!!

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