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Team USA Pulls Ahead in 2006 Mosconi Cup
Dec 8, 2006, 9:12 AM

Defending champions Team USA finished the opening session of the PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup with a 2-1 lead after an entertaining evening at the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam.

The opening match of the tournament was a first for the event as all 12 players took part, playing in sequence throughout.

Team Europe reached the hill first, but a Ralf Souquet miss, trying to force position on the 2 ball, allowed the Americans to square it before they ran the last rack for the victory.

Europe fought back in the second set, as the trio of Souquet, Mika Immonen and newcomer David Alcaide looked confident disposing of American captain Johnny Archer plus rookies John Schmidt and Mike Davis.

In the final match-up of the evening, the American powerhouse trio of Earl Strickland, Rodney Morris and Corey Deuel steamrollered the European team of Imran Majid, Thomas Engert and Nick van den Berg 6-2 after being down 2-0 in the early stages.

Play continues today with three pairs matches.