Player: Skyler Woodward
Event: Mosconi Cup
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Date: Dec. 3, 2022



The Mosconi Cup is stressful as it is, with hundreds of spirited pool fans hooting and hollering with every shot. In the 29 years of the Europe-versus-U.S. showdown, the pressure has proven too much for players whom you'd expect to be the last to hiccup in such a situation.

The final day of the competition somehow finds a way to ratchet up the nerves with a format that turns into a sprint toward the finish line. It's grown into a tradition to stack Day 4 with one-on-one matches until the winning team grabs 11 points and the Mosconi Cup.

Last year, after falling behind 3-1 on the opening day, Team Europe rallied to race to an 8-6 lead entering the final day. Team USA's strongest pairing of Shane Van Boening and Skyler Woodward finished doubles play to pull the Americans within a point, setting up a race-to-5 between Woodward and Spain's David Alcaide.

With a chance to knot the competition at 8-8, Woodward worked his way into a 2-1 lead, when he came to the table facing the situation in the diagram. Facing a tricky angle on the 4, the American found an opening with a tricky carom that would send the 9 in the direction of the bottom right corner. Skimming the left side of the 4, he got a full enough hit on the 9 ball to barely miss the point. The cue ball rolled to a rest on the bottom rail while the 4 nestled into the 7-8 cluster on the right side of the table.

The 3-1 lead, though, wouldn't be enough to conjure a comeback from the American squad. Alcaide swiped the next four racks to take the point, 5-1, and the Europeans took the next two sets, 5-3, for an 11-7 victory in front of a home crowd.




(Video clip provided by Accu-Stats Video Productions.)

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