Feijen took his turn dropping the Cup-clinching 9 ball.

With the final day a mere formality, the U.S. sent out its heavy artillery first in hopes of creating momentum. Van Boening and Archer did their parts, with Van Boening routing Van den Berg, 6-2, and Archer throttled Appleton, 6-3.

That set up Feijen's crowning moment against Morris. The match stayed close to 5-3, when a 2-ball skidded on the Hawaiian, giving Feijen a chance to end it. The nervous Dutchman returned the miss, but eventually pounced on a loose safety from Morris to mercifully end the event and give Team Europe it's fourth win in five years.

"It's the first time I've had the chance to bring it home," said Feijen. "It got a little shaky there. Rodney made a few good outs and then [had] the ball skid on him at 5-3. Then I missed and it was a little nervous.

"But the final moment was overwhelming. The final ball in the Mosconi is way more intense than the final ball in a singles event. You get to share the joy right away with the other players. I loved getting mobbed. When you win an individual title, you're kind of out there by yourself. It's cool, of course, but very different."

The Americans, on the other hand, were left to wonder how they are going to right a quickly sinking ship. "I can't put my finger on it," said Archer, who was playing in his 15th Mosconi Cup. "I think the Europeans are playing more than us. They play all the time on the EuroTour and internationally. Only Shane plays internationally for us, and that's important because you want to get more comfortable playing them and their games.

"As a whole, they're deeper right now," Archer conceded.

"We need to play more internationally," Williams added. "The Europeans are used to going all over the world and still playing their game. We're not. They've learned how to win everywhere. For a lot of guys in the U.S., pool is almost secondary. It's hard to travel. I understand the dilemma. I'd like to see a few more team events each year so we could get used to it. I don't know if that's the solution, but we need to improve."

For England's Appleton, who spends ample time in the Philippines sharpening his game, international seasoning is clearly the answer.

"International play makes all the difference," he said. "Short races and tournament play are in our favor. We play the best in the world week in and week out. You can see it in the U.S. players' games. Even players like Rodney, he just doesn't play as much and it shows. Even Shane doesn't seem to be at his best in this format. I think 11-7 was a fair score."

And so it is. The team that was once so dominating is now pitied.

"The pendulum has swung," said Archer. "I'm not sure how to get it back."

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