Player: Shane Van Boening
Event: Mosconi Cup
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Date: November 30, 2022



The Mosconi Cup is unlike any other event on the professional pool calendar. The team element, the history, the pageantry, the fans—there’s no question the Europe-versus-America team competition is the most marketable franchise in the sport. While some diehards will question the format and the environment, collecting 10 of the world’s best players in their peak form is a sure-fire way to create some highlights.

At last year's event, those fireworks didn't take too long to light up the arena. In the team competition, where each team's five players each take a rack, rhythm might be difficult to find. But with Team USA's Shane Van Boening facing Europe's Jayson Shaw, the pedigree of the talent was undeniable in the opening rack of the race-to-5 set for the competition's opening point.

Shaw uncharacteristically played a loose safety on the 3 ball, leaving the layout shown in the diagram. While Van Boening didn't have much of a straight path from the 3 to the 4, the angles were friendly to the American superstar. The cluster of the 3 and 4 balls didn't perfectly align with the bottom right corner pocket, but the combination wasn't too difficult.

With a firm stroke on the cue ball that was against the head rail, Van Boening confidently drilled the 3 into the 4. The red object ball made a beeline to the left side pocket, while the 4 split the bottom right corner. With a stun shot on the cue ball, the American played perfect position off the right long rail, with the cue ball rolling into an ideal angle on the 5.

Team USA won the opening match, 5-3, but the Europeans roared back to take another Mosconi Cup, this time by an overall 11-7 score.


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

(Check out Accu-Stats' full library of great shots and amazing matches at www.accu-stats.com)