Player: Albin Ouschan
Event: Mosconi Cup
Location: London, U.K.
Date: December 9, 2023



At the onset of the 2023 Mosconi Cup in London's raucous Alexander Palace, Team Europe had plenty of reason for confidence. They had won three straight transatlantic tilts and 11 of the last 13. By Day 4, the Europeans were flying high. Winning the first six matches in the race-to-11 competition, the squad walked into the arena as conquering heroes with a 9-2 advantage. All that remained was the coronation.

While the Americans grabbed the first point of the day, Albin Ouschan and Joshua Filler put Team Europe back on track in their match against Skyler Woodward and Tyler Styer. Taking the first rack in the race-to-5, the Europeans came to the table shown in the diagram after the two tandems traded safeties.

With Ouschan at the table, he had a clean look on the 3 ball, though the straight-in shot came with challenges. The Austrian needed to manufacture an angle to get back down-table for position on the 4 ball, which was along the footrail. Loading up on maximum draw, Ouschan jacked up the back of his cue as he took aim on the 3.

With a powerful stroke, he drilled the 3 into the corner pocket while bending the cue ball's path along the long rail. It clipped the rail right by the side pocket and then nudged the 5 ball out of the way before it came to rest with a perfect angle on the 4.

The confidence, the skill, the execution – this shot shows exactly why Team Europe was dominant throughout the Mosconi Cup. Filler and Ouschan went on to take this match, 5-3, putting Europe on the hill before they closed the door on the Americans in the next match for an emphatic 11-3 win to retain the Mosconi Cup.




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

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