Player: Joshua Filler
Event: Mosconi Cup
Location: London, U.K.
Date: December 9, 2023



The last in our series of shots from the 2023 Mosconi Cup, this month's entry comes from the final day of the transatlantic contest, with Joshua Filler and Team Europe all but assured of victory. The German superstar took to the table with a 9-2 advantage over Team USA, matching up against Shane Van Boening.

A ruthless killer even among Europe's murderers' row, Filler entered this contest already with two victories in singles play, whitewashing Skyler Woodward and easing past Fedor Gorst, 5-2. Van Boening would take two of the first three racks in the race-to-5 set, but Filler bounced back in the fourth. Pocketing the 1 and the 3 on the break, he faced the layout shown in the diagram.

With no worries about a clean look at the 2, he didn't have a clear path through the rack. The 4 ball was nestled between the 7 and the 9. But more problematic, the 6 and 8 were clustered up-table in a way that wouldn't be easy to navigate.

With that in mind, Filler took a look at the 9 ball, which was a diamond out from the left side pocket. Considering the distance from pocket and the distance between the two object balls, the combination was hardly a gimme.

But Filler had plenty of confidence, rolling the 2 into the 9, which split the side pocket for the rack, while the cue ball narrowly avoided the other side pocket on its way up to the headrail.

This highlight was one of many for the Europeans, but Van Boening managed to recover in the match and swipe the next three racks for a 5-2 victory. Team Europe wouldn't be denied, however, as they took the next points to recapture the Mosconi Cup by an 11-3 margin.

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

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