34-579: The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi , the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the Weber Cup in bowling . Team composition and formats have varied over the years. As of 2024, each team has five playing members. Each team also has
68-440: A break . The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1-ball positioned at the front on the foot spot , and the 9-ball placed in the center. The rack used to position the balls may be either triangle-shaped, as is used for eight-ball and other pool games, or a specific diamond-shaped rack that holds only nine balls may be used. Racks are usually made of wood or plastic. A template that lies on
102-464: A "buy-in" amount to become a participant. The sport has featured in popular culture, notably in the 1961 film The Hustler and its 1986 sequel The Color of Money . Nine-ball has been played with varied rules, with games such as ten-ball , seven-ball and three-ball being derived from the game. While usually a singles sport, the game can be played in doubles, with players completing alternate shots. Examples of tournaments featuring doubles include
136-504: A captain and vice captain, who may be among the players, or may be non-playing additional members of the team. The teams compete over one team match, several doubles matches and singles matches, with the first team to win 11 matches claiming victory. On 9 December 2023, Team Europe beat Team USA 11–3, kept the title and took an overall series lead of 16–13, with one tie. First staged in 1994 by Sky Sports and Matchroom Sport as an exhibition event to increase public awareness of pool in
170-421: A flip of a coin, but often by playing a lag , with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break. After the break, if no fouls were committed, the shooter has the option to continue the rack as usual, or to play a push out . The rules on a push out are different to those of a regular shot, as the shot does not need to hit a rail or ball. After
204-434: A team-versus-team match followed by two trebles matches. That year also saw the reintroduction of the non-playing captain role. The 2009 tournament included several new features: Nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball ) is a discipline of the cue sport pool . The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with pockets at each of
238-401: Is contacted first by the cueball, and any one or more of the object balls are pocketed in any of the pockets with no foul being committed, a player's inning continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if the prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes ball in hand , anywhere on
272-404: Is struck to hit the nine object balls , which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9 ball typically having a yellow stripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as the ball on ) and pocket balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball. As long as the lowest numbered ball on the table
306-581: The American Poolplayers Association (APA) and other organizations. Nine-ball events worldwide are run at the highest level by the WPA. The WPA World Nine-ball Championship has events for men, women and junior players. Events are generally open to any player who can pay the entry fee, however, some events are based on qualification. The WPA hosts a world ranking schedule based on WPA events, with other ranking systems also operated by
340-571: The Diamond Pool Tour , Asian Tour and Euro Tour . Several games have been derived from nine-ball. Six-ball is essentially identical to nine-ball but with three fewer balls, which are racked in a three-row triangle, with the money ball placed in the center of the back row. According to Rudolf Wanderone , the game arose in early 20th century billiard halls; halls charged for matches by the 15 ball rack rather than by table, so players of nine-ball had six balls left over. For this reason,
374-567: The Netherlands and the 2008 event was held in Malta . In 2020 and 2021 , two consecutive Mosconi Cups were held in England. As time progressed, the event evolved from its exhibition nature into a much more serious and professional tournament. Among the snooker players, only Davis continued into the event's more serious era, competing in the first eleven Mosconi Cups and bowing out only when
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#1732794415712408-598: The United Kingdom , the Mosconi Cup was named to commemorate the legacy of American pool player Willie Mosconi , who died in 1993. In the first year of competition, each team featured six men and two women, with Germany's Franziska Stark and England's Allison Fisher on Team Europe, and Jeanette Lee and Vivian Villarreal on Team USA. No women appeared after the initial event, although Kelly Fisher in 2021 called on organizers to reinstate female players. In
442-506: The WPA World Ten-ball Championship . The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 1959 novel The Hustler and its 1961 film adaptation , and the 1984 sequel novel The Color of Money and subsequent film . In Endless Ocean: Blue World , Nineball Island, which serves as the player's home base, is won through a game of nine-ball. 2003 Mosconi Cup The 2003 Mosconi Cup ,
476-596: The World Cup of Pool , World Team Championship and the Mosconi Cup . The game was established in America by 1920, although its exact origins are unknown. Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as eight-ball and other pool games. The game of nine-ball is played on a billiard table with six pockets . The cue ball , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments),
510-562: The 1 ball is on the foot spot , which further stops overpowered break-off shots. The general rules of the game are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the earliest format set by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA). These later formed the basis of the standardized WPA rules, which the BCA follows as a member, although amateur league play may be governed by similar but slightly different rules promulgated by
544-617: The APA and the EPBF. Other major events held by the WPA include the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship , China Open 9-Ball Championship and the International 9-Ball Open . In addition, Matchroom Sport runs major international competitions including the Mosconi Cup , World Cup of Pool and World Pool Masters . Outside those events held on an worldwide basis, nine-ball is played in continental tour series. Events are held on series such as
578-475: The Euro Tour is that the break shot be taken from a " break box " a rectangular box smaller than the regular nine-ball breaking area. While making the money ball on breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult with the break box. This was later used on the annual international Mosconi Cup tournaments. Another Mosconi Cup rule change in 2007 called for racking such that the 9 ball rather than
612-539: The US). Ordered as above, these are: There have been rule changes and format changes throughout the tournament's history. These include, but are not limited to: "Non-playing captain" roles were introduced in the 2003 event ; however these were removed in the 2004 tournament . In 2004 the doubles matches were re-formatted to be scotch doubles . In 2005, a 30-second shot clock was introduced, and caused controversy due to timing malfunctions. The 2006 tournament started with
646-574: The USA's Earl Strickland . The players to have appeared in the Mosconi Cup: The players to have been on a winning team in the Mosconi Cup: Players from sixteen nations have represented Europe. Sorted by number of different people, (number of appearances), and alphabetically, these are: Players from twenty-three states have represented the United States (Fedor Gorst, Charlie Williams and Johan Ruijsink were all born outside of
680-519: The cue ball over other balls. However, if any ball leaves the cloth at the end of a shot, it is counted as a foul. Jumping is common in nine-ball, and players often have a dedicated jump cue. As of the 2000s, the rules have been somewhat in flux in certain contexts, especially in Europe. The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), the WPA-affiliate in Europe, has instituted a requirement on
714-447: The early 1980s. While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster ESPN 's Sudden Death Seven-ball which aired in the early 2000s. The most common derivative game is the game of ten-ball . The game is a more stringent variant, using ten balls in which all pocketed balls must be called . Unlike in nine-ball, the money ball cannot be pocketed on the break for an instant win. Due to its more challenging nature, and
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#1732794415712748-481: The event began to clash with snooker's UK Championship , at which he appeared as both a player and a BBC commentator. After Davis's withdrawal, all players had to earn an invitation through their performances at other pool events, meaning that no more snooker players appeared until 2007 when Tony Drago earned a place by virtue of his performance on the European Pool Tour . Team USA initially dominated
782-561: The event's early years, professional snooker players Ronnie O'Sullivan , Jimmy White , Alex Higgins , and Steve Davis all competed on Team Europe. Staged in England for its first nine years, the Mosconi Cup from 2003 to 2020 alternated annually between the US and Europe, with all US-based tournaments taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada and most European tournaments taking place in England. The Mosconi Cups of 2004 and 2006 were held in
816-418: The fact that there is no publicly known technique for reliably pocketing specific object balls on the break shot, there have been suggestions among the professional circuit that ten-ball should replace nine-ball as the pro game of choice, especially since the rise of the nine-ball soft break, which is still legal in most international and non-European competition. Ten-ball has its own world championship known as
850-417: The four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick , players must strike the white cue ball to pocket nine colored billiard balls , hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game (or rack ) is won by the player pocketing the 9 ball . Matches are usually played as a race to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning
884-408: The game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15 ball as the money ball. Seven-ball is also similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls, which are racked in a hexagon, and players are restricted to pocketing the money ball on their designated side of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in
918-421: The lowest numbered ball, pocketing the cue ball, or not making contact with a rail with the object ball. A foul shot for any reason offers the opponent ball in hand , which means they can place the cue ball at any location on the table. A player making three successive fouls (for any reason) awards that rack to the opponent. Unlike some other cue sports, such as snooker , players are allowed to jump
952-650: The match. The game is currently governed by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with multiple regional tours. The most prestigious nine-ball tournaments are the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships . Notable 9-Ball players in the game include Luther Lassiter , Buddy Hall , Efren Reyes , Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening . The game is often associated with hustling and gambling , with tournaments often having
986-402: The preceding rack. The break is often the most crucial shot in nine-ball, as it is possible to win a rack without the opponent having taken a single shot. This is often called a break and run , or running the rack. Earl Strickland holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996. The first break of a match is sometimes decided by
1020-448: The push out, the opposing player has the option to play the shot that has been left, or to force their opponent to play on from that location. In early versions of nine-ball the push out could be called at any time during the game, but is now only for the shot after the break. If a player misses potting a ball on a shot, or commits a foul shot, then their opponent plays the next shot. A foul shot can involve not making first contact with
1054-435: The table during the break has also come into use. The break consists of hitting the 1 ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the 9 ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a golden break . Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the head string , and players can be chosen to break alternately or whoever won
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1088-408: The table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's money ball , regardless of how many balls have been pocketed beforehand. This can happen earlier than the nine-ball being the sole remaining object ball on the table if it is pocketed via a combination or other indirect method. Each rack begins with the object balls placed in a rack and one player playing
1122-426: The tournament, winning 10 of the first 12 tournaments between 1994 and 2005, including 6 consecutive victories from 1996 to 2001. The 2006 tournament was a tie. Since then, Team Europe has dominated the tournament, winning 14 of the 17 events staged between 2007 and 2023, including 8 consecutive victories from 2010 to 2017. The overall series record now stands at 16–13 to Team Europe. Joshua Filler of Germany became
1156-421: The youngest player to participate in the Mosconi Cup at 20 years old, in 2017. Earl Strickland of the United States became the oldest player to participate in the Mosconi Cup at 61 years old, in 2022. The record for the most Mosconi Cup appearances is 17, held jointly by Germany's Ralf Souquet and the USA's Johnny Archer . The record for the most Mosconi Cup wins is 9, held jointly by USA's Johnny Archer and
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