2013 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup: Souquet named as first European player

RALF SOUQUET will break yet another record this December when he dons the blue European shirt to do battle in the 20th annual PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

It will be the German’s 16th time as a member of Team Europe and cements his existing record for the leading number of appearances by a European player in pool’s No.1 event.

And when the tournament gets underway on Monday 2nd December, Souquet will be looking to improve upon two other Mosconi records he currently holds – all-time number of wins (45), and more matches played by any European player (75).

“The Mosconi Cup is by far the best event out there in the world of billiards and there are hardly any words to explain how big and important this tournament is,” said a delighted Souquet.

“I don't know my team mates yet but no matter who will join our team, captain Johan Ruijsink will make us work hard and fight for our lives to keep the Cup in Europe, and win this prestigious event for the 4th time in a row.”

In total, Souquet has been on the winning side five times in his 15 Mosconi Cup outings and it will be his fifth visit to Las Vegas to represent his continent.

“Playing in the Mirage in Las Vegas will be special as well because that's the place where I won the Challenge of Champions back in 1996. It won't be an easy task though because the American team will fight their hearts out as well, especially on home soil.

“Having played already 15 times for team Europe, it brings back a lot of memories. Some are better than others but when I sealed the deal for our team in Las Vegas in 2007, it was definitely one of the best moments.

“I was only scared for a moment when team mate Tony Drago stormed into the arena and wrestled me to the floor to celebrate the victory!” he added.

Souquet will be in action at his old stomping ground of the York Hall in London from 17-22 September when along with Dominic Jentsch, he competes for Germany in the World Cup of Pool.  The scotch doubles format will prove ideal as they attempt to regain the trophy they last won in 2011.

The PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup takes place at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas from Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th December and features two five-man teams representing the USA and Europe.

The Europeans are the defending champions, having won 11-9 in London last December, their fifth win in six years.

 Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.com (Search ‘Mosconi Cup’) or directly from the Mirage on (+1) 702 792 7777 or 1-800-963-9634.

*This is the third of 11 announcements naming the two 2013 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup teams.

The 2013 Mosconi Cup is delighted to work with our valued suppliers –Diamond – Official Table; Iwan Simonis: Official Cloth; Aramith: Official Balls and Predator: Official Cue.

Formula One Silly Season- Who's Going Where?

It's summer break once again and while the F1 paddock is calm and quiet on the outside, a lot of chaos is brewing under the surface. Sure, teams are busy working on improvements to their cars for the second half of the season but the biggest buzz is around the transfer negotiations.

The driver changes for next season got stirred up by Mark Webber's announcement that he is set to leave Red Bull Racing and Formula One altogether at the end of the season. This leaves the seat open for the future team mate of reigning World Champion and current championship leader Sebastian Vettel. It's one of the most sought-after seats on the grid because of the Redbull's recent success however, rumored favoritism in the team which allegedly hurt the team's relationship with Webber is a big factor to consider in choosing a team mate. Where's Rubens Barrichello when you need him?

Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen is one of the top contenders for the Red Bull seat due to his stellar performance this year so far. He currently sits in second place in the World Championship race 38 points behind Vettel. However, because of the same success, Lotus is keen on keeping him in the team. Obviously Red Bull can afford a more lucrative package for Kimi but he's been known to make odd decisions in his career. Rumors also exploded after the Hungarian GP that Ferrari have offered Kimi his seat back in the team where he won his lone world title. The logical explanation would be becaus ethey finally woke up and realized that Massa is a dead weight right? But no, the seat to be vacated in Ferrari is allegedly that of Fernando Alonso due to recent tensions brought about by the car's lack of performance.

This brings forward the status of Lotus' lineup for next season. With Raikkonen potentially leaving, this leaves a spot open. It's also well known that Romain Grosjean is in danger of losing his job after his never ending series of mishaps and penalties.


Recent success in the Mercedes team means that they will likely retain both drivers for next year. The team has already won three races this year and with his win in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton in now only 9 points behind the struggling Fernando Alonso in the standings. It's starting to look very good for Lewis Hamilton who decided this season to ditch McLaren whose top driver Jenson Button is languishing in 9th place and the other, Sergio Perez is falling off the cliff way down at 12th.

In the lower half of the grid, it's a trial and error circus with names just changing around each season just as each team changes names and livery based on which sponsor is trying to keep in afloat. Once in a while a new star stands out and is lucky enough to be noticed by one of the midfield teams. The bigger teams also use the smaller teams to test out their drivers which are under development. When the dust clears after this years' shake up, who do you want to find in which seat?

Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix Results

Lewis Hamilton finally converts a pole position, his fourth this season into a race victory. It was an easy win for Hamilton who led most of the race only giving up the top spot during the pit stop shake ups.

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel fought for second in the closing laps of the race. Raikkonen's tires were obviously struggling for performance near the end but was able to hold on and keep the championship leader behind him. This allows Raikkonen to leapfrog Alonso for second in the Drivers' Championship race where he now sits only 38 points behind Vettel.

Raikkonen's teammate Romain Grosjean had an eventful race as usual where he was docked a drive-through penalty after an overtaking move on Felipe Massa. He also figured in a mild collision with Jenson Button where the two cars banged wheels but thankfully no real damage came as a result and both cars were able to continue racing.

The Ferraris had a disastrous race for their standards with Alonso and Massa finishing at 5th and 8th respectively. The team also received a 15,000 euro fine for Alonso's illegal use of the DRS system. No other sanctions were given to the driver which thankfully does not affect his championship run.

The formula one championship series will take a month long summer break before the action resumes in Belgium on Aug 23-25. At this point in the season, everything looks to still be up for grabs in the Championship race. Although Redbull is running away with a large lead in the Constructors' Chamionship, the Drivers' Championship is still up in the air. See the standings below:

2013 Formula One
Constructors' Championship

Formula 1 Mid-season Driver's Standings

After completing 9 rounds out of 19 ahead of this weekend's Hungarian GP, Sebastian Vettel leads the Formula One Driver's World Championship by 34 points. 

This is by no means a large lead since only one retirement can easily bring his closest rival, Fernando Alonso to within 9 points with a potential 25 points going to him should he win a race. 

This was the fate suffered by Alonso last season when he was enjoying a lead mid way through the season only to have Romain Grosjean smash into him in the first lap of the Belgian GP.

Kimi Raikkonen sits in third place after a promising start of the season where he won the inaugural race in Australia. His stellar performance in the Lotus has other teams sniffing around and rumors of a big move to Red Bull next season have started after Mark Webber announced his retirement. 

Lewis Hamilton is still looking for vindication for his decision to leave McLaren in favor of Mercedes but things are not looking so great for him as he sits in 4th place and his team mate Nico Rosberg sits in 6th sandwiching Redbull's Mark Webber in 5th. I suppose he can have some satisfaction in seeing the McLaren's languishing mid table in 10th (Button) and 12th (Perez) in what would have to be the worst showing of the team in the past 15 years. 

Despite finding his second wind in the later half of the season last year effectively securing his job for this year, Felipe Massa is once again dropping off the grid and drifting further away from his team mate. Alonso sits in second place while Massa is watching from five places away on 7th place.

Another team which is having a disappointing season is Williams with drivers at 16th and 17th, way below the competitive form that the team used to show. 

With still half the season left to race, a lot of things can happen. Vettel looks poised to take yet another World driver's title but Alonso is hot on his heels. At this point, only the top four drivers can realistically take the title albeit not necessarily mathematically. It looks like Vettel is keen on challenging Michael Schumacher's legacy, let's see if anyone can stop him.

Ga Young Kim to Captain Team Asia in Queens Cup!

South Korea’s Ga Young Kim has been selected as the Captain of Team Asia at the inaugural Queens Cup. The East vs West team showdown between the world’s greatest lady professional billiards players will take place November 5th-7th,2013. The event is produced by Dragon Promotions which has signed on OB Cues as the Official Cue of the Queens Cup.

"I really envied the guys because they have their own yearly team event, so I was really happy to hear about the Queens Cup.  I'm very excited for all the women because we have our own annual rivalry now. I think this a really important event for women's billiards to help encourage more players and grow pool further", said Ga Young Kim, the current reigning Yalin Women's World 10-Ball Champion. She adds, "Now we have a lot of young people in Asia that are coming out now to play. There's more skill in the game, and that's why I'm happy we are playing 10-Ball in Queens Cup. There is less luck especially on the break, so everyone will have to play good to win. This will help determine who's better in the East or West."

The Queens Cup creator and producer Charlie Williams of Dragon Promotions explains the captain selection. “When it came to select the Captain of Team Asia, there really wasn't much question on who the pick would be. Ga Young Kim is the most decorated Asian women’s player in history. She is one of the very few Asian women who has won major championships on both sides of the pond. A 2x US Open champion and 3x World Champion with being the only Asian woman to hold the World Championship in both 9-Ball and 10-Ball. So it’s a statistical fact she is the absolute best Asian women’s player by far in the history of pool. And she’s only 30!”

The Queens Cup will showcase the rivalry between the Asians and their western counterparts in Europe and USA, much similar to the Ryder Cup in golf or Davis Cup in tennis. The absolute best ladies from their respective countries and continents will be selected for the teams. The event will last 3 days in a 10-Ball format that will race to the first team reaching 10 matches for the win. Style of play will include singles, doubles, triples, and 4-on-4. Captains will be put to the test to best strategize partnerships and chemistry of match-ups. 

American cue manufacturer OB Cues has announced its support for the event and has been named the official cue of the tournament. Visit obcues.com for more information

Gerardo Martino Named As New Barcelona Manager

Argentine Gerardo Martino will be the fourth Argentine to take the helm for the first team in Barcelona's history. Born in Rosario, Argentina in November 20, 1962, Martino, better known by his nickname "Tata" has a long history in South American Football. Before coming to the Liga BBVA in Spain, he capped his latest stint with Newell's Old Boys by winning the 2013 Torneo Final.

Tata will be taking the place of Tito Villanova who replaced Pep Guardiola in April 2012.  Villanova has been battling cancer and anounced in July 2013 after only a year of service that he will be resigning from his post as first team manager.

The new manager's contract will last for two years and the club is currently finalizing the contract signing and presentation ceremony. 

2013 World Cup of Pool- England B is Peach and Melling

WITH THE home nation allowed two teams in the forthcoming World Cup of Pool, the second England side will comprise 2007 World Pool Champion Daryl Peach and Chris Melling, last year’s Mosconi Cup MVP.

They will be joining England A - Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes – in the 32 team draw for the $250,000 team event which is now entering its eighth year. Taking place for the first time in England, the World Cup will be staged at the York Hall in London, where the Mosconi Cup has taken place on eight raucous occasions.

Commented Daryl Peach, “It's great to be back where I belong, in the World Cup of Pool, especially being alongside Chris Melling.”

Peach, who played in the inaugural World Cup with Steve Davis in 2006, came close in 2008 with Mark Gray when they finished runners-up to the USA in Rotterdam.

“Both Chris and I have our eyes firmly set on going one step further this year. There are lots of other great teams with great partnerships too, but being on home soil, at the legendary York Hall will separate the men from the boys! Let’s get it on!”

Melling, who competed in the last two World Cups in the Philippines, said; “I'm really pleased to be invited once again to the World Cup, and like Daryl I think we have a great chance of winning this event.

“To have the World Cup in our own country is brilliant for UK fans and I'm sure with their help, both teams have a real chance of going all the way.”

With a host of world superstars descending on London for the event, more announcements will be made over shortly.

The 2013 World Cup of Pool runs from 17 – 22 September and takes place at the York Hall, London. All tickets are available from www.seetickets.com (Search ‘World Cup of Pool’)

The 2013 World Cup of Pool  is delighted to work with our valued suppliers – Official Cloth: Iwan Simonis; Official Balls: Super Aramith; Official Cue: Predator.

Luke Riches, Matchroom Sport: luke.riches@matchroom.com