Ralf Souquet
HAVING MADE his PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup debut in the inaugural 1994 event, Germany's Ralf Souquet returns to the fray for Team Europe as they attempt to win back the most coveted trophy in pool.
It will be Souquet's 14th appearance in the 17 year history of the Trans-Atlantic billiards tussle – a record he will be sharing with Johnny Archer of the USA. ‘The Kaiser' has a record of 39 wins from 65 matches; an all-time Mosconi Cup record equalled only by Earl Strickland.
The 1996 World Champion and 2006 US Open winner, has been on the winning side three times – '02, '07 and '08 and he will be keen to repeat his feat of 2007 when he downed the winning 9 ball in Las Vegas.
Souquet is a veteran of the York Hall though, having played there on all six occasions the Mosconi Cup has been staged in the historic London venue.
“I am absolutely overwhelmed by the fact that the Mosconi Cup will be back at the York Hall,” said Souquet.
“It has been such a great and unique atmosphere in the past there and I am really looking forward to a crazy and outstanding London crowd
“The Mosconi Cup win in 2002 is still a good memory because it was my first win over Team USA, even though I had match point for Europe and couldn't bring it over the finish line.
“We had a great team spirit back then and when Steve Davis made the final ball to secure the Cup for Europe, the crowd went crazy. It almost felt like being in a football stadium after the home team just won the World Cup!
“I hope that the crowd will be as enthusiastic as they were in the past. The English fans will make it hard for Team USA but I have to admit that they have dealt with it quite well in the past.
Souquet is conscious of the fact that the Europeans have established themselves as serious Mosconi Cup contenders in recent years, but will enter the 2010 event as challengers.
“Last year's defeat was felt bad by every European player and fan. We came in as favourites but couldn't deal with it because we didn't have a good enough team spirit.
“The motivation this year will be as high as every year and I am sure that captain Johan Ruijsink will do his best to bring the team spirit to the next level. Our goal can only be to bring the Cup back to Europe.
The Kaiser, who won the World 8 Ball Championship in 2008, is adamant that victory is a realistic prospect.
“I think there is no doubt that Europe can win the Mosconi Cup 2010. We just need to keep up the good work from the past 3 to 4 years in most of the individual events.
“I think for the first time in many years the odds are about even but with the right team play and spirit we will please our European fans with a victory!”
Taking place at East London's famous York Hall, following an eight year absence, the PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup features two five man teams representing Europe and the USA competing over four days from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th December.
The remaining three Team Europe spots will be announced in October.
All tickets for the 2010 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup are available exclusively from www.seetickets.com/mosconicup
