AFTER 14 DAYS of voting and some tireless campaigning by all eight candidates, it is Dennis Hatch who will be donning the colors of Team USA for the first time in his career after coming through via the fans’ vote on Mosconi Cup Idol.
‘The Hatchetman’, 38, took the lead in the vote with a few days to go and increased it over the final weekend to win by just over 6% from Rodney Morris, and then Charlie Williams.
Hatch, from Buffalo, has dominated the Joss Northeast Tour in recent times and Las Vegas has proved a happy hunting ground for him when earlier this year he got the better of England’s Darren Appleton in their race-to-100 TAR Challenge Match.
There are many who feel that Hatch’s aggressive game and passionate character may be just the shot in the arm that Team USA needs to get their PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup challenge back on a winning track.
‘This is unbelievable, I’ve got so many emotions running through me, tears, excitement and happiness’ said an overwhelmed Hatch when informed of the result.
‘This will be the best experience ever. I’ve always wanted to play on the Mosconi Cup and I feel we’ve got a good chance if we prepare. We’ve got to play hard and make sure that every game counts!’ he added.
Hatch now joins Oscar Dominguez, Corey Deuel, Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer in what looks to be a strong American line up to face the Europeans from 10-13 December at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Final result:
Dennis Hatch 26.31%
Rodney Morris 20.07%
Charlie Williams 19.54%
Stevie Moore 18.68%
Charlie Bryant 6.42%
John Schmidt 5.51%
Shawn Putnam 1.79%
Kim Davenport 1.67%
(% figure equals the share of the total vote)
Live in its entirety on Sky Sports in the UK, the event features two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA doing battle in a series of singles and doubles matches. Now in its 16th year, the Americans hold a 10-4 lead with one tied match in 2006.
Tickets for the Mosconi Cup are available from:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/2009-Mosconi-Cup-tickets/artist/1334375
or 1-800 745 300 or from the MGM Grand on 1-800 929 1111 or 702 891 7777.
