THERE IS NO change among the top six players on top of the 2011 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup European Rankings, after the conclusion of the World 9 Ball Championship in Qatar last week – and that now puts some considerable distance between the probables and the possibles.
No.1 ranked Chris Melling, increased his lead at the head of the table with a last 32 finish, while Darren Appleton and Ralf Souquet strengthened their positions by reaching the last 16, thus heaping pressure on Niels Feijen and Nick Van den Berg who failed to get in the points in Doha.
The biggest mover was England's Mark Gray, a Mosconi Cup winner in Malta in 2008, who had a magnificent run to the semi-finals. He moves from 26th to 9th but trails the automatic third placed spot by 32 points.
It seems increasingly likely that the top three automatic invites will be taken from Melling, Van den berg, Feijen, Souquet and Appleton unless one of the chasing pack can step up to the plate.
There are now just four events left on the European Mosconi Cup ranking, with players gathering in Austria this week for the next stop on the Euro Tour.
Austrian Open 7-9 July
German Open 25-27 August
Hungarian Open 29 September to 1 October
US Open 9 Ball Championship 17-22 October
The Ranking (Top 15)
1. ( - ) Chris Melling (GBR) 98
2. ( - ) Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 71
3. ( - ) Niels Feijen (NED) 69
4. ( - ) Ralf Souquet (GER) 68
5. ( - ) Darren Appleton (GBR) 66
6. ( - ) Huidji See (NED) 50
7. (↑1) Daryl Peach (GBR) 49
8. (↓1) David Alcaide (ESP) 45
9 (↑17) Mark Gray (ENG) 37
10. (↑2) Carlo Dalmatin (CRO) 32
11. (↓2) Oliver Ortmann (GER) 31
T12. (↓2) Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 30
T12. (↓2) Thomas Engert (GER) 30
14. (↓1) Scott Higgins (SCO) 28
15. (↓2) Manuel Gama (POR) 23
