MOSCONI CUP

Mosconi Cup 2026 teams: who qualified, who missed out and Rack 9's wildcard picks

Johann Chua won in Manila, and the Mosconi Cup race closed with him. Three Americans finished within $180 of each other. Here's who is going to Orlando, and the five we'd pick for each side.

By Rack 9 · October 24, 2026

Johann Chua won the 2026 Philippines Open on Saturday. He beat Anton Raga 11–9 in an all-Filipino final in Quezon City. Read our final report.

Chua isn't headed to Orlando, because the Mosconi Cup is Europe against the USA. But Manila was the last event on the Mosconi Cup ranking list. The top three on each side qualify automatically. Captains Johan Ruijsink and Niels Feijen then add two wildcards each.

Neither captain has named a wildcard yet. The World Nineball Tour hadn't posted final standings when we checked. So the totals below are Rack 9's count: each player's pre-event total plus his Manila prize money.

Team USA: three players, $180 apart

Shane Van Boening had already qualified. He reached the quarter-finals in Manila, where Baseth Mocaibat beat him 10–9. Behind him, the race for the last two spots came down to a few hundred dollars.

1. Shane Van Boening: qualified (quarter-finals, +$5,000)
2. Thorsten Hohmann: $27,550 (last 16, +$2,500)
3. Tyler Styer: $27,470 (did not play in Manila)
4. Fedor Gorst: $27,370 (last 16, +$2,500)
5. Lukas Fracasso-Verner: $18,000 (out in Round 1)
6. Skyler Woodward: $11,900 (last 32, +$1,000)
7. Justin Bergman: $8,500 (last 32, +$1,000)

Hohmann lost 10–0 to Francisco Sánchez Ruiz in the last 16. The $2,500 still lifted him past Styer by $80. Gorst lost 10–9 to Jayson Shaw in the same round and finished $100 behind Styer.

Then Hohmann declined his place in a Facebook statement on Saturday. If his spot passes down the list, Styer and Gorst join Van Boening as automatic qualifiers. Team USA hasn't said yet how the spot will be filled.

Team Europe: no drama at the top

Sánchez Ruiz qualified long before Manila. He reached the quarter-finals there, losing 10–1 to Bernie Regalario. Joshua Filler didn't play in Manila and stays second at $77,640.

Aleksa Pecelj locked up third on Thursday, when Olivér Szolnoki lost in Round 3. Pecelj then lost 10–7 to Chua in the last 16. It will be his Mosconi Cup debut.

1. Francisco Sánchez Ruiz: qualified (quarter-finals, +$5,000)
2. Joshua Filler: $77,640 (did not play)
3. Aleksa Pecelj: $64,670 (last 16, +$2,500)
4. Olivér Szolnoki: $58,885 (last 32, +$1,000)
5. Wiktor Zielinski: $50,875 (did not play)
6. Moritz Neuhausen: $47,350 (out in Round 1)

David Alcaide, the defending champion, added $2,500 as a last-16 finisher. Jayson Shaw was 16th on the list before Manila. He added $5,000 with a run to the quarter-finals.

Rack 9 prediction: Team USA

These are Rack 9's predictions, not official picks. We assume Hohmann's spot passes to Gorst. If it becomes a third captain's pick instead, Gorst is the obvious first choice. Our five doesn't change either way.

Wildcard 1: Skyler Woodward. He captained Team USA as a player in 2024 and 2025. He is sixth on the list with $11,900. In Manila he beat Ralf Souquet 10–8, then lost 10–6 to Alcaide in the last 32. Ruijsink needs players who know the race-to-5 format, and Woodward does.

Wildcard 2: Lukas Fracasso-Verner. He is the highest-ranked American without a spot, fifth on the list at $18,000. He went unbeaten to win the WNT InTheBX Open in March, beating Naoyuki Oi 13–10 in the final. The case against is real. He was hurt in a car crash on June 29 and lost 10–5 in Round 1 in Manila. But Hohmann's decision clears a name from the queue. Team USA has lost six Cups in a row, so we think Ruijsink takes a swing on youth. Our earlier take called him a long shot. Hohmann's exit changes that.

Rack 9's Team USA: Shane Van Boening, Fedor Gorst, Tyler Styer, Skyler Woodward, Lukas Fracasso-Verner

Rack 9 prediction: Team Europe

Wildcard 1: Jayson Shaw. He had the best Manila run of any European outside the top three. He beat Gorst 10–9 in the last 16, then lost 10–4 to Raga in the quarter-finals. He was MVP of the 2024 Mosconi Cup and captained Europe last year. He sits No. 15 on our Rack 9 Form rating, and +20 on Boom or Bust.

Wildcard 2: Moritz Neuhausen. He was MVP in London last year in his Mosconi Cup debut. He won the European Open in Sarajevo in March, beating Mario He 13–7 in the final. He is No. 6 on the WNT prize-money list and sixth on Europe's Mosconi list. The 10–6 Round 1 loss to Meynard Tipawan hurts. But Feijen is picking for four days in Orlando, not one match in Manila.

Rack 9's Team Europe: Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, Joshua Filler, Aleksa Pecelj, Jayson Shaw, Moritz Neuhausen

On the bubble

Olivér Szolnoki (Europe): Fourth on the list at $58,885, with three ranking titles this spring, including the Scottish and Estonian Opens. Skipping the next man on the list is our toughest call. Albert Januarta beat him 10–2 in Manila.
Kledio Kaçi (Europe): No. 7 on WNT prize money and No. 11 on Rack 9 Form, the highest of any European we left out. He didn't play in Manila.
David Alcaide (Europe): Played the 2024 and 2025 Cups and won last year's Philippines Open. He lost 10–2 to Regalario in the last 16 this week.
Denis Grabe (Europe): Won the Arizona Open in August, beating Pecelj 13–5 in the final. Mocaibat beat him 10–8 in Round 3.
Wiktor Zielinski (Europe): Fifth on the list at $50,875, and the Diamond Open Players Championship winner in April.
Billy Thorpe (USA): Played the last two Cups for Team USA. He reached the last 32 in Manila, losing 10–3 to Sánchez Ruiz.
Justin Bergman (USA): Seventh on the list. He beat Arseni Sevastyanov 10–8, then lost 10–2 to Pecelj.

When and where

The 2026 Mosconi Cup is November 27–30 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Ruijsink is Team USA's non-playing captain. Feijen, an eight-time winner as a player, captains Europe.

Five players a side play team, doubles and singles matches. Each match is a race to 5 and worth one point. First to 11 wins. Europe has won six in a row, including 11–3 in London last year. The USA last won in 2019, 11–8 in Las Vegas.

In the US, ESPN+ carries every session, with coverage on WNT TV too. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster. Full details are on our events page.

Catch up on the week with our Philippines Open recap, the Power Rankings and Rack IQ. Who would you pick? Tell us at @rack9pool.