MOSCONI CUP

Why can't Team USA win the Mosconi Cup?

Six straight losses, 66 points to 28. We looked at the rankings, the rules, the tables and the money to find out why the Americans keep losing, and whether Orlando can be different.

By Rack 9 · October 25, 2026

Team USA has lost six Mosconi Cups in a row. Europe won 11–3 in Coventry in 2020, 11–6 in London in 2021, 11–7 in Las Vegas in 2022, 11–3 in London in 2023, 11–6 in Orlando in 2024 and 11–3 in London last year. Add it up and it's 66–28.

The Americans last won in 2019, 11–8 in Las Vegas. The 2026 Mosconi Cup starts in Orlando on November 27, and we've already picked our teams. Now the bigger question: why does Team USA keep losing?

From dominance to drought

It wasn't always like this. The Mosconi Cup started in 1994, and the USA won 10 of the first 12. Europe's only wins in that stretch were 16–15 in 1995 and 12–9 in 2002. In 2001 the Americans won 12–1.

Then it flipped. After a 12–12 tie in Rotterdam in 2006, Europe won 16 of the next 20. The USA won three: 2009, 2018 and 2019. Europe now leads the series 18–13.

The 2018 and 2019 wins came under Johan Ruijsink. The Dutchman had captained Europe to six titles between 2007 and 2014 before switching sides. Skyler Woodward was MVP both years.

Since then, the losses have got wider. After London last year, Absolute Pool's Ben Hudd wrote that "the American team has since become hopeless and in desperate need of rejuvenation."

Reason 1: the pipeline is thin

Start with the World Nineball Tour rankings. On the list published before the Philippines Open, five Americans sat in the top 50:

No. 4 Fedor Gorst: $209,820
No. 14 Shane Van Boening: $96,950
No. 31 Tyler Styer: $50,220
No. 38 Thorsten Hohmann: $40,450
No. 40 Lukas Fracasso-Verner: $39,700

Two of those five were born abroad. Gorst was born in Moscow, got a green card in 2023 and played for Europe at the 2020 Cup before joining Team USA in 2023. Hohmann, born in Germany, moved to the US in 2004, became a citizen in 2025 and played for Europe three times between 2003 and 2009. He has declined his place this year.

After those five, the next Americans are Woodward at No. 53 and Billy Thorpe at No. 58. Fracasso-Verner, who won the WNT InTheBX Open in March, is the only American in the top 50 who isn't already a Mosconi Cup veteran. Read our take on his case.

Playing time is part of it. A player loses Mosconi Cup eligibility after missing more than two WNT majors. Thorpe, who played the last two Cups, missed the European Open, the UK Open and the Arizona Open. He told Absolute Pool he skipped the first two for financial reasons.

Players shouldn't be forced to attend events they can't make or events that simply don't make financial sense for them.
Billy Thorpe, to Absolute Pool, September 2026

Absolute Pool reported that Fracasso-Verner, who missed three majors after his June car crash, is affected by the same rule. Whether an injury exception applies hasn't been made public.

Fans on AZBilliards argue that too many top Americans skip the WNT majors in Europe because of the cost, and that too few Americans reach the late rounds of the US events. Others say the rule pushes Americans to play the world's best more often, which is the point.

Reason 2: tables and practice

One argument fans keep making: Americans grow up on 7-foot bar tables, not the 9-foot tables the pros play on. In a September thread on AZBilliards, a fan relayed a video in which Van Boening was said to argue that bar tables are hurting Team USA, and that too many players won't put the work in on the big table. We couldn't find the original clip, so treat that as reported, not as a quote.

Van Boening has made the general point before. In a 2015 AZBilliards interview, he said bar-table pool is "a different game than on 9-footers."

Structure is the other half. A 2025 CNN feature on Gorst noted that American pros and juniors have no government-backed training system like those in parts of Europe.

Europe, on the training side of things, they've always been real structured in sports.
Jeremy Jones, to CNN, November 2025

Darren Appleton, who played for Europe under Ruijsink, put it in team terms. "All that is down to discipline, and discipline and structure is the key with Johan," he told Absolute Pool in December.

Fans on AZBilliards push back on part of this. Some note that 9-foot tables are the norm in parts of the Southeast, so the bar-table picture isn't the same everywhere.

Reason 3: the money

Pro pool doesn't pay much, and in the US a young player has other options. Van Boening told 60 Minutes in 2022: "Top player in pool can make only six figures."

A trip to a WNT major in Europe costs money, and Thorpe skipped two for financial reasons. That cost him his Mosconi Cup eligibility. In a September thread, fans on AZBilliards argued that parents comparing pool with a skilled trade see too wide a gap, and that Americans also carry private healthcare costs.

There are young Americans coming through. Nathan Childress went unbeaten to the hot seat at the TOP Tour Championship in North Carolina last December, then split the top three prizes three ways. Fans on AZBilliards also name Payne McBride and Sam Henderson among the prospects. But none of them is in the WNT top 60 yet, and the Mosconi Cup picks from the top.

Reason 4: Europe's depth

This is the biggest gap. On the same pre-Philippines Open list, 26 Europeans were in the WNT top 50. In the top 20, it was 10 Europeans and two Americans.

Look at who Europe can leave at home. Kledio Kaçi is No. 7 in the world. Olivér Szolnoki won three ranking titles this spring. Neither is guaranteed a spot. If Team USA had a world No. 7 on the outside, he'd be its second-best player.

Europe's spread helps too. The 26 come from 16 countries, from Spain and Germany to Finland, Poland and Albania. When one country has a down year, another fills the gap.

What's different in 2026

The captain. Ruijsink is back. He was named in April. "It is about heart, teamwork and handling the biggest moments in the most intense environment," he said.
The venue. Orlando is a home event, but it isn't new. Europe won 11–6 at the same Caribe Royale Resort in 2024.
The roster. Van Boening and Styer are in. Gorst is next on the list after Hohmann's decision. Ruijsink still has two wildcards to name. Our picks are Woodward and Fracasso-Verner.

What would have to go right? Gorst has to play like a top-five player for four days. Styer, who missed match-winning 9-balls in London, has to bounce back; "I simply need to be better," he wrote afterwards. And Team USA needs a fast start. Every match is a race to 5, and short races give the weaker side a chance. But only if it stays close.

Rack 9's take

The main reason is depth. Europe can pick from 26 players in the world's top 50. Team USA can pick from five, and one of them has said no. Ruijsink can fix the structure. He can't add ranking money to the players he has.

So we think Team USA can win in Orlando, but probably won't. The long-term fix is more Americans playing, and winning, on the WNT. That needs prize money and travel support that make the trip worth it, not just a rule that punishes players who skip it.

The strongest counter-argument: Ruijsink won in 2018 and 2019 with much of the same core. Woodward and Styer played in both, and Van Boening potted the winning ball in 2018. If one captain could turn that group into a winner twice, maybe the problem is preparation, not talent. Appleton thinks so. If Team USA wins in Orlando, he'll be right.

Over to you

Why do you think Team USA keeps losing? Is it the tables, the money, the rules or the captaincy? Tell us at @rack9pool.

Check the Mosconi Cup event page, our teams and predictions and the Power Rankings.