Mosconi Cup 2025 Preview - Can the U.S. Reclaim The Trophy?

That time is near. The ultimate sporting event on the planet.
Well — for pool fans, anyway.

The Mosconi Cup begins in December, that annual transatlantic grudge match where America’s best square off against Europe’s assassins in a battle of geometry, nerve, and occasional cue-throwing. For the U.S. team, though, it’s been an exercise in futility for years. Since 2017, Europe’s been racking up wins like it’s an ATM. The Americans have captured just two Cups in the past decade, and both required miracles of timing and tequila.

Will this be the year the U.S. reclaims the title? Well, that depends on which version of the team shows up — the sharpshooting patriots or the dive pub, bar box hustlers.

The Roster

The Americans are running it back with the same roster that got handled last year. Continuity can breed chemistry — or complacency. The deciding factor? Which version of each man shows up under the lights.

Shane Van Boening

You want to talk about a paradox wrapped in a pool cue? SVB might be the best player on Earth — hell, maybe the best ever. Five-time U.S. Open champion, World 9-Ball titleholder, and a walking, talking case study in cue-ball control. But his Mosconi Cup career has been, well... like ordering top-shelf whiskey and getting served flat Coke.

He’s capable of brilliance — and brain farts. Just look at this 2023 Cup miss: Exhibit A. Then compare it to this superhuman piece of geometry that defies Euclid himself: Exhibit B.

So, who shows up this year — Shane Van Boening or Shane Van Mud-Blowning? The answer might decide the whole damn thing.

Fedor Gorst

Currently ranked No. 1 in the world, Fedor’s cue might as well be a magic wand. His jump-shot escape game is the stuff of myth — there’s literally no safe place on the table against him. But for all that wizardry, he’s haunted by one very human flaw: the slow start.

He’s famous for spotting opponents half a match — going down 5-1, 7-2, even 10-4 — and then roaring back to win races to 15. But the Mosconi Cup isn’t built for late heroics. Races to five don’t forgive naps at the break. If Gorst wakes up fast, he could sweep every match he touches. If he doesn’t, Europe’s already ordering champagne.

Skyler Woodward

Captain, Kentucky native, and part-time beer enthusiast. Exhibit C.

“The Bluegrass Badass” might have the best nickname in the sport, and when he’s on, he’s capable of toe-to-toe brilliance, like his duel with Joshua Filler in the 2022 Cup: Exhibit D. But his form comes and goes like bar lighting at last call. To beat Europe’s top guns, Skyler can’t just rely on being good — he needs to be flawless.

Leadership helps, but beer courage only goes so far when you’re staring down a break-and-run machine.

Tyler Styer

Here’s where the U.S. selection process starts to look more like an open-mic night. Styer gets his spot through consistency, not dominance — a guy who grinds through the circuit, earns his points, but rarely drops jaws. The issue isn’t his talent — it’s his finishing. Where the elite slam the door, Styer sometimes leaves it swinging in the breeze.

Watch this frame meltdown: Exhibit E. Everyone makes mistakes, sure. Even the legends. But in the Mosconi? You simply can’t give frames away. The races are too short. One careless shot, one lazy safety, and you’re shaking hands before your drink’s even gone warm. Here’s another painful example.

Billy Thorpe

The “Thorpedo” is back for another bite at the apple — and yeah, he’s the one guy on the U.S. roster who didn’t exactly earn his spot through meritocratic math. But here’s the twist: he’s also one of the few with a real Mosconi résumé.

Thorpe’s been here before, and he’s got pelts to prove it — including a signature win over former world No. 1 Eklent Kaçi, plus a handful of doubles victories that helped the Stars and Stripes steal dignity from the jaws of despair in past Cups. He’s the team’s wild card — half gunslinger, half chaos engine — and that volatility cuts both ways.

When he’s dialed in, Thorpe plays fearless pool. His cue ball doesn’t tiptoe — it charges. But defense? Strategy? Not always his jam. He can shoot himself right out of a rack he had no business losing. Still, his swagger’s contagious, and in a short-race format like the Mosconi, belief can win as many frames as precision.

Thorpe’s the kind of guy who can make you groan, grin, and order another round in the space of five shots. If the U.S. pulls off the upset, don’t be surprised if the Thorpedo was the fuse that lit the explosion.

Closing the Rack

So here we are — five Americans, five stories, one table, and a mountain to climb the size of Gibraltar with chalk dust at its base. The Mosconi Cup isn’t just about precision or pedigree; it’s about pressure — the kind that squeezes hearts into diamonds or dust.

Van Boening’s legacy teeters between brilliance and burnout. Gorst has the cue of a god but the start-up time of Windows 95. Woodward bleeds leadership and Miller Lite in equal measure. Styer grinds, scrapes, and sometimes gifts racks like Christmas came early. And the Thorpedo? He’s the spark in a room full of gas fumes — unpredictable, combustible, occasionally glorious.

Can they win? Maybe. The odds say Europe, but odds don’t play under the lights. Grit does. And every so often, the pool gods smile on chaos.

So pour yourself something brown and patient, because this story’s only half told. Next time, we’ll cross the Atlantic — to the side where the tables are tighter, the nerves steadier, and the pockets crueler.

Up next: The Empire Racks Back — a look at Team Europe’s arsenal of assassins.

Torsten / 120 Proof Ball

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