Jose Parica attempts a very creative combination shot against Shane Van Boening in a match at the U.S. Open. Does he make the shot? Click here to Watch it for yourself.

MIKA IMMONEN believes he has banished the ghosts of two years ago as he becomes a Mosconi Cup hero. In 2006, Immonen missed a glorious opportunity to win the cup for Europe, before the event ended as a tie. But Immonen has gone from villain to hero in 2008 as he won all four of his singles matches, clinched the Most Valuable Player award and potted the decisive 9-ball. "I had played out what happened in 2006 over and over again in my mind," said Immonen.

Press Release from Matchroom Sport Hilton Hotel, Portomaso PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup Europe 3 – 1 USA Team Match – Europe 5 – 3 USA Feijen / Souquet 5 – 3 Morris / Van Boening Mika Immonen 5 – 1 Jeremy Jones Gray / Drago 3 – 5 Strickland / Archer Team Europe, captained by Dutchman Alex Lely, enjoyed a runaway start to the PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup as they sped into a 3-0 lead before being pegged back in the final match. Wins for the whole team in the first match of the competition followed by a doubles win for the Feijen/Souquet axis and then a great singles win for US Open champ Mika Immonen set them up nicely for the final three days of competition.

From MosconiCup.com AHEAD of the 2008 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup, we will be hearing from respected pool journalists on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. First up is Mason King explaining why it's USA all the way... By Mason King Managing Editor, Billiards Digest THE global balance of power in pool has shifted decidedly to Europe this year, as almost every major event has ended with some ridiculously fit, disciplined and mentally vigorous European lifting a Volkswagen-sized trophy next to his toothy grin. So, on paper, Team Europe would appear the prohibitive favourite against the USA at the 2008 Mosconi Cup.

Courtesy Matchroom Sport CONTROVERSIAL American Earl Strickland taunted his 2008 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup opponents by declaring he could 'beat the Europeans single-handed'. The competition, which features five-men teams from Europe and the USA battling it out over four days of intense, dramatic pool, starts later today with all the action screened live in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports Xtra. Strickland was part of the American team that suffered a shock defeat last year and he insists he will gain revenge in 2008. "We never like to lose and obviously last year a few things happened that we were surprised with," said Strickland, who has won more matches in the Mosconi Cup than any other player. "We didn't play that well and they had a good team.

Milwaukee, WI – November 14-16 Singles Champions Anchor Team Champions at ACS Midwest 8-Ball The Richfield Chalet in Hubertus, Wisconsin (a suburb of Milwaukee) has proved to be a perfect fit for the annual ACS Midwest 8-Ball Championships in its first three years.

News courtesy of Pool & Billiard Magazine Not even Hurricane Hannah could contain Thorsten Hohmann as he cruised through a minefield chock-full of straight pool powerhouses. Johnny Archer, Jose Parica, John Schmidt, and Ralf Souquet all felt the frustration as Hohmann hosted a clinic.

Times Online - UK by Phil Yates The Premier League promoter is incredulous because the new Middle East tournament clashes with his competition. Barry Hearn was incredulous and livid in equal measure yesterday after the surprise announcement that professional snooker's first event in the Middle East since 1994 will take place in November, creating a direct scheduling conflict with the Premier League, a hugely successful tournament that Matchroom, of whom Hearn is chairman, have promoted for 20 years.

The Chameleon Rack is 50% OFF in the Billiard Club Pro Shop. Plus, you get FREE Chalk-Off with your purchase The Chameleon Rack is the Official Rack of the 2007 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BCA Partners with USPPA to Host World Juniors and Wheelchair Championships Broomfield, Colo. – July 21, 2008 – The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and the United States Pool Players Association (USPPA) today announced plans for the USPPA to host the 2008 World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) Junior World 9-Ball Championships and 2008 WPA World 9-Ball Championship for Wheelchair Players in Reno, Nevada, November 30-December 3, 2008.

The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) wishes to state its position and view regarding the recent events in the Philippines between the Billiard Managers and Professional Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and the Billiards & Snooker Confederation of Philippines (BSCP), and the WPA World 9-Ball and Ten Ball Championships.

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) crowned four winners in the 2008 BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships. Over 100 junior pocket billiard players, representing 30 states, competed for the title in 4 divisions.

By Steve Silva Philippine Daily Inquirer RONNIE ALCANO'S REIGN AS A WORLD champion came to an end Friday courtesy of the same man he beat to achieve full stardom two years ago. Ralf Souquet of Germany finally exacted revenge with a 13-9 conquest of defending champion Alcano in the finals of the 2008 World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah City, United Arab Emirates. The clean-shaven German, who lost to Alcano in the finals of the World Pool (9-ball) Championship in Manila in 2006, pounced on a poor start by the Filipino to grab a 3-0 lead which he skillfully protected throughout. Souquet, who bagged the top purse of $60,000, became just the fourth cue artist -- after Efren "Bata" Reyes, Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching and Alcano -- to hold both the world 8-ball and 9-ball plums.

From Matchroom Sport Rotterdam, Holland Croatia, China & Japan Advance The PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool got underway today at Outland in Rotterdam, Netherlands as Croatia, China and Japan all advanced to the second round of the $250,000 event. In the opening game of the tournament, Croatia stunned the 16th seeds Russia with a shock victory in an error-strewn encounter.

Subscribe to Billiard Club TV online at www.YouTube.com/bclub. It's FREE. Over 850,000 video views of pools most dynamic TV programming proves that BCtv is the sports premier programming online.

Inside Pool Magazine is covering the Derby City Classic like Simonis Cloth covers a pool table, efficient and top-notch. Here's the news and views of the Derby: All Around the Derby Players Tested by Array of Challenges Moore reverses split Filipino decision, take first Derby City Classic b

If our lovely Chalk-Off Chick, Lesley, came to your house, would you let her clean your pool table? If so, how exactly would you ask her to perform the duty? Click here to comment. Get your Chalk-Off today! Sorry, Chalk-Off Chick not included

CLICK HERE to purchase and get a FREE can of Chalk-Off. The Club Rack, a new traditional triangle wood rack, is now the Official Ball Rack of the U. S. Open 9-Ball Championships.

by Rick Davis Inside Pool Magazine John "Mr. 400" Schmidt defeated billiards player Rodolfo Luat in the finals to win the 31st Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Held in Chesapeake, VA, 219 players entered for a chance to walk away with the prestigious title and $40,000 first-place prize, but in the end only one man could achieve it. An early scratch by Schmidt let Luat jump to a 2-0 lead before Schmidt managed to get back to the table to tie things up.

New U.S. Open 9-Ball commentator, Henry Nimrod Longfellow stirred the bile of many live online viewers during the broadcast of the U. S. Open 9-Ball Championship to the point of near rage, yet others embraced his style and humor wholeheartedly.