Europe retained the Mosconi Cup with a comprehensive 11-5 victory over America in Malta, with MVP Mike Immonen potting the winning nine-ball.
Europeans keep hold of Cup after commanding victory in Malta
Europe retained the Mosconi Cup with a comprehensive 11-5 victory over America in Malta, with MVP Mike Immonen potting the winning nine-ball.
Europe retained the trophy for the first time in Mosconi Cup history - and they did it in style with just the second match of the day - leaving a full session to spare.
Starting the day in a commanding lead of 9-5, Europe first moved to the hill with Niels Feijen and Ralf Souquet beating Jeremy Jones and Rodney Morris 5-2.
Next up was Immonen, who missed the chance to win the Cup two years ago in a drawn match, against 'South Dakota Kid' Shane Van Boening.
This time there was no mistake from Immonen, and the Finn held his nerve to see-out a 5-3 victory.
Ghosts
"It seems I'm burying a few ghosts," said the MVP Immonen. "I won the US Open where I had a tragic final in 2001, then I won the Japan Open where I had lost in the final four times in ten years and won that.
"Then, my final and biggest goal was to win the Mosconi Cup. Finally it has happened and I can't believe it. I'm really overwhelmed.
"The heart was pumping as much as earlier in the day when I was running on the treadmill at nine miles per hour to keep my conditioning."
While Feijen and Souquet were hardly troubled, Immonen had built a 4-1 lead in his match and was cruising until van Boening launched a strong fightback.
The American pulled it back to 4-3 as the Finn started to wobble, but he dug in this time and when handed a chance to clear he did so, handing Europe a second victory on the bounce after their win last year in Las Vegas.
History has also been made as the win sees Europe retain the trophy for the first time after their first ever back-to-back victories.
"I played myself in 1995 and 2005 and we got spanked," said European captain Alex Lely.
Proud
"We have got spanked quite often in this event. But I was made captain this year and I was very proud to be captain.
"I knew my team were already champions and they had my respect, we all had each other's respect. We played with so much pride, discipline and focus on the task.
"They're a machine, all I had to do was push the button, make the sandwiches and rack the balls."
Third-time American captain Nick Varner tasted defeat for the first time, but was gracious after the loss.
"We didn't get the result we wanted but I would like to thank my team," said Varner.
"I would like to thank Matchroom Sport, Sky Sports and all the sponsors. This is really a great event and I still had a great time.
"The scoreline was reversed to what I wanted to see but I have to congratulate Team Europe - they played great."
