Ouschan In For Team Europe
30.10.18

Ouschan In For Team Europe

Albin Ouschan has been selected by Team Europe captain Marcus Chamat as the first of his two wildcards for this December’s partypoker Mosconi Cup at Alexandra Palace, London.

Ouschan narrowly missed out on an automatic place on the team, finishing just nine points behind Niels Feijen on the rankings. The Austrian has consistently gone deep in tournaments throughout the year and returns to Europe’s partypoker Mosconi Cup team after missing out last year. He made his Mosconi debut in 2016 as World Champion and made the winning 9 as Europe defeated USA 11-7 in Las Vegas and 12 months later he was named MVP as Europe routed America 11-3 in London.

“It was really tough to miss out on the rankings because so many things happened in last month,” said Ouschan. “I played really good almost every tournament but the death of my dad hit me really hard but it also made me stronger at the same time.

“The EuroTour Holland was a crazy tournament! When I saw Mario He play Shane van Boening and Niels Feijen play Eklenti Kaci I knew I could make some important points, so I fought really hard and made it to the semis where I lost to Kaci.

“After that tournament I had a big lead over Mario and Niels so I was very confident in making it into the team with the ranking. But then the biggest nightmare started at my hometown EuroTour – I lost both matches back to back. After that tournament Mario was almost in for sure and I was only one point ahead of Niels, so at the International Open the fight was on.

“Niels played better and better every round and I probably did put too much pressure on myself and I lost one round before Niels. Afterwards my feelings were all over the place and I was in the same spot like the year before.

“I got a message from Marcus saying I should give him a call. That was like deja vu for me because last year he spoke to me and told me the spot goes to David Alcaide and after some time I accepted that he made the right decision. But I knew that my chances are bigger this year for wildcard and immediately he told me I’m in.

“My memories about London two years are more than good because I played really well and got the MVP award. But one special thing I remember was the match with Darren against Justin Bergman and Mike Dechaine – that was the most intense match I had at the Mosconi Cup yet.”

Eklenti Kaci, Mario He and Niels Feijen have all automatically qualified for Team Europe. Captain Chamat’s final wildcard pick will be announced tomorrow.

He and Ouschan won the World Cup of Pool for Austria in London last year, and were runners-up to China in the same event this year.

“Mario is one of my best friends,” said Ouschan. “All year we travel together and see what the other one does. He had an outstanding year especially at the EuroTour in my hometown because he knew if he won it he could already make it into the team, so winning a tournament with that in the back of his head is awesome! It’s great to have him there because we all know he deserves it.

“Of course I’m confident that we can win the Mosconi Cup again because we have a great team with the best players of the year. We’re all in good shape and ready to fight. USA haven’t done well in recent years but one session can change everything.”

Tickets for partypoker Mosconi Cup XXV are on sale now priced from £25 per session, with season tickets available priced £90. Premium seating in rows 4-7 is available at £49 per session or £175 for a season ticket, with VIP Hospitality packages from £155 per person per session with a season ticket priced at £549.

The 2018 partypoker MOSCONI CUP is also sponsored by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue of the event and Ultimate Team Gear provide all Mosconi Cup apparel.

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