USA line-up for Malta event finalised

Earl Strickland and Jeremy Jones have secured the final two spots on the USA team for next month's Mosconi Cup in Malta.

They join the already announced threesome, made up of World Cup of Pool winning duo Rodney Morris and Shane van Boening, together with American no.1 Johnny Archer.

Strickland, 47, known as The Pearl, will be playing in his 13th consecutive Mosconi Cup, a record for the event, where he has won 37 points from 56 matches.

Jones, 36, made his debut back in 1999 when the USA won 12-7 at the York Hall in London, and will be making his seventh Mosconi Cup appearance where 'Double J' carries an impressive 16 wins from 28 starts.

The Malta challenge will be the 12th Mosconi Cup for Archer, the second for Van Boening and the sixth for Morris where the team's ambition will be to better the current score which stands at 10½- 3½ for the Americans.

The 2008 PartyCasino.com Mosconi Cup will be staged at the Hilton Conference Centre in Portomaso between December 11 and 14.

The competition will be contested by two five-man teams playing a series of singles and doubles matches over four days.

Ironically, this year's showdown in Malta will mark the 13th participation for both Strickland and German Ralf Souquet (Europe) who enjoy the most number of representations from among the 61 players who figured in the Mosconi Cup over the past 14 years.

Meanwhile, online ticket booking on the official website of The Mosconi Cup, www.maltacup.org/mosconi is gaining pace with 90 per cent of the bookings coming from overseas fans, mainly from England, Germany, Bulgaria and even the United States.

This service is available to both Maltese and overseas pool enthusiasts who will be able to book the best seats.

The main sponsors of The Mosconi Cup are PartyCasino.com whilst the travel partner of the event, Allevents Malta, which forms part of the UK-based Fraser Eagle Group, are offering various packages including flights, accommodation, transfers and tickets to encourage overseas visitors to attend the event.

Matchroom Sport are the promoters of The Mosconi Cup while Snooker Promotions have been entrusted with the local organisation of the event.