Nick van den Berg looks forward to Mosconi Cup

Dutchman Nick van den Berg looks forward to the Mosconi Cup, which is being held in Las Vegas December 8-11. He is convinced that the European team is going to win easily from the US team. "We are stronger than ever, while the American team only gets weaker."

Alongside van den Berg, fellow Dutchman Niels Feijen, German Ralf Souquet and the English duo Darren Appleton and Chris Melling take part in the European team. They take it up against Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening, Rodney Morris, Shawn Putnam and debutant Mike Dechaine of the US team.

"The addition of Dechaine and the comeback of Putman strengthen the chances of the European team," says van den Berg. "Europe is large and has many players to pick from. In the US there is only a handful of players to pick from for the Mosconi Cup. They pick the ones who are strongest at the moment and therefore some players who belong in the Cup, like Corey Deuel and Dennis Hatch, can't come. Dennis always plays well in the Mosconi Cup. Last year we saw him as the weak link, but he turned out to be one of their best players."

"The last seven years, we really had an advantage. We had a much stronger team than the Americans. In the Euro Tour there are so many great players, you really have to step up your game to get through. You have to play every game better than before and take all the points you can get."

"European players dominate the events all over the world. The Mosconi Cup is now in our hands and that will stay that way. I'm 95% sure that we will win, the other 5% is the luck factor." This is the fifth time that van den Berg plays in this prestigious competition, but he considers being picked as the highlight of his year. "It means a lot to me. I have worked very hard this year. Every year I set some goals for myself and one of them was to participate in the Mosconi Cup. There are only five spots, so the pressure is high. Every Euro Tour game was three points effective and at the end it was really thrilling when there was only a few points difference between Darren, Ralf and me.

"This is the only tournament with this kind of audience, an atmosphere where everybody wants you to win. It is so overwhelming. Fortunately I can play well under pressure and hopefully I can show the best side of me. This time it's a Dutch get-together, because our coach is Johan Ruijsink and also Niels Feijen is in the team. I can't wait!"