MOSCONI CUP PICKS
CUE CRITIQUE: SIMPLISTIC ELEGANCE Cantando cues are not complicated, but beautiful nonetheless. BY DENO ANDREWS The late Art Cantando’s body of work in cuemaking is limited but inspired. Cantando is one of the most respected cuemakers by collectors and colleagues alike. His cues exhibit a sophisticated design aesthetic and were built with integrity. This month’s cue is a bold design featuring flamecolored veneered points in a rosewood butt. A subtle but important design element is the slightly lighter wood Cantando chose to inlay inside the points. The lighter color wood helps to draw the eye to the insides of the points, which appear to have a warm glow. Each point hosts a fancy ivory inlay above a simple dot. Ringtail lizard skin is used to wrap the handle area and is flanked by fancy rings. Anchoring the overall design is a battery of striking ivory and pink ivory medallions in the butt sleeve. An ivory butt cap with Cantando’s logo and a stainless steel joint complete the cue. Overall, this design is a perfect reminder that cues do not have to be complicated to be beautifully designed. For more information on this and other high-end cues, visit CueZilla.com, where you can read other cue critiques and join the discussion yourself.
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kind of expected that I would have to wait another year until the camp. I really played well and felt like I left my best on the table. That wasn’t the case in previous years. “In fact,” Robinson recalled, “when Jeremy texted that he wanted to talk to me, I thought, ‘Well, here comes the call to keep working for next year.’ When he said I’d made the team, I couldn’t believe it. It still hasn’t sunk in.” On the European side, there was little controversy. With 19-year-old reigning World 9-Ball Champion Fedor Gorst of Russia earning Team Europe’s automatic bid, new European captain Alex Lely had the luxury of selecting four players from a titlestacked deck. With Scotland’s Jayson Shaw and German Joshua Filler easy picks, Lely rounded out his squad with Austrian Albin Ouschan, a Mosconi standout left off of the 2019 team, and rising star Klenti Kaci, already playing in his third Cup. “Albin has a great record in the Mosconi Cup,” said Lely. “He was one Skyler Woodward jump shot from being MVP in 2018. In the Matchroom arena, he is a beast — seven out of nine in doubles and two World Cup of Pool titles. Also, his calm demeanor is a good counterbalance to Shaw and Filler.” With the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating tournament play and limiting opportunities to gather as a team, both captains have had to get creative with training. “We’ve done some cool training on Zoom,” said Lely. “I have some creative formats where the players take on interdependent target-oriented challenges.” “We’ll continue to train independently, “Jones added. “But we are planning to have three or four days of serious training as a full team in mid-October. We’ll take advantage of being around each other and to lots of intense sparring.” Both teams are planning to be in London 10 days before the Cup’s scheduled kick-off on Dec. 1.
October 2020
9/23/20 9:35 AM