Gray helps Europe to cup glory
BOURNE Snooker Centre ace Mark Gray was right on cue to help Europe to a memorable Mosconi Cup success.
Gray joined forces with doubles partner Mika Immonen to win a crucial match which helped Europe defend their nine-ball pool title against America.
The Baston potter marked his first appearance in the annual clash with a vital victory after losing his opening two doubles matches.
After watching Europe race into an early 3-0 lead, Gray and fellow former snooker ace Tony Drago were beaten by the American duo of Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer who won the last point of the opening day.
The 35-year-old was then beaten after joining forces with Immonen by Jeremy Jones and Johnny Archer as Europe managed to hold their two-rack advantage.
However, the duo made amends in memorable fashion to help Europe extend their advantage the next day with one of the all-time great Mosconi Cup fightbacks.
They had trailed 4-1 against an in-form Archer and Jones, but then won the next four racks to seal a memorable 5-4 victory.
It saw Europe win the third session 2-1 to move 7-4 ahead and edge them closer towards an overall 11-5 victory.
Gray said: "We had played Jones and Archer the previous night and lost 5-1 and didn't do much wrong.
"Again we weren't getting the rolls, but I knew if we had the chances we would take them.
"Luckily the US choked under pressure a few times.
"It was good to have someone of Mika's calibre as my partner. He's just won the US Open and Japan Open so it was great to have someone with that knowledge with you."
Immonen was also full of praise for Gray whose success capped a meteoric rise in the pool world since taking up the game as a hobby.
The Finn commented: "It one of the best comebacks in my Mosconi Cup history.
"The crowd really reminded you to keep the fighting spirit going.
"All credit to Mark, he is a rookie but stuck in there and we were able to come back from 4-1 down."
The duo exploits even stunned seasoned Mosconi Cup commentator Jim Wych.
He said: "I wouldn't have given Gray and Immonen a penny for their chances at 4-1 down. Johnny Archer and Jeremy Jones looked untouchable.
"But it was a good example of the European make up. These guys came to play and not let anything get them down."
Gray took up nine-ball pool after a frustrating career as a professional snooker player.
The highlight of his snooker career was a victory over Jimmy White in the British Open in 1998, but he was never ranked higher than 71.
He explained: "While I enjoyed the professional snooker circuit for 10 years it wasn't financially viable and I've had to take up a full-time job for the past few years.
"I began playing American nine-ball pool as a hobby and found that my snooker skills were to some extent transferrable."
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Monday 06 February 2012
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