CHRIS MELLING and Nick Van den Berg continue to occupy the top two automatic spots at the top of the 2012 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup European rankings following the conclusion of the recent Italian Open in Treviso.
Melling scraped into the points with a top 32 finish while Van den Berg$B!G(Js place in the semi-final kept him at No.2. Spaniard David Alcaide, whose sole Mosconi Cup appearance came in Rotterdam in 2006, moves from 9th into 3rd position, six points away from the Top Two.
Tournament winner Dominic Jentsch, the 20 year-old German prospect, took 16 points and moves from 49th into the top ten. With six events to go, there are plenty of players still in contention.
The European Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 10 events – six Euro Tour events and four $B!F(JWorld$B!G(J events. The $B!F(JWorld$B!G(J events will carry approximately 50% more points due to the international strength of the field.
Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and at the conclusion, after the 2012 US Open, the top two players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.
The remaining three players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.
The next event on the ranking is the Austrian Open from 31 May – 2 June followed by the World 9 Ball Championship which takes place 22-29 June in Doha, Qatar.
The Ranking
1. ( - ) Chris Melling (GBR) 44
2. ( - ) Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 41
3. ($B",(J6) David Alcaide (ESP) 35
4. ($B",(J1) Oliver Ortmann (GER) 33
5. ($B"-(J2) Mark Gray (GBR) 31
6. ($B",(J1) Darren Appleton (GBR) 30
7. ($B",(J1) Albin Ouschan (AUT) 26
8. ($B"-(J5) Karol Skowerski (POL) 25
9. ($B",(J40) Dominic Jentsch (GER) 23
10. ($B"-(J4) Dimitri Jungo (SUI) 22
11. ($B",(J6) Phil Burford (ENG) 21
12. ($B"-(J2) Huidji See (NED) 18
13. ($B"-(J2) Bruno Muratore 17
T14. ($B",(J9) Radoslaw Babica (POL) 15
T14. ($B"-(J2) Nikos Ekonompoulis (GRE) 15