FOLLOWING on from the Austrian Open which concluded on Saturday 2nd June, Chris Melling and Nick Van den Berg look on course to collect their second and sixth caps respectively as they maintain their positions as Nos.1 and 2 on the 2012 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup European rankings.
Melling failed to make the last 32 in Austria but had enough points in the bank to stay in the top 2 while Van den Berg$B!G(Bs top 16 finish allowed him to step over the Englishman to take the top spot.
The biggest mover was Austrian Open champion Nikos Ekonomopoulos, who continued a good run of form as he ousted Poland$B!G(Bs Wojciech Szewczyk in the final to take maximum points from the event.
The 30 year-old Greek, had defeated Marcus Chamat, David Alcaide, Mario He, Bruno Muratore and Darren Appleton en route to the final and his confidence will be sky high as the players head to Qatar and the World 9 Ball Championship later this month.
The European Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 10 events - six Euro Tour events and four $B!F(BWorld$B!G(B events. The $B!F(BWorld$B!G(B 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 World 9 Ball Championship which takes place 22-29 June in Doha, Qatar.
The Ranking
1. ($B",(B1) Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 47
2. ($B"-(B1) Chris Melling (GBR) 44
3. ($B",(B1) Oliver Ortmann (GER) 39
4. ($B",(B2) Darren Appleton (GBR) 36
T5. ($B",(B9) Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) 35
T5. ($B"-(B2) David Alcaide (ESP) 35
7. ($B"-(B2) Mark Gray (GBR) 31
8. ($B",(B3) Phil Burford (ENG) 27
T9. ($B",(B4) Bruno Muratore (ITA) 26
T9. ($B"-(B2) Albin Ouschan (AUT) 26
T11. ($B"-(B1) Dimitri Jungo (SUI) 25
T11. ($B"-(B3) Karol Skowerski (POL) 25
13. ($B"-(B4) Dominic Jentsch (GER) 23
T14. ($B",(B12) Marcus Chamat (SWE) 21
T14. ($B",(B12) Nicolas Otterman (GER) 21
T14. ($B"-(B2) Huidji See (NED) 21