Pool: Davis loses as US take early lead

Team Europe drew first blood in the 2001 Mosconi Cup last night but the United States fought back to hold a 2-1 lead after the first round of matches. The pairing of the Netherlands' Niels Feijen and the London-born world champion Mika Immonen overcame the US duo of Johnny Archer and Nick Varner in front of a noisy full-house at the York Hall, east London.

Errors from the Americans saw the European pairing take an early 3-0 lead but they were pulled back to 3-3 before Feijen produced some heroics in the final rack to clinch the winning nine-ball. However, America squared the scores when the world No 1, Cory Deuel, and the debutant Charlie Williams easily overcame the pairing of Marcus Chamat and London's Steve Knight by a 5-1 margin.

The US moved into a 2-1 lead in the final match of the evening as their captain, Earl Strickland, and Jeremy Jones made light work of Europe's captain, Ralf Souquet, and the crowd favourite Steve Davis, winning 5-2.