The race for the second automatic spot on the 2012 American Mosconi Cup team is shaping up into a two-way dog fight between Mike Dechaine and Dennis Hatch following the US Open Ten Ball Championship in Las Vegas which concluded on Saturday May 19th.

Both players had high finishes with Dechaine placing 4th to move into third spot and Hatch finishing 5th/6th to take second position. Just a single point separates them and they lead fourth placed Stevie Moore by 30 points.

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Dechaine made his Mosconi Cup debut in Las Vegas last year and performed well in a losing side, while Hatch grabbed MVP honours in his first ever Mosconi in 2009 and acquitted himself well at the York Hall the following year.

Standing at the top of the rankings is Shane van Boening and the South Dakota Kid looks a racing certainty to make the side as he towers above his countrymen by a whopping 130 points.

With just two more events left in the five tournament series – Turning Stone Classic in August and the US Open 9-Ball Championships in October – the chasing pack will need to come good if they are to claim one of the top two automatic places.

Points in the series are allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event is weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

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 Ranking

1. Shane Van Boening 332.5

2. Dennis Hatch 203

3. Mike Dechaine 202

4. Stevie Moore 172

5. Rodney Morris 144

T6. Mike Davis 139.5

T6. Oscar Dominguez 139.5

8. Brandon Shuff 115

9. Corey Deuel 99

10. Earl Strickland 88.5

11. Louis Ulrich 85

T12. Ryan McCreesh 77

T12. Johnny Archer 77

14. Robb Saez 71.5

15. Brian Brekke 68.5