Asia 10-ball Championships

[Tommi Lamminaho]

Nimi kuulostaa hienolta, mutta paikalla ei oo ihan aasian parhaimmistoa. Mika on mukana eikä salettia voittoa varmana oo tarjolla. Nyt kuitenkin jo semeissä kvartseissa tulleen kontravoiton jälkeen, tässä uutinen aiheesta:

Ice Man, Hitman, & The Dragon Reach Semi-Finals at XTM Asia 10-Ball Championships

Seoul, Korea- Mika Immonen is looking for three tournament wins in a row. Heoun Ho Kim(Charlie Williams) is looking to finish out an already great year strong and represent Korea in style. Hwang Yhong wants to make a name for himself and shock the Asian pool world as the first amateur to win a major pro event. Thorsten Hohmann just wants to win something other than a straight pool tournament. All four players will have something to prove tomorrow on XTM, the TV network airing the final matches.

Kamihashi Gave Mika all he could handle

Immonen (FIN) looked invincible in the event , and in the quarters leading 4-0 against Japan's Kamihashi whom he had defeated earlier in the event. The final eight players were re-seeded for the single elimination re-draw which paired players by their winning average instead of a lucky draw. Immonen maintained his #1 seed but in the middle of the match, Kamihashi mounted a comeback and turned the tables on the US Open Champion. Immonen found himself threatened for the first time in the event, and when the match turned 6-5 in favor of Japan's Kamihashi, the Ice Man made uncharacteristic mistakes and unforced errors letting Kamihashi extend his lead to reach the hill first at 9-7 in the extended race to 10. In game 18, Mika missed a makeable 9-ball and the match seemed over for the flustered Finn, but fortune favored him as the 9-ball rolled behind the 10-ball leaving no shot. A saftey exchange ensued with Mika coming out on top. Immonen held his nerve enough to take the next game and make the match 9-9. No balls for the Finn the final game, and Kamihashi faced a long but makeable 1-ball, with the reward being an enticing 2-10 carom. Kamihashi failed poorly in his attempt and left Mika an uneasy cut shot. Immonen iced the 1-ball in with perfect speed and left himself a fair shot on the carom which he made the 10-ball for the match win.


Korean Dragon in Powerful Break Form

Meanwhile Korea's Heoun Ho Kim maintained his #2 seed as well to the quarter finals and looked comfortable with his 4-0 lead against Japan's Tadasu Sugihara. But similar to Immonen's match, the tide turned and Sugihara fought back to take the lead 6-5. Kim would then come back and later tie the match at 7-7. Kim reached the hill first at 9-7, but failed in his first attempt to close the match, but was able to do it the second try and won the match 10-8.



Geronimo with a tough shot coming

Korea amateur Hwang Yhong, the definitive dark horse of the event, would have to try to overcome the hungry Hayato Hijikata (JPN), whom he defeated earlier in the first round of the event. Yhong also took an early lead at 3-0, but soon it would be neck to neck at 6-6. Both players seemed to feel the pressure of having to beat each other and struggled, but it was Yhong who composed himself the best and handed Hijikata his second loss 10-7 and a longer trip back to Japan. Yhong will have perhaps the toughest opponent in the world right now in Mika Immonen tomorrow.


Hohmann contemplates the outcome


Finally Thorsten Hohmann re-matched against Filipino Rodrigo Geronimo, who had earlier defeated Hohmann. Thus far, all the re-matches had ended with the original winner winning once again. So the match didn't look well for the German World Champion as he trailed 4-0. But the steady Hohmann kept grinding game after game, keeping the match close enough to put heat on his opponent. Finally at 9-7 in favor of Geronimo, Hohmann capitalised on mistakes made by the young Filipino to force another hill decider at 9-9. A scratch on the break looked to doom Hohmann. Geronimo layed out his plan for the final run out but unexpectedly hooked himself on the 4-ball. A careless kickshot found the cueball dropped in a hole and left Hohmann the open table for the run out. Hohmann, the #4 seed of the event faces #2 Heon Ho Kim tomorrow in the second semi-finals.


Women's action will have the lovely Kaori Ebe of Japan re-match against feared Korean Queen of the Amateurs Gui Young Lee in the first semi-finals. Junko Mitsuoka will face once more against fellow Japanese Chihiro Kawahara.

Gui Young Lee sitting pretty in the first semi-finals as the #1 seed.

[Tommi Lamminaho]

Mika oli kolmas.

[Tommi Lamminaho]

Mika oli kolmas.

"Äh", sittenkin toka. Finaalissa tuli sitten Hohmannilta käkeen isosti.

Mut $4K lohduttanee Nyt vuorossa Japan Open, vissiin jo huomenna.

[Can Playsam]

No nyt oli oikeet miehet finaalissa. Tosin "väärä" voitti, näin sinivalkeilla silmilla katseltuna...