Morra vs Immonen was a tightly contested match. (Photo courtesy of Chito Ines)
Manila, Philippines- Two-time World Champion Mika Immonen persevered twice in the same day as he won very close calls at The Predator Championships. Immonen has been struggling of late in recent events, and hasn't posted a top 4 finish in a major since the beginning of 2011. Yesterday he faced two young guns aiming for him in Canada's John Morra and Filipino Jech Limen.
Mika trailed at one point with Morra as they battled live on the TV table for ABS-CBN in a packed arena. Immonen found a way to squeeze by to win 9-7. Against Limen, it was much closer. Limen held a 1-2 game lead the entire match until Limen held at 8-7 needing only the 9-Ball and 10-ball to secure victory. But then shockingly to the gasp of the audience, Limen miscued on the 9-ball (when the tip is not chalked properly before the shot), and he missed. Immonen won that game and then proceeded to break and run out to an easy safety which Limen hit but left a shot for Mika to run out. Immonen did exactly that for the 9-8 escape accentuated with a double two handed fist pump at the end.
"It's been a long time since I won a match like that. I've been struggling this year in close matches, so this one is emotional for me", explained Mika. "I've been going through alot of inner changes this year, so I've been adapting to that. But it feels good."
#1 World Ranked Dennis Orcullo (PHI) faced off against #2 World Ranked Yukio Akagariyama of Japan. Both players had won World 8-Ball and World 9-Ball titles respecyively this year. But the battle was lackluster as Yukio cruised to an easy 9-3 victory over the top ranked Filipino. Orcullo will have to face Han Hao Xiang of China today to survive.
Watch feature matches for free live at http://www.liveonlive.com/show/predator10ball-manila-sept2011 provided by LiveonLive.com
The 11th Annual Predator International Championship is the premiere event of Predator Cues and produced by Dragon Promotions taking place this week September 15 - 18, 2011 at Robinson's Galleria Mall in Manila, Philippines. The event is co-sponsored by Asia Brewery Incorporated, Yalin Tables, Andy Cloth, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Colt 45 Strong Beer, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Motolite, Aramith Balls, Robinson's Galleria, Magic 89.9 Radio, Philippines Star Newspaper, Crowne Plaza Ortigas, and TV network partners ABS-CBN and ESPN Star Sports. Over 30 countries are estimated to be represented at this year's event including Germany, India, Sweden, China, England, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Norway, Mexico, Canada, Curacao, Venezuela, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Malta, and the USA. World class pros from across the globe will fill the field. Daily coverage and full info on www.predator10ball.com
Contact Dragon Promotions at predatorchampionships@gmail.com for more info on event
