Mika Immonen
They're friends, the two of them - Mika Immonen and Zion Zvi - and as it turned out, they faced each other twice in the Open/Pro event of the Predator Tour stop on the weekend of March 3-4. The Iceman won both times, once early, and again in the finals to finish undefeated. The $500-added event drew 11 entrants to Mr. Cue in Lindenhurst, NY.
As Zvi idled with a bye in the opening round, Immonen defeated Greg McAndrews 7-3. They met in the second round, and Immonen won his first of their two 7-3. Immonen moved among the winners' side final four to face tour director Tony Robles. In the second pairing, Frankie Hernandez squared off against Jennifer Barretta. Immonen sent Robles to the loss side 7-2, as Hernandez downed Barretta 7-5. Immonen got into the hot seat with a 7-4 victory over Hernandez and waited for his friend Zvi to complete a four-match, loss-side winning streak to meet up with him in the finals.
Zvi drew a bye on the loss side and then shut out Brian Russell, to pick up Barretta. Robles drew McAndrews, who after being sent west by Immonen, defeated Steve Wright 7-3 and Scott Murphy 7-4. Zvi finished Barretta's day with a 7-4 victory and was joined in the quarterfinals by McAndrews, who downed Robles 7-3.
Zvi and McAndrews locked up in a double hill battle in those quarterfinals, but Zvi prevailed and advanced to meet Hernandez in the semifinals. A 7-4 win there gave Zvi the chance he'd been working for all along - a second chance against the Iceman. Immonen took their second set in the potentially extended race 9-4 to complete his undefeated day.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the owners and staff of Mr. Cue, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13 racks, Poison Cues, PoolOnTheNet.com, and NYCGrind.
