Immonen Emerges as Hero for North at Patriot Cup

Immonen Emerges as Hero for North at Patriot Cup by InsidePOOL StaffSome of his teammates actually started referring to Mika Immonen as "Superman" after he pulled off a series of seemingly impossible victories to propel the North to victory Sunday. The South was sporting a commanding lead throughout the day in what seemed like an easy win. In the end, it was a brash and fearless attitude and a shot off the end rail that put an end to the hope for the South team. The day started with the South leading as Johnny Archer matched up against Tony Robles of the the North team in a game of straight pool. Archer ran 98 balls and missed. Jokingly, he tossed his cue into the air, caught it, and draped it across his shoulders behind his neck. He placed his hands on both ends to deliberate his last shot and let out a sigh. Then the unthinkable happened. Much to the surprise of Archer and the crowd, the shaft snapped. This is the shaft that Archer has won several professional titles with in 2003. Archer didn't miss a beat. He quickly screwed on a replacement and dispatched Robles 125-56.
As the day wore on, the matches still continued to go in the favor of the South team as Tommy Kennedy defeated Corey Deuel 3-1 playing 8-ball. Then the momentum changed. With the South's lead so large that the North was approaching mathematical extinction, Mika Immonen faced off against Johnny Archer in the Captains' Single 9-Ball. The match went hill-hill with both players missing twice. Immonen finally composed himself and ran out for the victory. The next match posed yet another mathematical cliffhanger. Buddy Hall faced Mika Immonen in the 9-ball banks match. The interesting point about this match is that Immonen was put in a position where he had to not only win, but he had to hold Hall to only one game or the South would take the match. Immonen banked like his life depended on his making every shot as he defeated the heavy-favored Hall 3-1.Next came the 5-on-5 Scotch doubles. This was yet another flirtation with the mathematical gods that the North needed to say their prayers to get through. The North had to win 4-0 to keep the South team from clinching a victory. This match also showed that everybody can miss. Even the pros. Johnny Archer and Tommy Kennedy both missed crucial shots to allow the North to escape and take the victory, 4-0. In the final faceoff of the Patriot Cup, the two best players, determined by records played a race to 4 in 9-ball. This time there was only one objective for each player: win four games. The match, as if by script, went to a nail biting hill-hill game. Immonen broke and came up dry. Archer stepped to the table and pocketed a few balls before encountering trouble. He stuck Immonen on the end rail with a length on the table tester. Immonen speared in the shot like a hanger, causing both teams to jump to their feet. Immonen completed the run for the set and match. Johnny Archer Photo courtesy Worldpool.com

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