NEWS  October 26, 2008 – US Open 9-Ball  –  Immonen is the new champion

238 players competed at the 33rd edition of the US Open 9-Ball Championships. The format was a double KO bracket in races to 11 with winner break and the loser of a rack had to rack up with the Delta 13 steel triangle. The balls were racked up normally, which is with the 1 ball on the foot spot. However, the break shot had to be played from the so-called break box, which is only two balls large in direction to both side rails. And a hard break was requested instead of a soft break.

The Euro Tour players who had competed in Switzerland were promised by US Open promoter Barry Behrman that they only had to play as from day 2. Only this made it possible for many European players to compete at the Swiss Open and right after this tournament, the US Open in Chesapeake, VA.

After I had traveled with my friend and travel companion Björn Lepke from Payerne, Switzerland to the airport in Munich, we flew via Frankfurt and Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia. And when I finally got to bed, I was dead tired and had been on the road for some 47 hours and all I wanted was to sleep. But I only slept 7 hours and then I woke up with a heavy headache.

Even if the headache went away in the evening, the energy consuming Euro Tour and the travel made me feel pretty odd. However, I managed to win my first match against Manuel Chau (USA) 11-3. But two hours later, I had to get again to the table and this time, my batteries seemed to be on low. Against US player Chris Szuter, I was trailing 0-2 before coming back to 3-2 and 5-3, but then, I started committing many concentration errors. I was now trailing 5-9 and at 0:30 a.m., I could not come back anymore. After this 6-11 defeat, I had to swap to the loser bracket at this early stage, which can turn out to be a real marathon at the US Open where the double KO bracket is played until the very end.

The hard and long way was to start with Adel Al-Shatti from Kuwait. The Arabic players were present in Chesapeake fort he first time with 6 players and they left a good impression. But lucky enough, I had had a day off and could regenerate, before having to play against Al-Shatti. I had recovered and dominated my opponent on the TV table, won 11-2 and could enter the next round against French-Canadian Gilbert Marcel. Marcel seemed to be ultra-nervous and missed a few opportunities, but until 10-0, I did not commit any mistake. After the Canadian scored the honor point, he received a big hand from the crowd and even won another rack. Butt his could not help him losing 2-11 and I had finally arrived in the tournament.

With this new motivation, my next match against the Polish player Radoslaw Babica was much easier. I played a good match and entered the next round with an undisputed 11-5. Right after this match, I had to play against Tony Robles (USA) and I could maintain my game on the same high level. I scored another clear win 11-4 and after 7 hours playing, I finally could take a break. I benefited from this break to get some fresh air and some new energy by eating a bite.

In the evening, I had to wait for 90 minutes before my match against the Japanese player Toru Kuribayashi started. I also won the fourth match of the day and in spite of the delay, I kept my concentration up. I won 11-1 and was prepared for the last match of the day. Again, I had to wait for my next opponent. I was waiting for the loser of the match Ronnie Alcano vs. Lee Van Corteza, both from the Philippines. It was after midnight that my match against Lee Van Corteza started and the fatigue set slowly in. I made two shot mistakes and the Philippine player made use of these opportunities and gained a 3-1 and 6-3 lead. I gathered my concentration and equaled the score at 6-6. But then, I missed a feasible 3 ball and was trailing again - 6-8. Again I could come back to score the 8-8, but then I had to watch the cue ball upon a perfect break being pushed by an object ball into the corner pocket of the head rail. Corteza scored the 10-8 and the next rack was a safety battle. If I could win this battle, I had to accept a bad position on the 7 ball. The consequence was a bad position on the 8 ball and I missed it. The remaining two balls were no problem fort he Philippine player and losing 8-11, I finished on rank 17 at 2:30 a.m.

On the last day, only 4 players were still in the competition. In the winner brackets, Ronnie Alcano from the Philippines defeated Finn Mika Immonen 11-6 and had entered after 2007 again the final of the US Open 9-Ball Championships. On the loser side, Johnny Archer (USA) was opposed to Warren Kiamco (PHI) and Kiamco won an undisputed match 11-4. He then had to play Mika Immonen in the semi-final. It was a tough match, mainly controlled by the Finn. But Kiamco accepted the fight, came back into the match and all of a sudden, the match was full of suspense. But finally, Immonen won 11-9 and had entered the final fort he second time after 2001.

In the final, Immonen had the better start and stuck to his soft break, although this break had been forbidden during the players meeting. But since the tournament direction did not intervene, I had to leave the hall at 6-0 for Immonen and watched the rest of the match online on my laptop computer. So, I can only say that Immonen won 13-7 and that the Philippine player had lost his second final in a row.