Mika Down After Day One 35-25
- Thread starter Bigtruck
- Start date
LOL that's such a funny post...let's hope for some better play tomorrow...today was downright sloppy
Bigtruck Mika had that look going pretty much all last night :thumbup:
you know, I think it might be a DIS-advantage to play on your home turf in a match like this. Yea, you might be comfortable, but there are WAY too many expectations from all the folks that know you in the room. The commentators kept saying....this isn't the Mika we see every day......he's not playing his normal game. Then, if you dog it a little, you start to try too hard. Frustrating outbursts can happen to show everyone you are trying hard and it's not your fault......maybe the table was just recovered, maybe someone moved, maybe you just lost the 14.1 World Title!
J/K.
Seriously, Mika better let all the home town expectations go and just play like the champ he is or this is going to turn into another SVB smokes.....(insert previous 100 set loser here) It's early, but the set to this point looks very similar to the others......SVB gains a game on the opponent every 4 or 5 games.
G.
J/K.Seriously, Mika better let all the home town expectations go and just play like the champ he is or this is going to turn into another SVB smokes.....(insert previous 100 set loser here) It's early, but the set to this point looks very similar to the others......SVB gains a game on the opponent every 4 or 5 games.
G.
Not saying it's over or anything, but what I've seen so far doesn't bode well for Mika at all. It's not just that Shane has outscored him nearly 1.5:1, it's that he did it with his B game. His break hasn't started working yet, and he hasn't yet hit his stride with regard to pocketing and cueball control. Clearly Mika is not in top form either, but I fully expect SVB to get his issues worked out tonight, and if he does then Mika will have to get his sorted out AND play the best pool of his life to get those 10 games back against an in-stroke SVB.
My personal prediction is that SVB will eventually take another MPH or two off of that break (his 1-ball is coming uptable way too hot) and put on his Fed-Ex uniform. If he starts hitting Mika with a steady stream of 2's, 3's, and 4's, this one could be worse than SVB/Deuel.
JMHO,
Aaron
My personal prediction is that SVB will eventually take another MPH or two off of that break (his 1-ball is coming uptable way too hot) and put on his Fed-Ex uniform. If he starts hitting Mika with a steady stream of 2's, 3's, and 4's, this one could be worse than SVB/Deuel.
JMHO,
Aaron
Slow and steady for SVB, right now Mika has to figure out how to catch him on day 3. He's most certainly has to be in the mid 60's after tonight to be a threat on Day 3. He needs to win more games than SVB today cause we all know SVB closes better than almost anyone....except that little Alex P. situation.
Think if Shane ends up blowing out Mika, what does that say about Pagulayan? For him to be able to do what he did, is amazing. I really hope we get an Alex v Shane race to 100 part 2. That is the best match I have ever seen.
Who knows, hopefully the play will pick up tonight and this match will surpass that one.
I think this is not saying much -- in fact, it could be viewed as a slight -- for Shane's growth as a player. That Pagulayan / Van Boening match was, what, well over 2 years ago? I'd think that Shane has grown (as a player) since then. I'm thinking now, if Alex matched up with Shane, things would probably be different -- especially since Alex has been more or less inactive on the pool scene lately. Shane's capabilities have not been static these past couple of years -- he's doing 8, maybe 10 hours a day practicing, staying in action/tourneys, etc. IMHO, Shane's match-closing ability has increased over these last couple of years, not decreased.
These days, I wouldn't put much stock in that Pagulayan/Van Boening match from a couple years ago, save for historical / entertainment value. It's now outdated matchup-consideration-wise.
Honest.
-Sean
I respectfully disagree...Give the little brown guy a month of practice and he won't be an underdog to anyone in the world.
Mika is a champ. He will make a run, but Shane still wins.
You really think he needs a whole month to get ready for anything????
you make a great point, 3 days tops.
Only you would have a pansy-assed beverage like that...
Thanks CaliRed for the stats.
http://www.oldpoolhall.com/tarupdates/shanemika.htm
Starting with game 41, I really thought Mika was going to come back. Shane started to miss easy shots, looked either fatigued or was not playing his best because he was up 11!
After he missed that 5-10 combo, Mika was playing well and won 4 straight, capitalizing on Shane's mistakes. He really seemed to be getting his groove back here.
Then he self combusted, again! Even though he won those games, all were dry breaks, then in game 45, Shane plays some good safety shots and three fouls Mika. Although, I feel Mika in his frustration made some lack luster attempts to get out of them. When he was on his first foul he should have just broke up the cluster because he knew if he didn't hit the 3, Shane would just bury him again and then he had to hit it.
This was where the momentum switched back to Shane and I thought there was no chance for Mika to catch another gear on the first night. He took himself out of the match right here.
Hoping for better play on day 2, but watching the pros struggle, for once, makes me feel like one day I could play as good as their off days
http://www.oldpoolhall.com/tarupdates/shanemika.htm
Starting with game 41, I really thought Mika was going to come back. Shane started to miss easy shots, looked either fatigued or was not playing his best because he was up 11!
After he missed that 5-10 combo, Mika was playing well and won 4 straight, capitalizing on Shane's mistakes. He really seemed to be getting his groove back here.
Then he self combusted, again! Even though he won those games, all were dry breaks, then in game 45, Shane plays some good safety shots and three fouls Mika. Although, I feel Mika in his frustration made some lack luster attempts to get out of them. When he was on his first foul he should have just broke up the cluster because he knew if he didn't hit the 3, Shane would just bury him again and then he had to hit it.
This was where the momentum switched back to Shane and I thought there was no chance for Mika to catch another gear on the first night. He took himself out of the match right here.
Hoping for better play on day 2, but watching the pros struggle, for once, makes me feel like one day I could play as good as their off days
Mika looked super wound up like he'd had way too much stimulant (red bull, coffee, whatever). I was waiting for him to chill out a bit, but as of @ 12:30 when I hit the hay, he looked like he was still chewing nails.
Someone give him a couple mg's of valium tonight. If he continues to shoot so poorly and put minimal pressure on Shane, we may never see Shane's A game. And that would suck giant toad nads.
Someone give him a couple mg's of valium tonight. If he continues to shoot so poorly and put minimal pressure on Shane, we may never see Shane's A game. And that would suck giant toad nads.
It shouldn't be a factor, but putting brand new cloth on the table a day before the match was a weird move. I'm very surprised Amsterdam management didn't allow Mika to have a say in the matter. Society Billiards may have a new regular after this is over.
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I don't know, but I think it started with the table being recovered, then Shane let him sit in the chair about 30 min while he practiced before the game (Justin had to tell him five more min of practice to get him off the table. Shane took at least 10 more min after that). Mika lost the lag. Shane ran out. A lot of Shanes misses went unpunished in the early stages as he got a lot of kisses and rolls leaving Mika no shot which drove Mika up the wall. It all went down hill for Mika after that. Of course it's Mika's fault for letting things he can't change get the best of him. If he could stop going on tilt he would be almost impossible to beat. JMO. Johnnyt