Mika Immonen?!?

Mike the Beginner

Mike the Beginner

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Wow, I spend some time away and don't look at the Men's rankings for a while, and what happens? When I saw Mika's name at #2 at first I thought I had found a Web page from 2011.

What did Mika do that got him ranked so high again? Always a player I liked, very pleased for him, but I haven't been keeping up with the news. Can anyone fill me in?
 
Mike the Beginner said:
Wow, I spend some time away and don't look at the Men's rankings for a while, and what happens? When I saw Mika's name at #2 at first I thought I had found a Web page from 2011.

What did Mika do that got him ranked so high again? Always a player I liked, very pleased for him, but I haven't been keeping up with the news. Can anyone fill me in?
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He's been playing good maybe???? Seriously?? How else would his ranking climb.
 
Mike the Beginner said:
Wow, I spend some time away and don't look at the Men's rankings for a while, and what happens? When I saw Mika's name at #2 at first I thought I had found a Web page from 2011.

What did Mika do that got him ranked so high again? Always a player I liked, very pleased for him, but I haven't been keeping up with the news. Can anyone fill me in?
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it's true that mika is having a bit of a resurgence. but the WPA rankings doesn't tell the full story, obviously. mika #2 and filler #20? the nineball live rankings have it the other way around, which is more correct.

but yea good on him for making a comeback, at age 49, against this field of monsters. mika can still catch a very high gear.
 
Proceed with caution.

Mika is playing very well once again and it has been a great story. That said, his WPA #2 ranking is not indicative of where he stands relative to his fellow pros. WPA Rankings, which currently place Josh Filler at #20, four spots below #16 Tyler Styer, have become a joke.

Mika's Fargo of 785 narrowly misses the World Top 50. His performance has been well below that of Josh Filler, Albin Ouschan, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Jayson Shaw, Eklent Kaci, Alex Kazakis, Wojciech Szewczyk, David Alcaide, and Wiktor Zielinski, so it would be awfully hard to argue that he is top ten in Europe. Finally, he sits at #24 on the AZB Money list for 2022.

Still, I hate telling it like it is on this occasion because I like Mika and have enjoyed watching him recapture some of the old magic that, once upon a time, made him the world's most dangerous opponent. Having found good form again, he might just have another big title left in him and if so, I hope I'm there to congratulate him. It would be the icing on a career that has rightly earned him BCA Hall of Fame induction.
 
sjm said:
Proceed with caution.

Mika is playing very well once again and it has been a great story. That said, his WPA #2 ranking is not indicative of where he stands relative to his fellow pros. WPA Rankings, which currently place Josh Filler at #20, four spots below #16 Tyler Styer, have become a joke.

Mika's Fargo of 785 narrowly misses the World Top 50. His performance has been well below that of Josh Filler, Albin Ouschan, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Jayson Shaw, Eklent Kaci, Alex Kazakis, Wojciech Szewczyk, David Alcaide, and Wiktor Zielinski, so it would be awfully hard to argue that he is top ten in Europe. Finally, he sits at #24 on the AZB Money list for 2022.

Still, I hate telling it like it is on this occasion because I like Mika and have enjoyed watching him capture some of the old magic that, once upon a time, made him the world's most dangerous opponent. Having found good form again, he might just have another big title left in him and if so, I hope I'm there to congratulate him. It would be the icing on a career that has rightly earned him BCA Hall of Fame induction.
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Plus we may get more chances to see him act like a complete jackass!! ;)
 
Thanks sjm, I have seen you on YouTube at pool matches. Thanks to stogskokig too. I will have to find some recent videos of Mika's matches. I liked him when I started watching pool in 2012. I've been following snooker too much lately--takes a lot of time to follow a snooker tournament!
 
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Mike the Beginner said:
Thanks sjm, I have seen you on YouTube at pool matches. Thanks to stogskokig too. I will have to find some recent videos of Mika's matches. I liked him when I started watching pool in 2012. I've been following snooker too much lately--takes a lot of time to follow a snooker tournament!
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Yeah, Mika was a stellar player in his prime and his resume of titles is most impressive. It's easy to understand why you enjoyed watching him back in the day.

I watch snooker more than occasionally, too, and I enjoy it. The thing I love most about it is that in most frames, defense precedes the offense, so players have to earn many of their chances with superior defensive and tactical play. The balance between offense and defense in snooker is a big part of what makes it such a great game.
 
As an experienced observer, the only thing holding Mika back is his bad tendency to "one-stroke" some of his shots. He'll slow down occasionally to analyze a situation and then bend down and rush his shot. Why bother taking 30 secs to decide your shot if you're just going to bend down and "one stroke" and miss it lol. Mika has top 20 talent, just needs better rhythm. There you go Mika, your tip of the day!
 
Woodshaft said:
As an experienced observer, the only thing holding Mika back is his bad tendency to "one-stroke" some of his shots. He'll slow down occasionally to analyze a situation and then bend down and rush his shot. Why bother taking 30 secs to decide your shot if you're just going to bend down and "one stroke" and miss it lol. Mika has top 20 talent, just needs better rhythm. There you go Mika, your tip of the day!
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Who are you to give a Lengendary player like Mika tips on how to play better pool? Just curious. I believe that all players have their own unique style of playing their game. It would be like asking Josh Filler to slow down, and not play so fast. Or, to ask Jayson Shaw to slow down.
 
Mike the Beginner said:
I will have to find some recent videos of Mika's matches. I liked him when I started watching pool in 2012.
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I thought Mika was playing incredible at Turning Stone this year. Here is a match he played against Fedor Gorst:

Click on the the text that says "Watch on Facebook":
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=651571776189521

I think probably the most famous Mika match this year was against SVB at the World Pool Championship:

Click on the the text that says "Watch on Facebook":
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=651571776189521
 
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poolplayer4ever said:
Who are you to give a Lengendary player like Mika tips on how to play better pool? Just curious. I believe that all players have their own unique style of playing their game. It would be like asking Josh Filler to slow down, and not play so fast. Or, to ask Jayson Shaw to slow down.
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I am a mentor/instructor/scout and master pool player who has helped many folks with their game and recognition/correction of flaws.
Guess what my friend, EVERY PLAYER has flaws. Jayson Shaw does. Josh Filler does, etc. It's what makes us unique. Unfortunately though, Mika actually has two larger deficiencies than most better players that hold him from being a top 10 player. And these deficiencies add to his bitterness.
I pointed out one of them, so what? Jayson Shaw, for example, is loose with the cue ball a lot when playing shape but can compensate with the ability to shoot most shots lights out, or just play an amazing safe instead.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, it's finding the correct balance in these that makes us the best player (and person) we can be. Jayson has that balance and is playing at his best atm. But Mika's flaws can be fixed/balanced. He's not up to his full potential yet. And he knows it. That's what makes him most frustrated imo.
The Mika flaw I pointed out is a VERY common flaw with fast rhythm shooters btw. But watch Jayson Shaw, for example. He shoots routine shots hurriedly, like Mika. But, if Jayson has to stop and analyze a tuffer shot, when he finally does get down to cue, HE TAKES HIS TIME before stroking the ball. Mika- many times- just pokes at it. Then he gets mad because he misses his shot or safety. Mika needs to develop the ability to "change gears" more smoothly. Downshift for the tuff shots, upshift for the routine shots. Smoothly. It's mental. That's all. Current top 20 players can change speeds smoothly. It's a HUGE key to success.
And, for the record, just because a person isn't the best AT something doesn't mean they don't KNOW WHAT IT TAKES to be the best. I'm just giving my experienced opinion. If you or Mika or anyone doesn't like it, fine by me lol. I have plenty of clients and friends who value my insight.
I try to help people become better, not make fun of them. I like Mika btw-- one of my favorite pros!
 
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Woodshaft said:
As an experienced observer, the only thing holding Mika back is his bad tendency to "one-stroke" some of his shots. He'll slow down occasionally to analyze a situation and then bend down and rush his shot. Why bother taking 30 secs to decide your shot if you're just going to bend down and "one stroke" and miss it lol. Mika has top 20 talent, just needs better rhythm. There you go Mika, your tip of the day!
Click to expand...
Woodshaft said:
Jayson Shaw, for example, is loose with the cue ball a lot when playing shape but can compensate with the ability to shoot most shots lights out, or just play an amazing safe instead.
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I think mika is a terrific shotmaker, but agree his pace has generally been kind of quick/intuitive
that said, his style has led him to multiple world titles, us opens, mosconi mvps, and a place in the bca hall of fame-
it's easy to say "if so and so changed this or that"- but at some point we have to live and die by the same blade
he has certainly been lapped by younger, more confident shotmakers, but mika's resume speaks for itself
and yea, he's still playing..don't be surprised if he catches a gear sometime and freezes the competition🥶
 
evergruven said:
I think mika is a terrific shotmaker, but agree his pace has generally been kind of quick/intuitive
that said, his style has led him to multiple world titles, us opens, mosconi mvps, and a place in the bca hall of fame-
it's easy to say "if so and so changed this or that"- but at some point we have to live and die by the same blade
he has certainly been lapped by younger, more confident shotmakers, but mika's resume speaks for itself
and yea, he's still playing..don't be surprised if he catches a gear sometime and freezes the competition🥶
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Yes, but young world number 1 Josh Filler is 50% (50 fargo points) better than Mika. Mika can be better lol
 
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