Observations of Mika & SVB's "Gamesmanship"

KoolKat9Lives

KoolKat9Lives

Taught 'em all I know
Silver Member
I'm interested in what people saw and think of their "game within the game".

The timing of 'bathroom breaks', the wiping down of the table, the body language, the squirming, Mika practicing during the 10 to 10:30 break...

IMO, Mika was doing some "things" in an effort to shift the tide.

Whatcha think about both players' behavior?


(Please restrain from making this a bash Mika thread and show some respect for a tenacious warrior)
 
Mika was fighting just trying to keep his head right. That's what I got out of it. I don't feel like he was sharking or anything, he's not a robot and showed a little emotion but he didn't really direct it toward svb. I dislike how he picks up the cue ball a little too often on tough shots to clean it off, I mean seriously who ever does that when in the box. That's a huge no no for me I don't care what's hanging off the ball, move it after the rack is over.
 
I honestly think that Mika was just a little frustrated in himself. He probably wasn't doing anything on purpose to shark Shane, and if I were in Shane's shoes, I'd be thinking "this guy's on tilt, I got him right where I want him". Hopefully he cools down and we get to enjoy an awesome day 2.
 
KoolKat9Lives said:
I'm interested in what people saw and think of their "game within the game".

The timing of 'bathroom breaks', the wiping down of the table, the body language, the squirming, Mika practicing during the 10 to 10:30 break...

IMO, Mika was doing some "things" in an effort to shift the tide.

Whatcha think about both players' behavior?


(Please restrain from making this a bash Mika thread and show some respect for a tenacious warrior)
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I think they both acted fine. The break at 10:00 is a Tar break and the players decide on that before the match started. Mika was hitting balls because he wasn't playing well and he was trying to get himself going. He wiped down the table becasue he felt it was getting dirty and a little bouncey and to calm himself down. He was extremely furstrated he ran long on position for the six the rack before and he needed to calm down.

They have both acted like gentlemen towards each other and whoever loses will lose because they got outplayed, not because on any moves.
 
"Gamesmanship" is perfectly ok. Honestly, Mika was looking for a momentum shift. It's like basketball, one team starts going on a run, the other will call a time-out. As for the ball-cleaning, nothing wrong with that at all. If there's something on the CB that will affect the shot, I damn sure want it off.
 
Mika CLEARLY puts an enormous amount of pressure on himself. I think ABC re-clothing 'his' table there had an enormous impact on him, where as Shane simply had no reference point. Seeing Mika wipe the table down was to me just a manifestation of his anxiety, like if I have a bad day I do the dishes. Shane seemed very even, removing the magic rack for Mika, allowing him to clean the cue ball whenever, etc. At one point Caroline Pau of Mezz was even trying to tell Mika to either calm down or take a break. And Immonen from what I see is certainly no robot, he tried to rally toward the end, pumping his fist after a win only to eventually let his negative emotions get the best of him. I was rooting for SVB, but at one point just seeing another human being so hard on himself had even the biggest SVB fan empathizing. Getting behind on such a long match is no picnic for anyone, but Mika seemed miserable to the point where it looked as though pool had no joy left to him. I look forward to seeing what a new day brings for both of the champions. Thank you TAR and Caroline Pau and all the sponsors for putting this great match together.
 
As everyone has said prior, I don't think Mika was intentionally trying to shark Shane. Something caused Mika to lose focus (the cloth, a missed shot, rails, whatever...) and I think he was trying to regain that by practicing during the break. Mika wiping down the table was a way of calming himself down, nothing more nothing less. They both have tremendous respect for each others game and would not intentionally shark each other. However I did get a kick when they showed a close up of Shane's face after Mika missed a "makeable" shot and he was smiling almost as if I got you where I want you.
 
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Mika wasn't trying to move on Shane, he just wears his heart on his sleeve. If he hurts anyone, it's himself.
 
A top player like Mika should have better control of his emotions. All that negative energy just sends positive messages to Shane. As someone else said on here, Shane was smiling like he knew he had him where he wanted him. Negative energy feeds on itself and only makes it harder to play good. I hope Mika comes out today with his head on straight.

I remember seeing a very determined Mika make several massive comebacks to win last year's U.S. Open. He never let anything bother him on his way to victory after victory. Where did THAT Mika go?
 
As far as I knew Mika is not a gambler and I think playing for the cash in front of your home crowd along with the world wide web with another top player challenging you to see who is best might be more than he can fade, this is not a tournament. He was showing way too much emotion for someone of his caliber but we will see how he does today. Negative brings upon negative they say, he needs to think positive and make changes if the break is not working or whatever. I would say I hope to see a better day 2 but I am betting on Shane so I hope its just like Day 1. :smile:
 
I don't know that I've ever seen a player look so wound up. How are you supposed to "flow" when your muscles are all clenched? Over and over the hyper Mika over ran position.

I have a little sweat bet on Mika and I just wanted to reach through the screen and shake him and say "Yo, deep breaths brotha!"

I strongly suspect we're going to see better play tonight, hopefully stellar play from both. I don't want to see Mika do any more of his half-efforted shots. That was discouraging...

Thanks for the posts,

Matt
 
jay helfert said:
A top player like Mika should have better control of his emotions. All that negative energy just sends positive messages to Shane. As someone else said on here, Shane was smiling like he knew he had him where he wanted him. Negative energy feeds on itself and only makes it harder to play good. I hope Mika comes out today with his head on straight.

I remember seeing a very determined Mika make several massive comebacks to win last year's U.S. Open. He never let anything bother him on his way to victory after victory. Where did THAT Mika go?
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you must have not watched the match with him and donnie mills
 
Fast Lenny said:
Does anyone know if there were any packages put together?
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Lenny, All of the stats can be found here: www.oldpoolhall.com/tarupdates


At one point, Mika took a break during Shane's turn at the table. I didn't know that was allowed, although it was between racks. When Mika later cleaned the rails, he picked up Shane's cue and dropped it with a 'thud' back on to the table. And lastly, I agree that the continued cue ball cleaning during play is quite anoying. At one point he cleaned the cb right after the break. Really? You couldn't have cleaned it BEFORE the break? Shane just rolls with the punches and continues to run out. Good for him.
 
rivercitysledge said:
you must have not watched the match with him and donnie mills
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Last Open, I was sitting just about on Mika's shoulder when he was down 9-2 to Scott Higgins and Mika won 11-9. That was a very different Mika than last night.

Hey, we all have bad nights. He'll be back better tonight I think.
 
When Mika was slamming the chalk on the table and then wiped off the rails, I think it was because Shane was putting the chalk face down on the rails making a mess. He seemed to go all rage about it, but also seemed to get him a bit more focused too.
 
Mr Hoppe said:
Lenny, All of the stats can be found here: www.oldpoolhall.com/tarupdates


At one point, Mika took a break during Shane's turn at the table. I didn't know that was allowed, although it was between racks. When Mika later cleaned the rails, he picked up Shane's cue and dropped it with a 'thud' back on to the table. And lastly, I agree that the continued cue ball cleaning during play is quite anoying. At one point he cleaned the cb right after the break. Really? You couldn't have cleaned it BEFORE the break? Shane just rolls with the punches and continues to run out. Good for him.
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From the stats it looks like no one put together anything more than a 1, am I wrong here? :confused:
 
When Mika made a small run on SVB, score something like SVB 7 - 5 Mika, SVB took a bathroom break as Mika was racking. I found it peculiar that play could be stopped by the person in the chair. SVB spoke to Mika on his way by, so maybe he told Mika to go ahead and play...but Mika chose to take a break himself?!?!?
 
OneArmed said:
When Mika was slamming the chalk on the table and then wiped off the rails, I think it was because Shane was putting the chalk face down on the rails making a mess. He seemed to go all rage about it, but also seemed to get him a bit more focused too.
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Would be interesting to know if Shane always does that or if it was a mini-move to get into Mika's head. I'm going to go ahead and believe it was a mini-move, just because the thought is extremely amusing to me... and I fully intend to use it against the next person who tries to shark me in a match. ;)

Aaron
 
Mika needs to get his kill face on. Not his run and hide face on. He is reacting to everything, bad rolls, blah blah blah. You cant tie your shoe in that head space. Letting every bad shot get to him. Shake it off or fake it or something. Shane loves watching Mika cripple himself. I'm sure today will be a better day for Mika. Mika.....Kill face!!:mad:
 
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