Strange happenings in Akron

H

henho

I Beat Fidelshnitzer
Silver Member
Yesterday night, Mika Immonen, Corey Deuel and Rodney Morris were in Ohio. Imagine my surprise when I walk into Fiddlestix and see Corey dressed completely gothic, replete in all black clothing, army boots, goth make-up and a spiked collar. I thought maybe his streak of less-than-stellar tournament finishes had made him find the dark side. Turns out that Mika Immonen and Corey were disguising themselves, hustling people at Action Billiards in Arlington, then revealing themselves and giving the money back. World Pool taped it and apparently will be releasing the event, along with a taped exhibition tonight at 8pm in Fiddlestix in Canton.

I also had the opportunity to watch Corey play some rotation with Chris Szuter, the owner of Fiddlestix. Corey seemed a bit out of stroke, while Chris caught a gear and made some nice runs (he had been playing 9-ball, then onepocket sets for about 6 hours before).

The rest of the night Rodney and Mika played $50 9-ball sets, and were AMAZING. Both shot ridiculously well, and both were very fast players. I did not expect to see Mika shoot that fast and loose, he was unstoppable. He put several racks together, and kicked and banked balls in from everywhere in response to Rodney's safetys. If you want to catch them playing tonight I believe they will be at Fiddlestix, then they head off to Las Vegas for the BCA tournament. In the meantime I am having an absolute blast.
 
Tonight Worldpool filmed a challenge match between Rodney Morris and Mika Immonen, race to 9, with Mika winning 9-8. Then the publicity stunts continued as worldpool presented its "Diamond 8-ball strippool classic". They got some strippers from a nearby joint to play pool against Mika and Corey, with the loser of the game taking off an article of clothing. Even though Mika dogged an 8 when a stripper gyrated over the pocket, and Corey dogged several shots after his opponent had her hands on balls that were not on the table, both strippers ended up in bra and panties.

Here is the big news, there will be a 5-man ringgame tommorow night at Fiddlestix, with Corey, Mika, Rodney, Shaun Putnam and room owner Chris Szuter. It is scheduled to begin around 8, but things seem to always run late, so call to make sure about what is planned.
 
As for pictures... I'm old school! Black and white film, a darkroom, and no computers in my photography! However, several people were on hand taking photos, I know they will be up on Insidepool.com, and possibly this site.


Another interesting detail... for the challenge match between Rodney and Mika, Worldpool had Mika wearing a headband with a minature camera attached to provide a 1st person point-of-view on shots.
 
henho,

Thanks for the great posts! I love hearing stories like these! So Mika was really on huh? Wow! He's certainly one of the top players out there right now, no doubt! Of course Rodney is no slouch either!
 
When I arrived yesteday at Fiddlestix, Rodney had left to South Carolina on a stop on his way to Vegas. Corey and Mika were playing a race to 9 that Mika won handily 9-5, and the match was filmed by worldpool. For this one Corey was wearing the "Headcam".

Afterwards Worldpool auctioned off a donated Jacoby cue worth about $600. Along with the cue the winner got a UPA tour dvd, a signed picture, and the chance to play Mika in a race to 7 with 2-1 odds on the money put up for the auction. The winner of the auction got the cue for $575, and when Aaron of worldpool announced that he was from Manila in the Phillipines I thought there was a possibility that this would be a close one. However, when Mika found himself on the hill at 6-1 they decided he would have to bank out, which he eventually did to win the race 7-3.


Of all the pros that have been in town the past few days Mika looks the most in stroke, with Rodney not far behind. Mika just seems unstoppable. His stroke is lose, powerful, and deadly accurate, he seems completely comfortable with every layout, and most impressively his kicking and banking seems to be on par with the best in the world (Efren). Right now he may just be the greatest 9-baller alive. He also mentioned that while practicing straight pool to get used to his new Mezz cue he ran 180 balls. Just watching the guy makes me want to practice obsessively. In case you can't tell, Mika is my pick to win the BCA open which he is on the way to now, and I would take Charlie Williams in second.

If you have a chance to see some top pros play in person definitely don't pass it up, unless you are afraid you will get the practicing bug and play obsessively disregarding your life's responsibilities. If like me you don't give a crap and just want to play clutch pool, check them out.

Signing off,
Henry
 
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henho said:
Of all the pros that have been in town the past few days Mika looks the most in stroke, with Rodney not far behind. Mika just seems unstoppable...
If you have a chance to see some top pros play in person definitely don't pass it up, unless you are afraid you will get the practicing bug and play obsessively disregarding your life's responsibilities. If like me you don't give a crap and just want to play clutch pool, check them out.

Signing off,
Henry
Click to expand...

Henry,
I enjoyed the update. I did see Mika play at DCC this year - he looked great; but unfortunately so did everyone else including half a hundred guys I never heard of. There are an awful lot of skilled players out there, and unfortunately 9 Ball is a fickle game.
 
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