Immonen Captures Maryland 14.1 Open
Maryland State 14.1 Open / Arnold, MD
by Rick Davis
The Maryland State 14.1 Open drew in a power-packed 40-player field for their June 9-10 event at Bill Billies Cuesport in Arnold, MD. Coming through carnage unscathed, Mika “Iceman” Immonen took home the title. In addition, two qualifier spots were awarded for the upcoming World Straight Pool Championships.
Day one of the competition offered round robin play in eight groups of five players each. Highlights included Mike Davis’s 125-113 defeat over WPBA pro Jeanette Lee and Mathew Tetreault’s 125-30 drilling of Grady Mathews that included a 68-ball run.
In the second day of the action, the top two players from each group were brought into a single-elimination chart to conclude the event. Thorsten Hohmann leaped to the semifinals after a 125-80 win over Danny Harriman, while Immonen prepared to face him after ousting Marty Ciccia 125-50. The other semifinal pairing showcased Davis, after his 125-85 defeat of Steve Lipsky, and Ed Hodan, who eliminated Tetreault. As Hodan was the only player in the top four not to already be qualified for the upcoming world event, he earned the first qualifying spot at this point.
In the final four Immonen shot past Hohmann 150-84 with a 99-ball run, while Davis did nearly the same against Hodan, taking him 150-89 with a 91-ball run. After two long days Immonen and Davis entered the finals, each more than capable of taking it all, but Immonen was able to put together runs before Davis was, which propelled him to the 150-59 win to earn the title of Maryland State 14.1 Champion.
Rounding out the event, Tetreault defeated Ciccia in a single-race showdown to earn the second of two qualifying spots for the upcoming world championship event.
Results:
1st Mika Immonen
2nd Mike Davis
3rd Thorsten Hohmann
Ed Hodan
5th Danny Harriman
Marty Ciccia
Steve Lipsky
Matthew Tetreault
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