Iceman Snows Predator Competition
Predator 9-Ball Tour / Queens, NY
by Jerry Tarantola
World number-one-ranked player Mika Immonen made another first-place appearance at the Predator 9-Ball Tour, winning over Mike Dechaine in the finals. “Iceman” was joined by 40 other strong players at BQE Billiards in Queens, NY, the weekend of October 10-11.
Jose Parica was tearing up the field until he went head to head with reigning U.S. Open champion Immonen. In a gritty battle, it looked like it would be Parica to pull out the “W,” as he reached the hill first 8-6, but an error on a safety attempt gave the set to Immonen.
After the loss to Immonen, Parica was fired up and played a near-perfect set against Cleiton Rocha en route to a 9-4 score and then ousted top New York player Oscar Bonilla 9-6. This win lined up Parica to play the loser of the hot seat match in the semifinals. The hot seat match was a battle between Dechaine and Immonen, and they had recently dueled for the hot seat at the Galveston World Classic 10-ball event. In this rematch, it was again Immonen who earned the hot seat with a 9-4 win.
In the semifinal match between Parica and Dechaine, the 22-year-old young gun was able to capitalize on his big break and shot-making skills to overcome the battle-tested veteran 9-4. But the final match between Immonen and Dechaine was all Immonen, as the Finn took control early and never gave his opponent much to work with. In a clinic by the reigning number-one player in the world, Immonen took the set 11-5 for the win.
Immonen made another first-place appearance at the Predator 9-Ball Tour, winning over Mike Dechaine in the finals.
Open Results:
1st Mika Immonen $1,000
2nd Mike Dechaine $675
3rd Jose Parica $500
4th Oscar Bonilla $375
5th Cleiton Rocha $230
Holden Chin
7th Lionel Rivera $150
Mike Wong
9th Tony Robles $100
Dave Deserio
Antonio Guerrero
George Sansouci
Fourteen players turned out for the Sunday BCD second-chance tournament at BQE Billiards. In this event, Predator Tour tournament director William “Finn” Finnegan cruised through the winners’ bracket to secure a spot in the finals. A semifinal showdown between Naldo Troncoso and Ariel Rivera saw a hill-hill battle that ended with Rivera advancing to the finals. It was Rivera’s third consecutive appearance in the finals of the Predator BCD events, but it was Finnegan’s day to shine, as he won by final score of 5-3.
BCD Results:
1st William Finnegan $200
2nd Ariel Rivera $130
3rd Naldo Troncoso $80
4th Diana Rojas $45