Mika Immonen is “2008 Mosconi Cup Most Valuable Player” !!
MIKA IMMONEN believes he has banished the ghosts of two years ago as he becomes a Mosconi Cup hero.
In 2006, Immonen missed a glorious opportunity to win the cup for Europe, before the event ended as a tie.
But Immonen has gone from villain to hero in 2008 as he won all four of his singles matches, clinched the Most Valuable Player award and potted the decisive 9-ball.
“I had played out what happened in 2006 over and over again in my mind,” said Immonen. “Even last year when the guys won it I was thinking that I’d got kicked out of the team for a good reason and had deserved it.
“I needed to redeem myself and wanted to prove it – and I did, the right way. Just to be able to pot the winning 9-ball in the Mosconi Cup has been one of my dreams.
“Going from the bottom to the top of the mountain feels even better than just crossing mid-summit. I started way below and I’ve worked hard physically with hard running on the treadmill, even today I was on the treadmill for 25 minutes.
“I’ve been training hard for this and this was definitely the highlight of the year and the highlight of my career to finally get rid of all the ghosts.
“I think Ralf deserved the MVP just as much as I did but the fact that I came back from the haunted memories makes it even more special.
“I’m really honoured to get the Most Valuable Player and it’s really a dream come true.
“I want to thank my girlfriend Celine for her patience and of course my sponsors, Mezz Cues, Cafe Puro, Brunswick and OTA Enterprises.”
Before the US Open there was only one remaining place to be filled in the European team with 10-ball World Champion Darren Appleton favourite to claim the last spot.
But a focused and determined Immonen knew he would have to win the US Open in order to make his 12th appearance in the Mosconi Cup.
“I’ve stayed very disciplined and focused,” added Immonen. “Going into the US Open I knew I had to pull off a miracle to even dream of coming on the team and I did that.
“Winning the US Open was like opening a can of worms, but a good kind that makes you catch all the fish and I’ve been winning title after title.
“Now I’ve come to the end of the road and this is the final tournament of the year so now I’m going on a well deserved holiday to Italy and Finland and hang my cue stick for a while.
“There was just as much pressure but I had prepared myself for the pressure. This time I’ve been winning tournaments and my body is conditioned, I’ve been in the habit of winning.”
This victory was the first time Europe had won back-to-back titles and they have now won the event four times, with America winning ten times and one draw.
Immonen praised his team-mates – Ralf Souquet, Niels Feijen, Tony Drago and Mark Gray.
“I played one bad match but was able to beat Earl Strickland 5-0 so then just kept cruising,” said Immonen. “We never gave them any momentum and the most they did was win two games in a row but we did not lose a session, which is a record in itself.
“As a team we came together strongly and everyone played a part. Tony was still joking about and Mark Gray was such a great partner and always been positive.
“Ralf and Niels were our storm troopers and held their own. We had a lot of mental focusing.
“We based it on roman legions holding our lines and Alex was our general. But we started our matches with our mark ‘unleash hell’, just like the movie (Gladiator).
“‘Holding our lines’ was our mantra and the second was ‘win the session’.”