Immonen Streak Continues
Mike Panozzo
Friday, May 19, 11:25 PM CST

Unseeded Mika Immonen continued his unlikely trek to the title match of 2000 Billiard Congress of America Open 9-Ball Championships Friday night with a 7-4 win over sixth-seeded Efren Reyes in the loser's bracket semifinal of the 64-player men's division.

The 27-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, who lost his opening match against Michael Coltrain, has rattled off nine consecutive wins in the loser's bracket. Immonen will face top-seeded Johnny Archer Saturday afternoon in the loser's bracket final, with the winner scheduled to meet defending champion
George "Ginky" SanSouci in the championship match.

The Immonen/Reyes match hinged almost entirely on which player had an open shot after the break. With the corner ball finding its way to the corner
pocket each break, Immonen steaked to a 2-0 lead. 

Reyes fought back to tie the match at 3-3 and 4-4, before Immonen gained a 5-4 lead. Even a miss in the next game turned fortuitous for Immonen, as Reyes fouled trying to kick at the object balls. Immonen promptly ran out for a 6-4 lead, and ran the final rack for the win.

"In a short race, with the corner ball going every time, you just need to see the first ball," said Immonen, who is coming off a recent win in Atlanta. "There's a lot of pressure on you because you know you have to keep running out, but I felt pretty comfortable from the start."