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Robles Earns Top Spot at Predator Stop
Feb 14, 2008, 1:03 PM

Robles topped world champions Hohmann and Immonen for his first Predator win.

At the second stop of the Predator 9-Ball Tour's inaugural season, Tony Robles showed he has plenty to say about what happens, both on and off the table. Robles, the face of the new tour and its founder, flawlessly navigated the bracket to win his first title on the new tour.

The Predator Tour is the latest circuit offering tournaments in the New York City tri-state area. At this stop — held Feb. 9-10 at Masters Billiards in Sunnyside, N.Y. — the big-name professionals survived the regional sharpshooters to move into the final rounds.

In the winners-side final, Robles faced former world champion Mika Immonen. Trailing 4-3, Robles took advantage of a missed 4 ball by Immonen. "The Silent Assassin" cleaned up the rack to knot the match at 4-4, then took the next five. Robles earned his place in the hot-seat with the impressive 9-4 victory.

On the left side, Thorsten Hohmann bounced back after losing to Robles by taking three straight matches. Topping local favorite Tony Rodriguez, Hohmann met Immonen in the left-side final.

Hohmann jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Immonen caught a gear and finished off the match, 7-5.

In the final, Robles was in complete control as he only missed one ball en route to an early 7-2 lead. Immonen would collect a few games, but Robles finished off his undefeated tournament with an 11-6 victory.

Tournament Payouts:
1. Tony Robles $2,000
2. Mika Immonen $1,150
3. Thorsten Hohmann $780
4. Flaco Rodriguez $475
5. (tie) Jeremy Sossei, Oscar Bonilla $300
7. (tie) Mhet Vergera, Bobby Blackmore $175