It looked bad for Immonen at one point when he scratched on the break late in the match, giving his Japanese opponent the ball late in the match.
"I had the sneaky suspicion that this was it for me. But I got an opening and I kept the pressure on him, though he played some good safeties," Immomen said.
Later in the same match, he lined up for an improbable shot on the 5-ball for a bank shot which he drew the length of the table, later calling it "the best shot of my life."
Immomen said that the tournament is better organized than the other 15 tournaments he competes in annually, and he says the quality of play and international exposure are also big positives.
The tournament is tougher this year because of narrower center pockets, which have been shrunk from a previous 4.75 inches to 4.25 inches.
This was done by adding an extra piece of shim -- a thin strip of rubber -- to either side of the corners of the pockets.
The change was inspired by player criticism that pockets played too easy last year with, for example, at least one ball falling in on every break.
"These pockets are not forgiving, and it means that you have to played the right way with proper positioning the right pattern," Immomen said.
Immomen practices up to 5-6 hours a day on a table with even narrower pockets, making competing on tournament tables easier.
FLASH AND DASH
Other foreign favorites include Hawaii's Rodney Morris known for flamboyant shirts, and recently a glove on his bridge hand.
And there's also 29-year old Marlon Manalo who is carrying the entire hopes of the Philippines on his shoulders. In a country where pool is as respected as golf, and with a sizeable contingent in the audience of this year's event, Manalo has done very well.
Finally, the tournament would not be possible without the some 20 referees led by head referees Micheala Tabb of Scotland and Nigel Reese of Wales.
Michaela Tabb this her seventh consecutive WPA World Pool Championship, taking an interest in the sport first as a competitive pool player, and later, through her first round of officiating at the one-day event in The St. Andrews Cup in Glasgow in 1997. Since then, she has been hooked, making her second appearance in Taiwan for the World Pool Championship.
Her job is also to oversee and instruct the other referees officiating the World Pool Championship, a duty made difficult by long matches and the intense scrutiny of TV cameras.
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