Mika Immonen was born on 17 December 1972 in London but raised in Finland. He started playing pool when he was at the age of 16. He used to go to a newly opened billiard hall near his home, and play a Russian pocket billiard game (Kaisa). Mika Immonen had a natural talent, and within a year, he became skillful at the Kaisa game.
Seeing his talent, the billiard hall owner encouraged him to play in a tournament in a nearby city. Mika Immonen won the championship and emerged as a rising pool star. His talent sparkled, when he got his first achievement, defeating the all-time Russian champion, Ashot Potikyan. Soon after his first victory, he became prominent in the pool game.
Mika Immonen earned his nickname the “iceman,” which is supposed to come from his mental discipline and controlling emotions during the game. In 1992, while traveling on European Tour, he won his first-ever Euro tour event.
Mika Immonen Net Worth
Mika Immonen’s performance in the year 2001 was outclassing. He won his first international title, the WPA World 9-Ball Championship in 2001, in Cardiff, Wales, defeating German Ralf Souquet. In the same year, he was in the second position in the US Open Nine-ball Championship.
In 2002, Mika Immonen gave another outstanding performance and won the United States Professional Poolplayers Association (UPA) International Ten-ball Championship. In 2008, the Mosconi Cup took place between teams representing Europe and the United States. Mika Immonen was part of Team Europe, who defeated team USA and won the Mosconi Cup. In the event, Mika Immonen was declared the most valuable player in the entire tournament.
Another milestone achieved by Mika Immonen was, winning the US Open Nine-ball Championship in two consecutive years (2008-2009). In the 2009 event, he claimed victory in 14 matches, including the final event. Mika Immonen won the prize of worth $40,000 defeating Renato Alcano of the Philippines.
Moving to the victory stand, Mika Immonen succeeded in adding another title in his portfolio, winner of the WPA World Ten-ball Championships. In 2012, Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen, representing the Finish (Finland) team defeated the Polish (Poland) team in the World Cup of Pools. The winning pair took an amount worth $60,000. As per media record, Mika Immonen has earned approx $1.54 M in his professional carrier.
Conclusion
Acknowledging his sustainable success in the billiard, Mika Immonen was inducted in the Billiard Congress of American Hall of Fame in 2014, which he dreamed of being. Billiards Digest named him “Player of the Decade,” and in 2009, he bestowed the title of “Player of the Year.” No doubt, he is one of the billiards’ all-time greatest players.
The hard work and tireless efforts as a player made Mika Immonen a good role model for the young generation. To get benefit from his experience and talent, he made instructional DVD series “MASTERING POOL” with the help of the Intrinsic Media group. In the DVD series, Mika Immonen himself explained the various techniques and tips using 3D animated diagrams.
The last world title which he registered against his name was World 14.1 Tournament in September 2016, when he defeated Earl Strickland in the final. His Facebook profile is – https://www.facebook.com/icemanmika888/
