Players quarrel in the world tournament
In game 14, when Immonen was leading Luna 7-6, the Finnish player took the lead, with the target ball (5th) in the center of the table, and the 9th ball at the 10th hole. Immonen could hit the 5th ball to the corner. , but he decided to add the marbles, hit the 5 ball and hit the 9 on hole 10. As soon as the 9 ball fell, the referee made an error, and Luna stood up to prepare to hit.
Immonen reacted immediately and said nine times the sentence: "I already said marble 9". The referee decided to review the video of the match. At that time, Immonen pointed to Luna and said: "Sit down".
Both players sat in their seats, waiting for the referee to handle them. More than two minutes later, the umpire reversed the original decision, and recognized Immonen's shot as valid. The 51-year-old player stood up, looked at Luna, and shouted, "Wonderful."
Luna stood up and walked over to the referee to hear the explanation. The referee replied that Immonen said "ball 9", before hitting. After Luna listened, Immonen pointed to the seat, indicating that the Filipino hand had returned to his seat. The 2009 champion said: "I can't believe you're trying to do that."
The Pro Billiard Series commentator said that Immonen hit it right, but his reaction to Luna was wrong. "Immonen should have kept quiet and continued to play, instead of arguing with Luna. He didn't do anything," BLV said.
When hitting the next balls, Immonen used his muscle to point directly into the hole even in unnecessary situations. He cleared the table to win 8-6, then returned to his seat, quickly gathered his muscles and went out, without shaking Luna's hand.
The world 10 ball pool tournament requires players to say the correct ball and hole will be hit, in unclear situations. This helps limit luck in a 10-ball pool, which is different from a 9-ball pool. The referee also needs to know how the player has said his intention to hit, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Therefore, many players, after stating their intention to play marbles, will look to see if the referee has agreed or not. In this case, Immonen didn't look at the referee so he didn't know the referee hadn't heard.
At the 9-ball world pool tournament in Poland in early February 2022, player Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam was also caught making a mistake when hitting a safe shot, when the referee had not heard him speak. At that time, Anh Tuan did not complain and was charged one error and lost his turn. The player who commits three fouls in a game loses that game.
Immonen advanced to the next round in the win bracket against Vitaliy Patsura, and Luna went down to the loser bracket against Max Lechner. Immonen, nicknamed "Snowman", is one of three players who have won both 9-ball and 10-ball pools in the world, alongside Darren Appleton and Ko Pin Yi. And Luna, 39 years old, won a silver medal at the 2006 Asiad.
