Fans Give Very Slight Edge to Immonen

But predictions split for big shoot-out with Van Boening

So far, slightly more fans pick Mika in Oct. 12-14 shoot-out.

So far, fans are almost evenly divided as to who they predict will win the big shoot-out Oct. 12-14 between Mika Immonen and Shane Van Boening. I threw the question out yesterday, with the promise of a free book to the person who most closely predicted the final outcome. The contest is 10-ball, race to 100. Both players have put up $10,000. Winner takes all.

Of the 23 people who immediately made predictions, 12 picked Mika and 11 picked Shane. Interestingly, however, a few said Mika would win in a blow out. One fan predicted Mika at 100 and Shane at 61 -- a 39 game difference. Averaging out the predictions of games won, I find that fans predicted that Mika would win 96.0 games and Shane would win 90.2. The larger spread in this category is attributable to those who picked Mika in a blow-out.

There's still time to enter the contest for the free book. Here's the rules: I'll send a copy of the Hustler & The Champ or Hustler Days to the person who most accurately predicts the final score. Only one prediction per person. I'll give away more than one book -- up to five, at random -- if more than one person predicts the right outcome.  To vote, simply comment at the bottom of this post with your prediction. It's easier for me if you list Mika first, his score, and then Shane, with his score. That way I won't go blind looking at all the numbers.

You can also slide over to the linked Facebook page and make your predictions there. The contest closes at 4 p.m. central time on Oct. 12, before the opening day break.  I've also created a separate online poll, at the right. The poll has nothing to do with the book contest. It's just an easy way to keep up with all the fan predictions.

A bit of background about both players: Between them Van Boening and Immonen have won the last three U.S. Opens in a row.  Many consider Van Boening America's finest player. Many consider Immonen (a native of Finland now living in New York) the greatest from Europe. Maybe the world. Both have been named Billiards Digest players of the year.

The three-day pay-per-view event is sponsored by The Action Report, AZ Billiards, CueSports International and others. I have nothing to do with this event, am not sponsoring it, nor have I been paid a dime to endorse it. However, I hope this event is successful. With the dearth of quality pool of TV, it's heartening to see creative events like this one live streamed on the web.

For more information, check out The Action Report website at theactionreport.com.

-- R.A. Dyer