about efren

E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
interesting comment posted on youtube about efren- agree or nah? thoughts?

"I've been fascinated by Efren Reyes the player and the man. The biggest takeaway I attribute to his success especially early when coming to America, was how he practiced. Besides literally sleeping in pool halls from a really young age, he played a whole lot of carom billiards. By mastering this game, he had an unmatched ability to see and execute shots others couldnt or wouldn't attempt. Because carom billiards has no pockets, the primary skill to excel at carom billiards is pinpoint precision of where the cue ball goes before, during, and after the shot.

Compare that to how the Americans practiced. They focused primarily on pocketing the object ball and getting into an area to pocket the next and so on. So what happened in a long match was that the American players would stumble when faced with extremely tough shots where a general area for the cue ball was not good enough. Efren on the other hand, would hit a kick shot, billiard shot, or safety shot that gave him a huge advantage. Obviously he was also a great shot maker too, but that needed skill translated more easily from his game than vice versa.

I would say Efren literally changed the game of pool at the world class level in this way. It quickly became known these amazingly precise shots that were previously thought to be too risky or lucky, were not only deliberate, but less risky than other available shots most players would take. New generation's of players would need to learn these skills from early on. It kind of reminds me of how the jiu-jitsu perfected by the Brazilians changed mixed martial arts forever."

source:
 
There's always been great shotmakers. I remember when ER came over and what he did was establish kicking as an essential part of winning. His background in billiards and full-rack rotation gave him superb cueball control but it was kicking mastery that left us all freaking stunned. Still does.
 
Last edited:
evergruven said:
interesting comment posted on youtube about efren- agree or nah? thoughts?

"I've been fascinated by Efren Reyes the player and the man. The biggest takeaway I attribute to his success especially early when coming to America, was how he practiced. Besides literally sleeping in pool halls from a really young age, he played a whole lot of carom billiards. By mastering this game, he had an unmatched ability to see and execute shots others couldnt or wouldn't attempt. Because carom billiards has no pockets, the primary skill to excel at carom billiards is pinpoint precision of where the cue ball goes before, during, and after the shot.

Compare that to how the Americans practiced. They focused primarily on pocketing the object ball and getting into an area to pocket the next and so on. So what happened in a long match was that the American players would stumble when faced with extremely tough shots where a general area for the cue ball was not good enough. Efren on the other hand, would hit a kick shot, billiard shot, or safety shot that gave him a huge advantage. Obviously he was also a great shot maker too, but that needed skill translated more easily from his game than vice versa.

I would say Efren literally changed the game of pool at the world class level in this way. It quickly became known these amazingly precise shots that were previously thought to be too risky or lucky, were not only deliberate, but less risky than other available shots most players would take. New generation's of players would need to learn these skills from early on. It kind of reminds me of how the jiu-jitsu perfected by the Brazilians changed mixed martial arts forever."

source:
Click to expand...
That's my take on him. At least shooting the carom part.
 
I did not see carom billiards take off in the U.S. once people realized that was a big factor in ER's success. Could be Americans are just too lazy to do all they can to be the best in the world? Asians and Europeans dominate pocket billiards now- no wonder!

How many of us who grew up with pool here in the U.S. in the 1960s, 70s, and into the early 80s realized too late in life that pocketing the OB was not the most important skill to master -- developing a proper, pressure proof stroke, understanding table geometry, controlling the CB track and speed were much more important skills to becoming truly world class. Efren opened up everyone's eyes around the world and America was absent while the rest of the world trained their youth in this game with the proper perspectives.

Now, here in America; rooms that still exist are turning more and more to 7 foot tables. I watch all the bangers pocket a few balls on these midget tables and then get tied up somewhere and just shrug - " Oh Well" - next time" - I hope this changes here- not likely.
 
Last edited:
measureman said:
I watched a video of Efren playing Hopkins.
He dominated Hopkins with kicks.
It was no contest.
Click to expand...
I recently watched that match- it was kicks and also something else- Hopkins' pokes at the cue ball were just so limiting in terms of his control of the CB compared to Efren, Reyes was so much more fluid in his cue delivery; he made Alan look like an amateur. I don't think Hopkins bothered to compete much more after that event - I believe it was 93 or so. I think by then he was making enough on the SBE that Alan said to himself- why bother- it was embarrassing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbb
The kicking and that smooth stroke is what I first remember. I played Parica and was just amazed at how easily he moved the cue ball around with such little force. It blew my mind how easy it looked. It was like Buddy Hall control/accuracy with less effort.
 
Efren is something special. Nobody else has the “gift” he does. Finds shots that aren’t there better than anyone. Is he the best? Probably not. But he is the best “shot finder” there ever was or will be in my life time
 
Fatboy said:
Efren is something special. Nobody else has the “gift” he does. Finds shots that aren’t there better than anyone. Is he the best? Probably not. But he is the best “shot finder” there ever was or will be in my life time
Click to expand...
That's about how I see it.

Yes, Efren had all around skills and the all-around knowledge., but he saw things at the table that nobody ever saw before, and it was his creativity that set him apart from all the others. The only player I've ever seen that was even nearly as creative as Efren was Alex Pagulayan. Efren was also the "Irving Crane" of the nine-ball era, the undisputed king of defensive play.

I think that calling him the best ever shot finder hits the nail on the head.

PS Efren, though highly skilled, was not world class at 3-cushion. Actually, I think Boston Shorty was better than Efren at 3-cushion.
 
Last edited:
sjm said:
That's about how I see it.

Yes, Efren had all around skills and the all-around knowledge., but he saw things at the table that nobody ever saw before, and it was his creativity that set him apart from all the others. The only player I've ever seen that was even nearly as creative as Efren was Alex Pagulayan. Efren was also the "Irving Crane" of the nine-ball era, the undisputed king of defensive play.

I think that calling hi the best ever shot finder hits the nail on the head.

PS Efren, though highly skilled, was not world class at 3-cushion. Actually, I think Boston Shorty was better than Efren at 3-cushion.
Click to expand...
Thx Stu, for the kind words.

As always my very very best
Fatboy😃😃
 
In 1996 I was hanging out with Efren at the beautiful Hollywood Billiards .
Efren was munching some chicken wings when the owner of HB introduced a 3-cushion player to Efren . His name was Bruce .
Bruce tells Efren he saw him do an exhibition somewhere . He'd like to play Efren some 3-cushion.
They agreed to a race to 35 game.
We then went upstairs where Hollywood Billiards had their 3-c table and a big snooker table .
Bruce pulls out a lovely Gina cue with elephant ear wrap. The cue absolutely awed me .
I've never seen a 3-cushion Gina cue before . Or an EE wrap.
Bruce tells me he personally went to Ernie to get it made .
I then looked at Efren and asked him what he was going to use as he did not own a billiard cue .
He tells me he has to play with his MEUCCI. He was under contract with them.
The Meucci had a wiggly 12mm shaft .
In between innings Efren told me he would have spotted Bruce 5 points back in 1979.
1979! He said that was the last year he was active in karambola .
Efren wins the match 35-32.
This happened some two months after the Color of Money match in Hong Kong.
 
JoeyInCali said:
In 1996 I was hanging out with Efren at the beautiful Hollywood Billiards .
Efren was munching some chicken wings when the owner of HB introduced a 3-cushion player to Efren . His name was Bruce .
Bruce tells Efren he saw him do an exhibition somewhere . He'd like to play Efren some 3-cushion.
They agreed to a race to 35 game.
We then went upstairs where Hollywood Billiards had their 3-c table and a big snooker table .
Bruce pulls out a lovely Gina cue with elephant ear wrap. The cue absolutely awed me .
I've never seen a 3-cushion Gina cue before . Or an EE wrap.
Bruce tells me he personally went to Ernie to get it made .
I then looked at Efren and asked him what he was going to use as he did not own a billiard cue .
He tells me he has to play with his MEUCCI. He was under contract with them.
The Meucci had a wiggly 12mm shaft .
In between innings Efren told me he would have spotted Bruce 5 points back in 1979.
1979! He said that was the last year he was active in karambola .
Efren wins the match 35-32.
This happened some two months after the Color of Money match in Hong Kong.
Click to expand...
I miss that room.

Do you know where Jeff is now?

Thx
Fstboy
 
evergruven said:
interesting comment posted on youtube about efren- agree or nah? thoughts?

"I've been fascinated by Efren Reyes the player and the man. The biggest takeaway I attribute to his success especially early when coming to America, was how he practiced. Besides literally sleeping in pool halls from a really young age, he played a whole lot of carom billiards. By mastering this game, he had an unmatched ability to see and execute shots others couldnt or wouldn't attempt. Because carom billiards has no pockets, the primary skill to excel at carom billiards is pinpoint precision of where the cue ball goes before, during, and after the shot.

Compare that to how the Americans practiced. They focused primarily on pocketing the object ball and getting into an area to pocket the next and so on. So what happened in a long match was that the American players would stumble when faced with extremely tough shots where a general area for the cue ball was not good enough. Efren on the other hand, would hit a kick shot, billiard shot, or safety shot that gave him a huge advantage. Obviously he was also a great shot maker too, but that needed skill translated more easily from his game than vice versa.

I would say Efren literally changed the game of pool at the world class level in this way. It quickly became known these amazingly precise shots that were previously thought to be too risky or lucky, were not only deliberate, but less risky than other available shots most players would take. New generation's of players would need to learn these skills from early on. It kind of reminds me of how the jiu-jitsu perfected by the Brazilians changed mixed martial arts forever."

source:
Click to expand...
Never underestimate how easy 9B is after cutting your teeth on 61 rotation. It's got everything plus math.
 
Mike Sigel, Nick Varner, Earl Strickland, and Buddy Hall must have been pretty good at practicing too.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top