No dispute that Efren is the GOAT, but who is the 9 ball GOAT?

measureman said:
A player of Buddy's caliber should not have missed that combo,and to miss it that bad was so obvious it was laughable.
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That's why everyone knows he dumped and it wrecked the game. Vegas has shunned it ever since.

I wasn't exaggerating when I made the Cornhole comparison. The same guys touting Buddy Hall also cry about only being able to watch pool on crappy internet streams. I wish they would see the irony.

Buddy Hall and all of the guys involved in the dump are assholes who are not the greatest of anything
 
ideologist said:
That's why everyone knows he dumped and it wrecked the game. Vegas has shunned it ever since.

I wasn't exaggerating when I made the Cornhole comparison. The same guys touting Buddy Hall also cry about only being able to watch pool on crappy internet streams. I wish they would see the irony.

Buddy Hall and all of the guys involved in the dump are assholes who are not the greatest of anything
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Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Give it a try
 
So just out of curiosity, who else was in the tournament, and who else did LeBron have to beat to make it to the final match?
FunChamp said:
Again, correct me if I'm wrong but I think Earl said he wouldn't play in this bc he wouldn't go along with the dump. LeBron was the longest odds to win so everyone side bet on him and dumped.
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,
 
Ha I never knew the story of that tourney of champions dump. How can Buddy be the best? He's sposta be dumping and he winds up on the hill? The attempted side scratches are funny as hell with the proper context.
 
FunChamp said:
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Give it a try
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I don't think that many people are holding a grudge, all these years later. And Karma does usually catch up to people, in time. Some of those behind the Dump have allready felt the effects, and in the end, like Jordan Peterson says, nobody really gets away with anything. Not being mad at people, really doesn't mean the same as idolizing them, though.

The damage done to pool all those years ago wouldn't have been so bad, if it weren't for pools allready shady reputation. And it seems our sport is doomed to remain in that state forever. It can be argued that it was never going anywhere, and that sooner or later it would have ended up exactly the same through a different route.

Getting back to the actual subject of the thread, I think the 9 ball GOAT is between Earl and Shane, personally. Sigel and Efren are in contention, obviously.
 
Shane is the GOAT of 9B Imo
Look at the lineup he had to beat in one day to win his last USO.
He had to beat several world champions.
 
Dumping in pool is a time honored tradition.
The Mack truck company wanted to name a model of their dump truck after a well known NY/NJ pool player.
 
skip100 said:
Even more than the missed combination I get a kick out of his repeated attempts to scratch in the side.
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Also several tries to hook himself. I love the look on his face when Mike failed to get out several times, like "WTH man, now I gotta find a way to mess up again".

The irony is that the criticism of this comes from many players that view going on the road to rob bar players and locals by setting up prop bets and lying about their skill as a noble achievement like a gun slinger going to town for a match up instead of the basic cheating it really is. Similar to the issues leagues and anything with a handicap has, lack of honest players that follow the rules that gets ruined by the ones that view it as an opportunity for easy wins by cheating.
 
That’s a really tough question with many players who could have the claim. I think Efren in his prime and in dead stroke was As good or better than anyone l
 
FunChamp said:
Earl is hands down my pick for greatest 9 ball player ever. Efren isn't even in my top 10 for 9 ball. I noticed however nobody has mention Johnny Archer. He was a monster as well. I also believe that if Earl had played other games, (even though he won some stray tournaments here and there in other disciplines, even a one pocket 2nd place) and if he didn't have the mental demons, you could throw the record book out the window and he would stand alone on Mt. Everest with nobody else even close. I know the what if what if what if. Just saying he is a savant. Greatest natural talent I have ever witnessed. Other than myself of course. 🤓
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Efren not In your top 10? Who are you taking over him?
 
ideologist said:
All of you are wrong aside from OP

Efren revolutionized 9-ball. He stomped over everyone like King Kong until they figured out how to kick safe. Efren was so good at escaping what were considered "captain hook" safes, absolute lockup safes, it just blew everyone away. Excellent cueball, excellent pace, and he followed the Al Davis mantra "Just win, baby, win". He snatched victory so many times that we can't even count.

Most of the guys you mentioned in the vintage trifecta used "hit and hope" as a real strategy. Even when they figured out how to play, he was the undisputed master of creative play and ferocious defense for 20 years.

GOAT for sure. All modern play is based on his style.
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ideologist said:
The pros resented him a ton, don't discount that. He came over and slapped the shit out of them. They called him "Efrem" indifferently after he was eating their lunch, and they didn't stop for years.

Lots of pros praise god too, but God isn't pocketing a 9ball for you, so I don't think their opinions matter as much as actual results. Efren showed a level of kicking prowess and safety play that he routinely disabled jump shots and stole racks. Ran plenty of them too.

Efren made the game incredibly popular globally, Buddy Hall made it less popular than Cornhole
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I agree with you.
 
Cornerman said:
He won the biggest 8-ball payday not 9-ball. In the 90’s, Nick Varner made him look stupid for the cash. Overall talent, Efren is the GOAT. But this thread was specifically about 9-ball.
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Tokio open was biggest 9-ball. 200k to winner and Efren won that too...
 
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