Top 5 pool players ever

Here’s a fun list I came up with a couple years ago. I wasn’t trying to pick the top 5 of each era. I’m sure I flubbed a little for some of that. But I also wanted to illustrate the character of each era through its players and give at least a solid sampling. But more importantly, I was attempting to define each era.

Here’s my attempt at it.. (EDIT: Version 3)

1850-1870s: American 4 ball Era
> Phelan
This guys YouTube videos are awesome. Especially the exhibition he put on for Abe at the White House. Truly unbelievable.
 
Top 9 ball? Earl Strickland
Top 10 ball? SVB
Top 8 ball? Mike Sigel
Top one pocket? Efren Reyes
Top straight pool? Willie Mosconi
Top bank pool? Eddie Taylor
Top 3 cushion? Willie Hoppe
Top snooker? Ronnie O’Sullivan
Exhibition straight pool high runs? Jayson Shaw
All around Nick Varner
That’s a solid list. It’s clear you have been around a long time. 💪 See you next year at derby I missed this year.

There’s one discipline you left off(well hustle) no one knows the answer. Remember all the carnival 6 ball hustlers years ago? I saw a few guys who had every possible con, hustle, you name it built around short rack. They weren’t great players rather hustlers who used that game to get the cash.

Of all cue sports combined my top pick is Ronnie. He's still going, which seems almost impossible, plays both handed, takes the heat good as anyone. I watch him every possible chance.

Take care Bobby
Fatboy 😃
 
Didn't the men protest when Jean Balukas entered their events? 🤷‍♂️
Most of the players didn't care , yes, some of the ones she consistently pounded on were not happy, and whined but they were never going to win a tournament anyway. Even if they played well enough, they didn't have the emotional strength.
 
Just what we need. Another woke, DEI selection.
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List your top 5. Here is mine:
1. Harold Worst
2. Svb
3. Earl
4. Varner
5. Allison Fischer


Honorable mentions: Ceasar Morales, OSullivan, Mosconi, Miz, Captian Hook, Buddy Hall, Greenleaf, Marky Beilfis, 9 Ball Glue

Harold Worst may be overrated but I choose to believe the hype.
Trump just said at a political rally that he hold the straight pool record of 715 and that if Kamala is elected she’s going to make playing pool for fun or money a 1st degree felony.
 
Jayson is funny. His Mosconi Cup appearances are absolutely epic and resonate in the public consciousness at a primal level. And yet I look at his resume of titles and honestly would say he hasn’t accomplished enough to justify a BCA Hall of Fame induction let alone entered GOAT conversations by any stretch.
Matt your hilarious. 1st off you have to be 40 years old to be inducted into the BCA Hall Of Fame now. Jayson's accomplishments certainly 100% qualify him to be inducted if he never hits another ball. US Open, 2 International Opens and dozens more Tournaments and his Mosconi Cup Dominance and his over whelming high runs in straight pool may not really count to much but he will make it into the HOF on the 1st ballot when he turns 40. It is very political though so that could be the only thing that could hold his induction off.
Grady Matthew's, Jimmy Mataya,Keith McCready,Ronnie Allen,Jeremy Jones and Shannon Daulton should already have been inducted.
 
Good effort by OP (Tip: always compliment someone first before criticising him) , however his list without stating criteria, confusing pool with other cue sports looks like an absurdity written in drunken vomit.
Just to digress- The positive is that his list is nowhere as bad as the worst list of all time- that rubbish nonsensical Top 200 Greatest Singers of all time list by Rolling Stone.
Legends like Celine Dion, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland not in the list plus loads of relatively unknown diverse "singers" of obscure genres in the list. Yes, Celine Dion one of the Vocal Trinity was not good enough to even make #200 :ROFLMAO: That list probably singlehandedly put final nail in coffin of Rolling Stone as an authoritative mag.
 
Matt your hilarious. 1st off you have to be 40 years old to be inducted into the BCA Hall Of Fame now. Jayson's accomplishments certainly 100% qualify him to be inducted if he never hits another ball. US Open, 2 International Opens and dozens more Tournaments and his Mosconi Cup Dominance and his over whelming high runs in straight pool may not really count to much but he will make it into the HOF on the 1st ballot when he turns 40. It is very political though so that could be the only thing that could hold his induction off.
Grady Matthew's, Jimmy Mataya,Keith McCready,Ronnie Allen,Jeremy Jones and Shannon Daulton should already have been inducted.
And I'm hilarious? I admire Jimmy Mataya. Best player to come out of my city. But what events has he won that were the strongest fields amongst the best peers of his time? At this point all he's really known for is having a great personality, marrying Ewa, shouting out to his mom while losing a TV match because he knew he wasn't coming back to the table, and making an instructional video with zero instruction and a bunch of ranting how money games are more important to him than winning tournaments. He was no Mizerak, Hall, Hopkins or Sigel. The hall of fame shouldn't be a collection of every household name in pool. It should be the best-of-the-best. The people that spent some time absolutely dominating their peers over a career of solid longevity. Not just the people fans admire because they knew their name.

I admire Jayson too. But I think Albin, Filler, Kaci, FSR, and Gorst all have wildly better decorated resumes. To me winning a bunch of Turning Stones or a 2019 Great Dismal Swamp 9-ball Classic don't make a case for hall of fame. He has 1 US Open, 2 International Opens, and Hanoi Open. That may be enough to get him into the conversation and his reputation may sneak him through but that's not exactly a 1st ballot resume if you ask me. Many of his peers have accomplished much more. If he wants to be a lock he needs to get a few more Matchroom Opens or more importantly one or more world championships. He's living in an era of opportunity right now.
 
And I'm hilarious? I admire Jimmy Mataya. Best player to come out of my city. But what events has he won that were the strongest fields amongst the best peers of his time? At this point all he's really known for is having a great personality, marrying Ewa, shouting out to his mom while losing a TV match because he knew he wasn't coming back to the table, and making an instructional video with zero instruction and a bunch of ranting how money games are more important to him than winning tournaments. He was no Mizerak, Hall, Hopkins or Sigel. The hall of fame shouldn't be a collection of every household name in pool. It should be the best-of-the-best. The people that spent some time absolutely dominating their peers over a career of solid longevity. Not just the people fans admire because they knew their name.

I admire Jayson too. But I think Albin, Filler, Kaci, FSR, and Gorst all have wildly better decorated resumes. To me winning a bunch of Turning Stones or a 2019 Great Dismal Swamp 9-ball Classic don't make a case for hall of fame. He has 1 US Open, 2 International Opens, and Hanoi Open. That may be enough to get him into the conversation and his reputation may sneak him through but that's not exactly a 1st ballot resume if you ask me. Many of his peers have accomplished much more. If he wants to be a lock he needs to get a few more Matchroom Opens or more importantly one or more world championships. He's living in an era of opportunity right now.
Mataya won multiple world titles as did Grady and their contribution they gave to the sport to promote it and carve the path for others was great. Filler Albin etc. will make it one day into the hof but they are to young. The disgusting thing about the hof is I wish they would induct all people while they are alive still.
 
Matt your hilarious. 1st off you have to be 40 years old to be inducted into the BCA Hall Of Fame now. Jayson's accomplishments certainly 100% qualify him to be inducted if he never hits another ball. US Open, 2 International Opens and dozens more Tournaments and his Mosconi Cup Dominance and his over whelming high runs in straight pool may not really count to much but he will make it into the HOF on the 1st ballot when he turns 40. It is very political though so that could be the only thing that could hold his induction off.
Grady Matthew's, Jimmy Mataya,Keith McCready,Ronnie Allen,Jeremy Jones and Shannon Daulton should already have been inducted.

no world championship (on american pool tables) and only one US open might not cut it.. but yea, probably close. and he's likely to win more along the way
 
And I'm hilarious? I admire Jimmy Mataya. Best player to come out of my city. But what events has he won that were the strongest fields amongst the best peers of his time? At this point all he's really known for is having a great personality, marrying Ewa, shouting out to his mom while losing a TV match because he knew he wasn't coming back to the table, and making an instructional video with zero instruction and a bunch of ranting how money games are more important to him than winning tournaments. He was no Mizerak, Hall, Hopkins or Sigel. The hall of fame shouldn't be a collection of every household name in pool. It should be the best-of-the-best. The people that spent some time absolutely dominating their peers over a career of solid longevity. Not just the people fans admire because they knew their name.
I think what held Mataya back is that he wasn't a career-long tournament player. But he won the Stardust All-Around, the World All-ARound in Dayton, OH and the World 8-ball (in Dayton, IIRC). All of those had the best players in the world at the time, but I'd ask @jay helfert how big these tournaments were. Remember that we have World 14.1 Champions that only had to win against a handful of player if not less! I think if Mataya steadily played on the tournament scene from the early 70's to the lat 80's, he would have been a shoe in. As it was, he'd step out of retirement and come in 2nd at the McDermott Masters in the ... early 90's(?) and to the semi-finals on TV in the 1989 World 9-ball Open.

I admire Jayson too. But I think Albin, Filler, Kaci, FSR, and Gorst all have wildly better decorated resumes. To me winning a bunch of Turning Stones or a 2019 Great Dismal Swamp 9-ball Classic don't make a case for hall of fame. He has 1 US Open, 2 International Opens, and Hanoi Open. That may be enough to get him into the conversation and his reputation may sneak him through but that's not exactly a 1st ballot resume if you ask me. Many of his peers have accomplished much more. If he wants to be a lock he needs to get a few more Matchroom Opens or more importantly one or more world championships. He's living in an era of opportunity right now.
Personally, I think Jayson has done enough, especially if you add his Blackball World Championship in 2010, which was a WPA-sanctioned World Championship.
 
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