The best ever?

I think it would be Efren... He dominated for many years on many tables...

Honest Answer:

We will never really know?

In my opinion, Lassiter hands down. He was the greatest money player and when he turned to tournaments was great at that as well.

It wasn't me!
If I had to vote for the best player I ever saw play, it would probably be Harold Worst first and Parica & Buddy tied for second. Efren, Mizerak, Lassiter, Ed Kelly, Strickland, and Sigel round out my top ten. I know that's only nine but I can't think of a tenth player in this class. Okay I thought of one, Eddie Taylor.

I'd have to say Mosconi. If you want a more modern player I'd say Sigel is the best I've seen since Mosconi.

Tough Call . . .

I'd have to split it . . . they were all great but some better then others at certain things . . .

Willie Mosconi - Best Straight Pool Player / Maybe the best overall. Total concentration . . . perfect techniques. I saw him as a kid doing trick shot exhibition at a bowling alley / pool room when he worked as an ambassador for Brunswick. Perfect gentlemen . . . I think he just got born at the wrong time . . . 10 - 15 years later and it would have been interesting to see him in his prime against any of the next three.

Efren Reyes - Great All Round Player - makes it all look WAY TOO EASY!

And him playing Earl Strickland in the 90's is like a dream match . . . Earl was an incredible 9 baller and brought a lot of attention to pool.

Buddy Hall - King of the Bar Tables (and a hell of a 9 ball player on ANYTHING) Probably #1 or #2 money player in any game, on any table, under any circumstances. Incredible pool mind . . . could play lock up as good as any one.

Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter - I also saw him play as a kid in an exhibition. He's right there with Mr. Hall - Great 9 baller . . . great money player . . . cool on the outside/bundle of nerves on the inside. Incredible shot maker.

Mike Siegel - incredible all around player . . . won the titles . . . stood the test of time.

All awesome, monster players. I'd pick Buddy or Wimpy if you threw down big cheese.

There's 50 more - these are just my faves - so let the flaming begin!

I'm going with Efren, who is probably the best ever at both one pocket and eight ball, and one of the best ever at both nine ball and rotation. In addition, his ability to adapt to any other game played over the glorious green felt is off-the-charts incredible. For example, he came 2nd in the 1993 US Open 14.1 event, and 3rd in the 2000 US Open 14.1 event, despite almost no straight pool background.

sjm said:

I'm going with Efren, who is probably the best ever at both one pocket and eight ball, and one of the best ever at both nine ball and rotation. In addition, his ability to adapt to any other game played over the glorious green felt is off-the-charts incredible. For example, he came 2nd in the 1993 US Open 14.1 event, and 3rd in the 2000 US Open 14.1 event, despite almost no straight pool background.

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Agree 100%. In addition, Efren plays a lot better bank pool than a lot of people realize (I lost a C-note betting on Shannon Dauton vs Efreen in a 2001 DCC bank pool set - Efren looked like the best banker on the planet). He also plays a mean game of 3C billiards. For overall skill, heart, tourney and cash play achievement, longevity and influence on the game, I think Efren is clearly the best overall player ever. One caveat: based on his incredible achievements in a short period of time, had he lived longer, Harold Worst would undoubtedly have dominated all facets of pool for years. Probably the most talented cueist ever. Caveat two: in his prime, Vernon Elliott was just about unbeatable at any game, according to my buddy, who hung out with him for years and saw all of the best come pumped and leave broke.

jay helfert said:

I know that's only nine but I can't think of a tenth player in this class.

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Not Varner?

I can only go by who I've seen and I think Mike Sigel is the greatest all-around player. He just made fewer mistakes than anyone else. I'm too young to have seen Lassiter and Worst but more than one old pro told me that Harold Worst was the greatest all-around player ever.

I'm not even gonna talk about Efren's skills on the table coz everybody knows how he plays. BUT longevity is the key word here. Despite his age he is still respected and feared by the new generations of players. It's obvious that his game went down the last few years but he is still capable of beating ANYBODY in the world.

On a side note, he has nothing to prove to anybody. He paid his dues and now he is getting the respect that he deserves.

Way to go Bata!

PoolBum said:

Not Varner?

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Nick is and was a great player, but I cannot put him on my all time top ten. He would be in the top twenty five for sure, along with Rempe, Hopkins, Jersey Red, Cornbread, Shorty, Orcullo, Mika, Ralf and a few others. Give him a few more years, and the young Mr. Wu may be on everybody's all time top ten list. He's that good!

I Agree

jay helfert said:

Give him a few more years, and the young Mr. Wu may be on everybody's all time top ten list. He's that good!

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He is absolutely that good.

The problem with determining the best ever in pool is that there are so many games in which to judge the best. You almost have to go by category.

Efren comes out on top in one pocket, head over heels better than anyone, and from there it can be a toss-up for who's the best in a particular game.

You can't really place Willie Mosconi in an all round category, because he mainly played straight pool.

The same could be said for Buddy Hall, who is arguably the best nine ball player ever (even though he thinks Lassiter was the best in nine ball). Buddy played great one pocket and banks as well, but not a lot of straight pool.

My all round picks would have to start with Efren, and then Sigel or Lassiter, Harold Worst, Nick Varner (was playing some great pool in the late 80s, and even beat Efren in the Philipines in a long race and for the cash), and Steve Mizerak. Mizerak was the man to beat in nine ball for a while.

Jim Rempe would be somewhere in the top ten, especially the way he played nine ball in the 70s.

From what I've noticed in pool, a lot depends on who is hot at the time.

No one stands out like a Tiger Woods in golf, except possibly Efren in one pocket

If we are talking about greatest ALL-AROUND player ever, then it's most definately Efren.

Greatest 9 ball player ever? EARL. The rest except for Buddy are not even close IMO.

Greatest 14.1 player was Mosconi

Efren is an universal player across the games, his skills plus his character makes him the greatest player ever

Sigel, Mosconi, Reyes, Lassiter, Mizerak, Hall, Strictland, Crane, Greenleaf, and Varner make my top 10.